USA Politics

Not so much money as having insurance, which generally means having some sort of steady job. For those that do not or in poor areas, there are free clinics that take care of things like vaccinations, and routine care.
 
It could be better .. but does serve the majority of the population well, it does need reform, and ObamaCare is not the answer
 
What (& I'm asking you genuinely here, bearfan --as I'm totally uninformed, I think, when it comes to the US healthcare system) kind of reform does it need? I mean, what's drastically in need of changing? Anything? And, what's up with ObamaCare? Is it viewed as a bit of a Obama vanity project, or is it just looking too rushed & poorly thought out?
 
There are differences of opinion on this of course, but ObamaCare is still unpopular 3 years in and many (including some Democrats) have said the implementation of all this is a mess .. the Senate Chair who helped puh the bill through called the implementation a "trainwreck waiting to happen".

The main reform needed is to bring down costs, make insurance available to more people, and keep up the quality of care for those who have insurance now. Obamacare IMO will bring the level of care down for all .. so we will all end up with mediocre at best care from a shrinking base of doctors.

Short version of reforms I would like to see would be for everyone to have a Health Savings Account (and for the poor, the government help fund it) and a high deductible policy to cover major illness/injury. That puts people in charge of their own care and opens up competition in the market ... like it is for some services now ... mainly vision and dentistry. The other much needed reform is tort reform, the cost of malpractice insurance and the large amount of needless tests that doctors run to cover themselves from lawsuits drives up medical costs. I think this will improve the quality of care for everyone and save the nation and individuals a ton of money.
 
bearfan said:
Not so much money as having insurance, which generally means having some sort of steady job. For those that do not or in poor areas, there are free clinics that take care of things like vaccinations, and routine care.
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That whole "free" thing does depend on the areas. Here in Tucson the ONE county clinic USED TO be free, now it's a 32 dollar fee. I know what you're saying, "it's just $32 compared to at least $80 at an urgent care." But a fee is still a fee. It's no longer "free" and I'm sure the price has gone up. That's the last I knew of it about 5 years ago
 
Interesting article and video interview with Bill Bennett about the state, and expense, of higher education and the U.S. economy. I don't know if the same concerns are applicable to students outside the U.S./North America, but still worth watching the video, if for no other reason than to compare to your own university/employment experience. Also, my alma mater gets a nice plug!

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dail...lleges-worth-investment-former-132020890.html
 
Mine (University of San Diego) was not in the "is worth it" category .. but since I graduated I know it has been worth it. A friend of mine works in the same field, he actually started 4 years before me and I know I am making at least 30% more than him per year in part based on having a degree.
 
I heard there was an excellent rate of graduate employment in the US. Is this the case? Degrees can certainly open doors in the UK, depending what the subject is, like anywhere. But there's also a lot of graduates to graduate-specific jobs available, and I don't know of graduates being paid more than non-graduates in a particular line of work, unless a degree was required in the job description.
 
Brigantium said:
I heard there was an excellent rate of graduate employment in the US. Is this the case?
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Not lately. Watch the video. Something like 40% of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed (waiting tables). And, the average student loan debt for people in their 20s is around $20K+, which is a non-dischargeable debt (meaning you can't reduce it or get rid of it by declaring bankruptcy). I have a wealthy friend whose twin sons just graduated with liberal arts degrees from the University of Michigan, an excellent school, and are now moving back in with him because they can't afford to live elsewhere. That notion was unheard of when I was graduating college -- my parents made it very clear when I went off to college that, absent some unforeseeable catastrophe, I was not welcome back on a full-time basis. Their attitude was, I could major in basket-weaving or whatever I wanted, so long as I could house and feed myself when I was done. Interestingly, the idea of the kids moving back in is appealing to my friend, and might be to me, as well, when they get that age (many years off, thank goodness). The tradition of kicking the kids out of the nest after college is probably fairly recent in historic terms, maybe after WW2. Still, I don't think it does the kids any good to live in mom and dad's basement into their 30s.
 
Even thought the Unemployment rate has been going down, the main reason are people flat out leaving the labor force. The labor participation rate is at it's lowest since 1979 ... I am sure at least some of this is college grads returning home and doing essentially nothing.
 
Mark Sanford, despite being outspent 4 or 5 to 1 and with his own baggage ... won the SC 1st Congressional election tonight over Colbert-Bush to replace Tim Scott who was appointed to the US Senate.
 
Well, he was in a district with a Cook rating of like R20, and there were some really dirty tricks going on. Still, seems to be proof that "family values" voters don't actually care about "family values" when it comes time to vote.
 
What dirty tricks ... or are you talking about the affair. Obviously the Dems thought they had a shot at this.

From Politico

In South Carolina this spring, Democrats played the big money game better than the GOP.
Independent liberal groups, national Democrats and influential donors spent nearly $1 million to flood the airwaves in support of Elizabeth Colbert Busch — outspending Mark Sanford’s conservative allies by more than 5-to-1.
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The irony for Democrats is that while many of their rank-and-file members oppose the kind of big outside spending that has characterized the last few election cycles, liberal groups are now as professional and institutionalized as their GOP counterparts.
“There’s always that tendency to think that the other side’s money is unfair,” said Brad Smith, a former Federal Election Commission official and the founder of the group Center for Competitive Politics. “When they’ve got a spending advantage that seems fine to them,” he said, adding, “I don’t think that’s unique to Democrats.”
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Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/south-carolina-election-democrats-money-91051.html#ixzz2SiXD7wFR
 
.. and technology rapidly makes these gun laws that states are trying to pass obsolete quickly (like they did any good to begin with in stopping crime)

Schumer: U.S. needs to block 3D plastic guns like ‘The Liberator’ from Defense Distributed

The future just got a lot scarier.
A Texas company is set to release blueprints for making a plastic gun with a 3-D printer — a development Sen. Chuck Schumer called “stomach-churning” Sunday.
Defense Distributed, a collective of gun access advocates headed by self-described “free-market anarchist” Cody Wilson, has announced it made such an untraceable gun with the new plastic-making technology. The nonprofit Texas group intends to post blueprints for “The Liberator” (pictured) online this week.
The Liberator may look like a toy, but “this gun can fire regular bullets,” Schumer said, calling for legislation outlawing the technology’s weapons potential.
The bill was drafted by Rep. Steve Israel (D-L.I.).


“Security checkpoints, background checks and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print their own plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser,” Israel said in a statement.
To Schumer, the ramifications of make-your-own untraceable and undetectable weapons are “stomach-churning.”
“Now anyone, a terrorist, someone who is mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon, can essentially open a gun factory in their garage,” Schumer said. “It must be stopped.”
Here’s how you can “print” your own gun:
* Purchase a 3-D printer for $1,000.

* Download free blueprints for Defense Distributed’s 16-component “Liberator.”
* Print out the hard molded pieces.
* Assemble.
Defense Distributed’s version of the Liberator reportedly didn’t violate the law because it included a 6-ounce piece of metal — but people printing out the 16 components at home could replace the part with plastic, Schumer said.
But Defense Distributed’s website says its gun project “might change the way we think about gun control and consumption. How do governments behave if they must one day operate on the assumption that any and every citizen has near- instant access to a firearm through the Internet? Let’s find out.”
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Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz2SeQu2NaQ
 
Regular (even dot matrix) printers cost close to that when they came out .. they will get cheaper over time.
 
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