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Brian HCM#1

Don’t feed the troll
Sep 7, 2001
32,240
382
Bay Area, California
Please, Brian, if you wouldn't mind - explain this graphic in layman's terms, and also please provide citations for the numbers.

What would also be useful to the discussion will be the amounts that we are *already* paying for these things.

I mean your family is already getting "taxed" upwards of $40K/yr. for higher education... you do realize that, right?
Living in California we're already taxed more than at least 95% of the nation. My healthcare costs went from approx $300 a month to around $900 under Obamacare. Our deductible has also skyrocketed. My wife & I choose to pay for 4 years of college for each kid (we have 2). If they can't finish in 4, the 5th year is on them. However, once done paying for them, I don't want to cover anyone else college tuition. We shouldn't be forced to pay for other kids education, especially like a liberal arts degree which is useless if you want to earn any real money and not rely on others to support them. Now, CA has the 6-7th wealthiest economy in the world, yet we have the highest gas prices in the nation, We pay over 0.47 a gallon in gas tax for what is supposed to go towards our infrastructure. I don't know if you've ever driven our roads here, but they SUCK! Nothings been done, however they just keep raising our taxes here. Last year alone I paid over $20K in property taxes, the nations average in $4-5K a year. We pay up to 12% in state income tax and yet the state is broke. Now, you want to give out free stuff, have the rest of the country pay the same percentage that we pay here in CA, then I'm good. I just want everyone to contribute the same percentage we shell out. Whats fair is fair!
 

Brian HCM#1

Don’t feed the troll
Sep 7, 2001
32,240
382
Bay Area, California
if your coverage jumped that much, your original plan probably didn't cover much in the first place.
Nope, it covered everything. 20 years ago (my insurance), ACL surgery $0 copay. 7 years ago other knee ACL surgery $100 copay. 2 years ago elbow surgery $1900 copay. My wife had a lumpectomy 2 months ago, $1500 copay.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,942
14,220
In a van.... down by the river
Nope, it covered everything. 20 years ago (my insurance), ACL surgery $0 copay. 7 years ago other knee ACL surgery $100 copay. 2 years ago elbow surgery $1900 copay. My wife had a lumpectomy 2 months ago, $1500 copay.
And yet, you argue AGAINST creating a system that would be more equitable for everyone. Dude - you're fucking delusional - it's the only conclusion that I can reach at this point. :confused:
 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
24,758
12,525
In the cleavage of the Tetons
Nope, it covered everything. 20 years ago (my insurance), ACL surgery $0 copay. 7 years ago other knee ACL surgery $100 copay. 2 years ago elbow surgery $1900 copay. My wife had a lumpectomy 2 months ago, $1500 copay.
That’s not because of Obamacare, you dolt. It’s due to the private sector insurance companies (free market! Invisible hand!) finding an opportunity to gouge, and going for it.
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
and they used the ACA as a scapegoat to really go for broke.
While I agree, it’s more that they scaled up their prices to maintain profit margins once the ACA added to the insurance pool and mandated coverage rules etc. We saw this in MA with the precursor to ACA. No different that how car insurance is bloated to cover high risk drivers etc.

Biggest hurdle to M4A will be deconstructing existing system while building new. Few believe a hard break to single payer insurance will/can happen and for profit industry won’t go down without epic fight. Should be interesting.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,941
27,128
media blackout
While I agree, it’s more that they scaled up their prices to maintain profit margins once the ACA added to the insurance pool and mandated coverage rules etc. We saw this in MA with the precursor to ACA. No different that how car insurance is bloated to cover high risk drivers etc.
agreed, and they used the ACA as justification. those poor shareholders.

Biggest hurdle to M4A will be deconstructing existing system while building new. Few believe a hard break to single payer insurance will/can happen and for profit industry won’t go down without epic fight. Should be interesting.
you're not wrong.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,941
27,128
media blackout
Agreed. Our country waited WAY too long to do this. If I'm being honest, I sure the hell am glad I am not one that has to come up with an actual solution... because it's going to be a MASSIVE battle. I just hope that we, as regular citizens, don't lose out in the end. I know - wishful thinking, right?
it'll probably be a civil war of normal citizens vs corporate overlords, assuming any of us survive the climate wars.
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
41,904
19,232
Riding the baggage carousel.
From six months ago.

President Trump is considering cutting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s prison sentence short, citing how “fantastic” the imprisoned politician’s wife is and the fact that he was on Trump’s former show “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Blagojevich was impeached and imprisoned for attempting to use his office for personal and financial gain, including by attempting to sell the former Senate seat held by then-President-elect Barack Obama.

“His wife I think is fantastic and I’m thinking about commuting his sentence very strongly. I think it’s enough, seven years,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One during his travels on Wednesday. “A man who is a Democrat, not a Republican—who I don’t know very well, but he was on ‘The Apprentice’ … I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly.”

“And a lot of people thought it was unfair, like a lot of other things — and it was the same gang, the Comey gang and all these sleazebags that did it. … And I’m thinking about commuting his sentence,” Trump reportedly told reporters.

Blagojevich was convicted in 2010 and 2011 on 18 counts related to his efforts to sell Obama’s seat. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. According to the New York Times’ Maggie Habberman, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner has been pushing Trump to pardon Blagojevich in recent months in order to throw a bone at Democrats. Aides got President Trump to agree to a commutation.
 
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