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I guess I must be misunderstanding what you are trying to say. As stated before, I am aware of the problems the (unfree) US Health Care has. I am aware that the public sector is one of the top spenders on Health Care per head already, I didn't know how the private compares to that, but I can imagine that they as well pay more than most European governments. But, that's also what I have said, I am of the opinion that a National Health Care like in Britain or a semi Health Care system like we have it in Germany (though, really, also pretty shit) would be a strong improvement for the United States, which have a idiotic para-communist corporate system. I, personally, am of the opinion that a free market without government interference whatrsoever would be quite able to provide much better health care on average than a National Health Care system, but as for the US we are on the same page, it would be an improvement, though likely headed for collapse, like the European versions are.
Same to DK. I agree with what you said. I am not speaking out for the US system. No one in their right mind should.
So, apparently, some medical equipment is way over-priced.
I heard about a similar situation with this bone density test machine thing. The new method/machine cost like $300, and the old method/machine cost over $15,000. They found the new method and machine to be just as effective, but the manufacturers pushed really hard to keep the old machine cause it made them tons of money and going to the new way would cost a lot, or create competition. So what did the old manufacturers do? They tried to discredit the new method/machine over and over again, despite multiple, clear, empirical studies showing that the old way was a waste of money.
Now, I heard somewhere that the medical equipment was one of the high costs of healthcare. I'm not implying or saying that the above 2 examples prove that it's a bunch of ridiculously overpriced machines, but I am saying that there are probably lots and lots of examples like the 2 above, of stupid machines. No one knows the wiser, either.
So, couple that (finding stupidly overpriced machines) with a cap on how much can be sued for in medicine, and we may have found over 5% medical cost problems.
If you are a free market, libertarian flat Earther, universal healthcare doesn't help the economy. The economy is faith and the invisible hand is god. In fact, there is a surplus in the labor market and there will always be one because 43% of US jobs can and should be outsourced. Therefore, the best way to save the economy, upon realizing that foreign markets are the way to go and the US truly is an inverted totalitarian plutonomy in which most consumers don't matter anyway, is to get rid of every single social program, all government and non-profit assistance and repeal EMTALA, and get rid of employer insurance. We need to kill as many poor people as possible to restore jobs and the economy so if doing that and lowering the minimum wage to $2.00 an hour doesn't do the job, then starting wars to kill as many people as possible and "accidentally launching neutron bombs at major cities will.
The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1938
Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.-Benito Mussolini, 1935
We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.-Franklin Roosevelt, 1936
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__________________ Land of the free, home of the brave...
Do you think we will ever be saved?
In this land of dreams find myself sober...
Wonder when will it'll all be over...
Living in a void when the void grows colder...
Wonder when it'll all be over?
Will you be laughing when it's over?
How dare you blaspheme against our god, The Invisible Hand! You're insolence will be punished with an $8 an hour job and $15,000 in credit card debt to pay off!!! Now go die, peasant!
__________________ Land of the free, home of the brave...
Do you think we will ever be saved?
In this land of dreams find myself sober...
Wonder when will it'll all be over...
Living in a void when the void grows colder...
Wonder when it'll all be over?
Will you be laughing when it's over?
I'm not familiar with "centralized insurance" as a term... do you mean government-run insurance? Because yes, that would take care of that particular problem.
I'm not. On that "political spectrum" test I took from OU, it said I was 2 points into the libertarian portion (that's only negligible). I was actually almost dead center.
There's some things that I'm fairly libertarian on, on others that I'm not.
For example, I think a hybrid healthcare system, a la France, is best.
Went off on a tangent, there, didn't you?
Cool. WTF does this have to do with healthcare?
Cool.
Now, get off your soap box and talk about how absurdly high-priced some medical equipment is, or about health care in general.
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Last edited by dadudemon on Jan 18th, 2010 at 10:12 AM
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Jun 2nd, 2008 11:59 AM
