discussion comment
3 years ago
No way that vaccine is more effective than thoughts and prayers. I’m sure you’ll be safe unmasked and unvaccinated at that trump rally as long as you say grace over your fried food. Now get out there and show those libtards what you think of science.
discussion comment
3 years ago
You f@@kers do realize that finding you brilliant is stripper 101.
discussion comment
4 years ago
Hey shadowcat. I appreciate all of your contributions to this website and service as a veteran. I don’t think you should be offended by the comments as the intent was that that low risk people should get back to work. The pantywaist types that are low risk but still want to shelter in place were the objects of derision. Not folks like you.
You have talked about your annual hospitalizations for pneumonia. At 78, those bills were paid for by Medicare or veterans benefits. You have earned those benefits, but without people earning a paycheck and paying into the system who is going to fund the system?
There was Wall Street journal editorial talking about a restaurant owner who could not reopen for takeout because his cooks on unemployment were getting the equivalent of over $20/hour to not work vs $15/hr to work. Sure some taxes and ss and Medicare are being withheld from unemployment checks, but withholding money from a government check is not the same as withholding from a business paycheck.
It takes a rich nation to take care of its vulnerable people well. It takes a flourishing economy to stay rich. It won’t take long for our economy to become the USSR of the 1980s if it continues to be shut down and government debt to soar.
All my opinion and none of this facts.
discussion comment
5 years ago
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CJKent (Banned)“The more a person needs to be right, the less certain he is...”
The biggest problem is that people don’t understand the meaning of insurance. Insurance is the buying and selling of risk. If you can’t risk getting sick and losing everything you have for medical expenses, then you buy insurance and pay the company to take on the risk. The ACA essentially outlawed insurance. You can’t charge more or decline a pre existing client, no caps. That means the insurance company is exposed to more risk but can’t charge individuals more for taking on a riskier customer. Also, many Americans don’t have enough to lose. If they get sick, they could just file bankruptcy and not lose that much. So, the only way ACA could work is to require all people to buy a policy.
Insurance companies do not care. They are buying and managing risk. They make money by holding money. They invest it and make more money so delaying payments means they earn more on their investments.
We have been sold a load of crap by politicians. Insurance is not health care. People want health care not risk management.
Getting rid of insurance would mean people have to save up and pay as they go for health care. Good luck collecting on that. Even with Medicare, Medicaid and ACA, doctors and hospitals are getting stiffed left and right. Get rid of those third party payers and every doctor that could would retire. If you are one of the smartest and most motivated people in the US, which doctors are, are you going to work for roasting hens or go into technology or equities and make a bundle of cash?
Look at how stupid the average american is. Would you be willing to be responsible for the health and wellness for a client pool that 1/2 of which is dumber than average.
We need socialized medicine. Have a tax that makes everyone help pay for the cost of health care. We already have a huge number of people on socialized care: the VA, Medicare, Medicaid. Those aren’t perfect but is making the few remaining health insurance companies be a mini privatized part of the government better.
Capitalism does not improve health care. Managing disease is a better system for profit than preventing disease - diabetes creates millions of healthcare jobs. If we could incentivize wellness through a socialized program, the goals of health care could change.
Just like cops need criminals to justify their existence and buy more high tech equipment, doctors need sick people especially in a market based economy.
My plan? Divide America into treatment groups and give each group a budget paid for by sales taxes (make everyone pay) to manage the health care of the group. The group can hire a bunch of specialist to manage all the diabetics or spend it on general practitioners that prevent diabetes. Make people realize that they are responsible for paying for the stupid lifestyle choices of their neighbors. How many communities would get rid of sex education in schools if they realized that they had to hire another ob/gyn to take care of more unwanted pregnancies. Sure you can have that motorcycle but it’s going to cost you more because at some point it will put you in the hospital. Treat your pain with something you can grow in your garden or pay a drug company a crazy sum for a more addictive product.
Change the funding, change the incentives, change the goals
My plan would never pass because there are too many people making money from the current system that would fight it.
Stepping down from the soapbox now.
discussion comment
6 years ago
I think I understand what you are missing and hopefully can explain it. Your coworkers are not going tax exempt they are just changing the number of exemptions on their w-4. Here is why.
The tax calculation for your paycheck or bonus assumes you make the same amount each pay period. So, the withholding should cover your tax liability at the end of the year. The problem arises when you get a bonus. The tax calculation treats the bonus like a raise instead of a one time event. What happens now is the withholding increases because the calculator put you into a higher tax bracket.
The only difference is getting more money now and possibly paying some in April (if you change your exemptions to adjust withholding calculation) or getting less cash now and a bigger refund when you file taxes (if you leave your exemptions the same).