Something all USMB members should agree on.

[Cecilie1200]

I will literally DIE before I accept a Government run, Government funded or Single-payer medical system.

Health Insurance is an unnecessary cash cow.
And Big Pharma has too much control over our politicians.

So your solution is for it to become a much bigger cash cow for politicians, who you apparently want to be out of anyone's control.

 

[Circe]

Tax loopholes for capital gains are why we have 2000 billionaires , when that phrase would have been unheard of just 30 years ago.

Nothing wrong with being a billionaire. More power to them, I say.

 

[Cellblock2429]

/——-/ We already have taxes on capital gains. Either you live under a rock or don’t invest.

Tax loopholes for capital gains are why we have 2000 billionaires , when that phrase would have been unheard of just 30 years ago.

Go watch Wall Street (1987)
Gekko was "filthy rich " at $650 million .

/—--/ If they are in the tax code, they aren’t loopholes. They were put there intentionally.

 

[BertramN]

Many people are on the ACA.

I'm not saying the aca hasn't helped some people -- but going back to where it should have been made universal healthcare in the 90's - the big pharma and insurance lobbies crushed it.

Obamacare put a bandaid on a gaping wound-- it should be a single pay system-- part of the reason I voted for (first Bernie until the DNC cheated ) then Jill Stein in 2016.

The Affordable Care Act was the compromise Congress made with the health insurance industry. They'd cover preexisting conditions if, the ACA guaranteed adequate numbers of healthy people were made to buy health insurance to maintain their profits. Hence, the hated individual mandate.

.

 

[the other mike]

So your solution is for it to become a much bigger cash cow for politicians, who you apparently want to be out of anyone's control.

Good spin.

 

[Papageorgio]

Membership in the U.S. Congress is an exclusive club that comes with lucrative, taxpayer-funded privileges. Retirement perks include a lifetime pension and a taxpayer-matched savings plan with taxpayer-paid contributions of up to five percent of salary.

That “exclusive club” includes over two million Federal Employees who get identical benefits. It’s called FERS

FERS Information

Welcome to opm.gov

www.opm.gov

They are not federal employees, they are elected officials and are supposed to be serving their constituents, not getting a pension for taking money from lobbyists.

When AOC was first elected, I liked her, didn't agree with her but like her because of her sticking to her values, and now she is becoming another paid shill. She will remain a politician and lose her connection to people.

 

[Cecilie1200]

So your solution is for it to become a much bigger cash cow for politicians, who you apparently want to be out of anyone's control.

Good spin.
View attachment 441843

If you're going to dismiss what I said as "spin", I'm sure you're more than capable of explaining HOW it's spin, instead of that just being your excuse for not wanting to own the truth of what you said.

 

[Papageorgio]

Many people are on the ACA.

I'm not saying the aca hasn't helped some people -- but going back to where it should have been made universal healthcare in the 90's - the big pharma and insurance lobbies crushed it.

Obamacare put a bandaid on a gaping wound-- it should be a single pay system-- part of the reason I voted for (first Bernie until the DNC cheated ) then Jill Stein in 2016.

The Affordable Care Act was the compromise Congress made with the health insurance industry. They'd cover preexisting conditions if, the ACA guaranteed adequate numbers of healthy people were made to buy health insurance to maintain their profits. Hence, the hated individual mandate.

ACA was a compromise that Congress Democrats made with the health insurance industry. My objection to the ACA was it was forcing citizens to buy a service/product. Big insurance will not go away, a multi-billion dollar industry pays political leaders a lot to stay right where they are.

 

[the other mike]

/—--/ If they are in the tax code, they aren’t loopholes. They were put there intentionally.

Yeah well, that's where hedge fund vultures and lawyers take over. I used to work in the mail room at a law firm on Pine St. (right next to Wall St.)

In this building actually-- top 2 floors -31 and 32.
Click on to enlarge, but you can only see part of it.

 

[Anathema]

Health Insurance is an unnecessary cash cow.

You’re welcome to not have health insurance. I’ve got mine through my employer. I won’t have it from the Government.

 

[the other mike]

Health Insurance is an unnecessary cash cow.

You’re welcome to not have health insurance. I’ve got mine through my employer. I won’t have it from the Government.

I had BCBC when my son had cancer 15 years ago, but are you saying if I had been unemployed , it should have bankrupted me to the tune of $75 - $100 K , or wait 6 weeks to get into St Judes or send him to Mexico ???

 

[Bootney Lee Farnsworth]

If we don't pay them, they'll be even more corrupt than they are now.

I disagree.

They all take salaries only to get fewer questions about their income and standards of living compared to others.

Otherwise, they wouldn't give a shit about the pocket change they are paid from the treasury.

 

[Anathema]

I had BCBC when my son had cancer 15 years ago, but are you saying if I had been unemployed , it should have bankrupted me to the tune of $75 - $100 K , or wait 6 weeks to get into St Judes or send him to Mexico ???

I’m very sorry to hear about your son. I lost all 4 grandparents and my father to Cancer over the years.

I’m saying life isn’t fair. Never has been. It was never intended to be. You would have had to make a choice.

Personally, I have a bullet upstairs specifically for the day the doctors tell me I have Cancer; but that’s just my choice; not necessarily a suggestion to others.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Health Insurance is an unnecessary cash cow.

You’re welcome to not have health insurance. I’ve got mine through my employer. I won’t have it from the Government.

I had BCBC when my son had cancer 15 years ago, but are you saying if I had been unemployed , it should have bankrupted me to the tune of $75 - $100 K , or wait 6 weeks to get into St Judes or send him to Mexico ???

Yes, because those are the only options when one has cancer . . . if you're a lazy dolt who can't figure things out without a nanny.

 

[the other mike]

Yes, because those are the only options when one has cancer . . . if you're a lazy dolt who can't figure things out without a nanny.

So everyone who's been unemployed for the past year
is lazy ?

No offense, twisted sister but fuck you.

 

[the other mike]

I actually thought people would agree on this.

Oh well. Not the first time I've been wrong.
Won't be the last.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

And why on Earth would I agree with that?

Actually - a step further a-- a small tax on all capital gains -- not necessarily publicly-traded transactions.

However, in the long term, we primarily need to fix the underlying problems. With healthcare, we need to focus on getting healthy and preventing diseases, and forbidding large pharmaceutical companies to 'buy up the cures' and sell us drugs that clearly make us sicker.

In economics we need our manufacturing base back and instead of letting the CEO's shut down companies, we move in and help the LOCAL banks form Co-Op's where all the workers have a say and interest in the company.

There's already a large tax on CG.

 

[Osiris-ODS]

If we don't pay them, they'll be even more corrupt than they are now.

I don't believe the OP or linked article suggested not paying them while they're actively in Congress. The criticism is about the lucrative taxpayer-funded retirement benefits that are paid out for life after they leave Congress, on top of the 401K plan they receive. I don't see any correlation between corruption and the presence or absence of such a retirement plan. In fact, the presence of lucrative Financial incentives like that is more likely to attract people who are motivated exclusively by financial gain, rather than those who would be truly motivated by desire to serve the public interest. To suggest otherwise would be like saying police or enlisted military as a whole are motivated to be corrupt because they don't receive lucrative financial packages. That may be true for a very small segment, but it does not apply to the majority by far.

 

[Crepitus]

There are Americans who sometimes have to choose between food or medicine to survive, and I don't care who you are , that ain't right. Especially when our millionaire lawmakers could do something about it but they don't, as we saw with Obamafail care, but they expect us to pay for their free ride ?View attachment 441788

Membership in the U.S. Congress is an exclusive club that comes with lucrative, taxpayer-funded privileges. Retirement perks include a lifetime pension and a taxpayer-matched savings plan with taxpayer-paid contributions of up to five percent of salary.

As the longest-serving member of Congress, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) would qualify for a yearly pension of $167,040 if he retired today. Former speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was eligible to draw a $84,930 pension when he turned 50 in January after serving for twenty years and retiring at age 48.

Critics question the necessity of such a system. Why are U.S. taxpayers providing public pensions to millionaire members of Congress on top of a 401(k)-style plan? (The median net worth for a member recently exceeded $1.1 million.)

Why Are U.S. Taxpayers Providing Public Pensions To Millionaire Members Of Congress?

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will reap a $153,000 pension/annuity and an estimated $1MM lump sum when she retires from Congress.

www.forbes.com

Term limits would cut that considerably,

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Why do people who support single payer health care actually think they will have medical care at all?