I just personally think that we've never really had a market-related healthcare system, the government has been involved for far too long which has caused us to never even fathom what it would be like without the government involved.


Don't get me wrong Suchmoon, you could be right -- though I do think that the market is the best place to ensure prices, competition, innovation, etc.

NSA is going to be recommending the ending of a program that collects information (such as metadata) regarding your phone calls and texts (if you live in the US) They're going to be doing this as they cite that the program is a logistical nightmare to attempt to control, as new laws have been passed by lawmakers to ensure proper privacy compliance

They're saying that for the amount of legal compliance necessary to continue the program, it will just be better to shut it down.

I personally don't know if this is just a publicity stunt, and the government is just going to continue spying on the American people. Though I do hope this isn't such, and that these programs slowly come to an end as people notice that they really don't do more than invade the lives of innocent Americans.

Article - https://www.wsj.com/articles/nsa-recommends-dropping-phone-surveillance-program-11556138247

When I spoke I did not mean every single doctor, or every single patient was like that. I meant that their are doctors that are in it for the $ at the end of the day, some portion of people are like that in every profession.

Patients that are on some sort of healthcare plan that doesn't charge them (Medicare, Other gov plans, Work plans, etc) and simply has a deductible for the entire visit are going to be abused by those doctors that are just going to bill the insurance for more than they must. It's a rite of passage in the Healthcare industry.

In regard to Hospitals being able to veto the development of other hospitals. I think yes, this might be better for costs of the hospitals -- as a large hospital company is going to be able to negotiate better prices and (maybe) pass these cost savings onto consumers. The issue in my mind is that this stifles innovation and competition, as the Hospital that is already present doesn't have to change as they know no one is going to be able to take over their business. They're safe, and can just keep the status quo going.



I think that the customer seperation from the cost is a problem, it causes people to be lazy and to disregard the different prices that different companies are charging. The medical industry should be like every other industry in that regard, where you shop around for prices and see what's the best thing to work with. I'm not saying go to the cheapest doctor in town, but I don't think it would kill people to actually take some responsibility with their money instead of just using the first service (like they've always done) because of convenience.


I may go ahead and either make a post on this thread or an entirely new thread with the costs of illegal immigration, we'll see!

Hey there guys,

Some of you may be asking why I’m applying to be a merit source. I’m applying to be a merit source as I feel as if I’ve been an established member of many sections on this board -- in particular the Politics and Society section -- and I feel as if I’d be able to reward those who make great posts and are unrewarded as of current.

I do feel that the P&S section is lacking some merit love when it comes to our quality posts, as we’ve seen a large number of amazing discussions occur on the section without much merit being awarded.

In my view, there are many other sections on the board that get a lot more love when it comes to merit, and I know that I’d be the right person to encourage discussion on the board and within our section.

I think that in the P&S section there is a clear issue with merit sources having a political bias and if the merit source will be impartial in providing merit to those based on the

I’m going to stop selling myself through words, and just show you the type of threads that I would be meriting.

Squatz

The madman Theymos actually wasn't kidding when he said he was going to read through this!

The summary is without a doubt a very amazing thing to have here, I'd like if you even stickied it so the people in this board would be able to see this without having to sift through the board. You do a very good job at noting where you biases may stand (as you are a libertarian)

I've never read into a stat about this -- I'm going to have to research this and get back to you, as I'd like to see the amount of healthcare serviced used by those that have no ability to pay and won't be paying their bills.


Earning money based on sold work is a VERY good system, though when people are separated from cost decisions, there is an artificially low amount of doctors allowed to become licensed, AND government money is being poured into the system -- then you're going to face an issue where prices remain artifically high.

Our profit-oriented culture wasn't supposed to be like this, it was supposed to be a market-oriented system instead of one riddled with regulations and artificial caps and minimums.


We don't have open borders by choice, it's just SO EASY for people to come across the border and stay in our country -- or to simply overstay their visa and stay here. Our healthcare system can't turn these people away (at least the emergency rooms)

I'll attempt to find a stat on illegal immigration healthcare use and the cost as well.

This made me cackle.

I doubt even Mueller read this entire report, that shit is INSANE. Still waiting for Theymos to awake from his (probably boring) time of reading this report and coming back with his findings.

Just a little side note I'd like to write below:
Democrats in 2018: "You must accept the conclusions of the Mueller Report"

Democrats in 2019: "We want to impeach Trump, and we're going to disregard the Mueller report"
Also Democrats "NoN-ObStRuCtIoN iS ImPeAcHaBlE"

I fail to see the thinking here.


Flying Hellfish is a COMMIE.

Healthcare is one of the most debated issues in the American political system, those on the left are calling for a government takeover of the system. Stating that the best system is in the European socialist systems. Those are in the right are calling for reform as well, though not the same sort of reform --  relaxed government policy, and less government involvement.

Though I think both of these solutions have their flaws, I think there is a much better plan that neither party will agree too. Because the lobbyists on both sides will fight them tooth and nail.


1.American Medical Association Influence / Interest
The problem is the American Medical Association (AMA), for those that don't know who they are -- they are an association of physicians and medical students that have an enormous influence on healthcare-related decisions. This association has a vested interest in the status quo.

The AMA limits the number of doctors in the country and makes every single medical procedure in the country require a doctor to be present (or at least signing off on the procedure occurring) Most procedures don't need doctors, and they're merely being paid to sign off on a procedure for no reason. Remove them from the equation, and you've saved a large amount of money -- though you've angered doctors + the AMA and lowered their salaries as there is less demand.

2.Consumer seperation from cost decisions

Have you ever had a doctor tell you something along the lines of "You don't need this procedure, but the insurance company is going to cover it so why don't we just check anyway, we're just being safe!" This sort of behavior, this wasteful behavior that is filled with greed (on the side of the doctor) and carelessness from the patient is what causes a large amount of waste in the healthcare sector.

People don't care about what things cost, because either the government is paying (Medicare, low income, etc.), their company policy is paying, or something along these lines.

This gives the healthcare sector little (to no) incentive to lower costs because no one is shopping around for prices anyway.

If you want a prime example of people being close to cost decisions in a small sector, look to the LASIK eye / plastic surgery business. Cost has been falling for decades because people have to pay for these procedures out of pocket and are going to shop around for the combination of the best deal (price wise) and the best doctor.

3. Failure to allow for common sense reform

ALLOW FOR COMPETITION ACROSS STATE LINES FOR PRIVATE INSURANCE

This can only be summed up by corruption and greed; politicians don't want to anger the private insurance companies in their state by forcing them to compete with other states. Politicians are raking in large amounts of money from the healthcare sector; why would they make business harder for them by forcing them to compete.

Competition is vital in an industry where cost is EVERYTHING.

INCREASE IMMIGRATION OF DOCTORS / NURSES / MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

If we have such high costs, and people want to come into our nation to either study to be a medical professional, or they are currently one and want to work, we should allow them to thrive like that. Give them a work visa, and let them come into this country to work. Every single new doctor you bring in lowers the cost for all of those as supply increases.

DON'T ALLOW HOSPITALS TO VETO NEW DEVELOPMENT

I don't know if this is an issue all around America, though I know where I live the Hospital around me is allowed to veto development of a new hospital in the area if they'd like to. I don't understand the rationale behind a decision like this, though all it is doing is allowing a Hospital to avoid competition which is vital to our market.

There are without a doubt other issues with the system, though these are the issues that I feel are hurting people the most. I'd love to hear what people think about other issues, and what should be done to fix these problems.

Let the games begin!

Ooh, thanks for this!

My guessing was me adding every single one on a calculator, though my fingers could've missed one or added one. So that's what I was talking about.

Any idea on which page this is on? Very curious to see what the Russians are using Bitcoin for, even if it is neutral.

Hats off to you for reading through about 448 (or so pages), I've read maybe 15 pages of it just because I was curious on certain topics. I'd love to see a little write up from you about it Theymos!

I can already see the Democrats and media pundits shifting the goal posts though, and now saying that because Trump OBSTRUCTED (which Mueller made no determination on) he should be impeached. I don't know how you can obstruct a an investigation on a crime that never happened -- but we'll see where this brings us.


Eh. Any 'expert' reading it is going to have a bias. I think that the only way to get your own (as close to unbiased as possible) is to read it yourself. Though I doubt you're going to (or most) are going to want to read through 400 pages of legal and investigative mumbo jumbo.

But yeah, this is going to be another political fight that further divides the nation. Though I do think that many moderates are now seeing that Trump isn't a foreign agent, and they may be more keen to support him now. I'd like to see what opinion polls say about him within a month or two and report back.

I'll take 1,5,A

Pending on the payment until we hit half (Should be soon, as this makes it 7). Hopefully that's fine!

You most likely don't remember the details because it's a common occurrence, this is why American companies are somewhat scared to continue to pursue these partnerships with China.

Kinda scary to say that this happens every SINGLE day.


I don't think it's fine at all, bullying countries and companies is as much of an issue as anything else. We shouldn't say 'oh just cause the large companies are being hacked that's fine, they have the resources to absorb the loss' we should stand with all companies that are hacked in seeking justice.

You're still a commie!

I don't think it's fair in the least to say that Conservatives don't want proper IP regulations, Corporate espionage / stealing regulations, and stuff along those lines. I think that's something that everyone in America wants, as we don't want other companies (and other countries) ripping off our products and stealing our jobs.

Most other countries in the world will actually protect the IP of other countries, though China is one of the countries that doesn't care and should be punished for having this attitude. It's an attitude which is going to cripple not only American businesses, but businesses around the world.

Though I do understand that there isn't a simple fix, which makes this issue 10000x harder.

Could someone help me out with this - 44a73676f9c8d7cecec86b5ee8bd84d22a70c8270dc921608c56de153f98219a

Thanks!

Without a doubt a bombshell report about how the Chinese government is hacking American businesses and NOTHING IS HAPPENING. Thousands of American companies are turning a blind eye to these hacks due to the fact that they don't want to lose short term profits from China banning them from their country -- as the Chinese government controls EVERYTHING in China with a heavy hand. Here's a pretty good quote about this sort of behavior.


China is the USA's biggest competitor in the world, and China isn't playing fairly in the least. They're prepared to (and have) hacked US businesses-- and not only the small family businesses, they're hacking companies like Google, Apple, etc in an attempt to build their own large companies. I hope to god that this is stopped, and that China faces severe penalty for their actions.

We as a country have to stop kicking the can to the next person on fixing a problem, we must stop this monster in their tracks.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/12/711779130/as-china-hacked-u-s-businesses-turned-a-blind-eye

Username: squatz1
Post Count: 2638
BTC Address (must be SegWit): 34bSFkfFcEK5eDDkqAo8iaChaXpDmrQxqw

Hopefully this will be the day that I get in, I also want to note that even though a good deal of my posts are in P&S I without a doubt am able to transfer this quality to other sections. I've just been more involved there for a little bit of time now.

I worded that poorly, meant more along the lines of me not understanding why he's being arrested if his only part in this is distributing the material. Though if he did play a role in actually hacking the USA, then he should go to jail for it -- even if he did expose the horrible things people did, we don't want to make heroes out of those that hack governments. Eh?

Even though I'd want Trump to go ahead and pardon Assange, I highly doubt that he's going to be able to pardon him without a good amount of fighting from the left and right on the topic of national intelligence.

Though I do think that WikiLeaks is going to get a large number of donations from this, and there's going to be a movement in some circles to have him pardoned. I'd put the odds on 80-20 on him being pardoned.

He's not a US citizen though right? I don't know why he would be subject to US rules simply because he exposed them.



Hm, does anyone know how an extradition hearing even works? What're the criteria for a country to ship someone off?

Though with the information about the crime he's being charged with -- I guess that could stick, we'll see.

Packing the Supreme Court is a horrible idea. But it’s not only a terrible idea because the precedent that FDR set is one that includes him (due to him being painted as a dictator) losing a large amount of congressional power, but also because of the precedent that it sets for the NEXT president.

People seem to forget that if a President is allowed to go over the ‘limit’ (I use this in quotes as there is no real limit), the next President will go over this same limit. All this leads to is more partisan judges being appointed, and we’re back to square one as there’s no ‘winning’ in this situation.

All this does is set a precedent that the court has no real meaning, and that the party in power is going to have control over the court as they will appoint tons of their justices. While this plan that I’ve established only works when the Presidents party has control of the Senate, it still is something that could happen on multiple occasions. Let us establish an example for a second, let's say that President Obama in the start of his term appointed 15 liberal justices to the court. Okay, all well and good because at the time of his presidency his party had control of the Senate -- which means, if we as a nation have completely stopped caring for checks and balances and allow the President to turn into a mini-dictator and control another body that is supposed to check him (which is the given in this situation), then the President will successfully get his 15 liberal justices on the court and will be loved by progressives.

But wait, Conservatives are angry, and they elect Donald J. Trump, he then appoints 30 Conservative justices to the court, ‘big league’ as he says, and with the Republican party's control of the Senate, they will be able to run the court as well.

People will always forget about the long term in the embrace of the short term gains, that is why court packing is a horrible idea that would ruin a crucial check on the other branches of government. All this idea does is turn the Supreme Court (and other courts) from a large check on other government powers, into a slave to the executive that has a large membership and turnover with new administrations.

Anyone that points to the fact that President Trump making too many picks and turning the court ‘too conservative’ as a reason for introducing court packing, is not only small minded, but they are one that is hypocrites, as Obama picked the SAME amount of justices within his first term (Kagan and Sotomayor were both appointed in the first term) with democratic majorities to support his pick.

Packing the Court articles:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/democratic-presidential-candidates-face-calls-to-embrace-supreme-court-overhaul-11553518800
https://townhall.com/columnists/pauljacob/2019/03/24/meet-the-democrats-who-want-to-pack-the-supreme-court-n2543606

Does anyone agree/disagree? Thoughts?