Sanity Zone 10-2-2013 Shut Down and Loving it.
Posted 10-02-2013 at 10:54 AM by xan
Sorry for not posting anything for a while. I'd offer half-hearted excuses, but it's only because there's been nothing inspiring to talk about. But joy is back!
As a college professor, I like to use examples of catastrophically bad decision-making as teaching tools. Examining the process and the reasons for failure teach us a great deal about how the world works, and how to identify when we might be in a similar situation. There is a side effect of also being very funny. It's easier to learn when there is some aspect of humor.
I have been hoping against hope that we would get to the point where there would be a shut down of the Federal Government. One can't imagine how much fun this is. I understand that for the tens of millions of Americans who will be impacted and possibly wiped out by this that it might seem that I'm callous to their suffering. But taken from the vantage that this is one of the very few immensely large scale teaching moments in nearly 6 decades, the potential for stripping away the rhetoric and deliberate misinformation about governments, markets and justice may have a greater impact on the US and possibly the world than the short term losses that may need to be endured.
We arrived at this point because of spectacularly bad judgment by many parties and over 3 decades. The confluence of anarchists, racists, class-warfare artists, corrupt politicians, and criminally acting business leaders generated this wonderful and exciting stew (I wouldn't denigrate gumbo by terming it such). I thought it would happen in 2010, but for some reason (like refusing to rip the band-aid off) we got it now. But, OH, how exquisite the torture of delay has been. The forces are now naked, the motives and machinations clear.
We are likely to only have two potential outcomes, but few things will be the same from here. Either we will become a republic much like Somalia is a republic, or we will gravitate to a Swedish/Nordic model. The polarization is too great and the dynamic has broken what little was left of the old equilibrium. Equity will win, or money will vanquish.
Regardless of the outcome, I am counting myself lucky to like in a time where I've got a private box with a valet to view the entire passion play and savor the details.
Because, this is either the Fall of Rome, or the Renaissance. How wonderful is life!!!
As a college professor, I like to use examples of catastrophically bad decision-making as teaching tools. Examining the process and the reasons for failure teach us a great deal about how the world works, and how to identify when we might be in a similar situation. There is a side effect of also being very funny. It's easier to learn when there is some aspect of humor.
I have been hoping against hope that we would get to the point where there would be a shut down of the Federal Government. One can't imagine how much fun this is. I understand that for the tens of millions of Americans who will be impacted and possibly wiped out by this that it might seem that I'm callous to their suffering. But taken from the vantage that this is one of the very few immensely large scale teaching moments in nearly 6 decades, the potential for stripping away the rhetoric and deliberate misinformation about governments, markets and justice may have a greater impact on the US and possibly the world than the short term losses that may need to be endured.
We arrived at this point because of spectacularly bad judgment by many parties and over 3 decades. The confluence of anarchists, racists, class-warfare artists, corrupt politicians, and criminally acting business leaders generated this wonderful and exciting stew (I wouldn't denigrate gumbo by terming it such). I thought it would happen in 2010, but for some reason (like refusing to rip the band-aid off) we got it now. But, OH, how exquisite the torture of delay has been. The forces are now naked, the motives and machinations clear.
We are likely to only have two potential outcomes, but few things will be the same from here. Either we will become a republic much like Somalia is a republic, or we will gravitate to a Swedish/Nordic model. The polarization is too great and the dynamic has broken what little was left of the old equilibrium. Equity will win, or money will vanquish.
Regardless of the outcome, I am counting myself lucky to like in a time where I've got a private box with a valet to view the entire passion play and savor the details.
Because, this is either the Fall of Rome, or the Renaissance. How wonderful is life!!!
Total Comments 45
Comments
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@ Oak -- Dude you are funny. Apparently, you aren't finished. Obviously, your sources of information are poor -- which impacts the conclusions you draw.
"...these are not laws to save lives but more to make the expense of Health Care less while never addressing the true costs associated with that care."
You and Xan are mistaken about the ACA only attempting to address costs. See the report and testimony before Congress -- where the report finds: "Uninsured individuals experience much more risk to their health than insured individuals. In its 2009 report 'America's Uninsured Crisis: Consequences for Health and Health Care', the Institute of Medicine points to a chasm between the health care needs of people without health insurance and access to effective health care services. This gap results in needless illness, suffering, and even death."
America's Uninsured Crisis: Consequences for Health and Health Care - Institute of Medicine
I doubt you will read the report. But, anyway, there it is.Posted 10-16-2013 at 03:10 PM by WHODATINCA
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Isn't it interesting, however, that no one actually implemented solutions that likely would have made a difference? Solutions like, buying insurance across state lines, as you can with auto insurance; tort reform which has worked in Texas; Changing patent laws for pharmaceuticals to make scripts more reasonably priced; eliminating the anchor baby loophole and the problem with illegals abusing our system (And yes, there are Mexicans who have never stepped foot in the USA currently on Medicaid and Medicare). And I am missing quite a few still. Our National Nipple is no longer just a national one, but an international one. Isn't it any wonder we won't ever have a surplus anymore? The larger question looms however. If they actually know this will bankrupt our country faster and sooner then later, why are they indeed going forth with it? What is the ulterior agenda and who is behind it? Why not follow common sense approaches with simple things as ID for voting and getting healthcare so that they can verify citizenship? What is the left afraid of with ID laws to protect the sovereignty of the blessed country?Posted 10-19-2013 at 10:57 AM by SmashMouth
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Do you understand the difference between cost and price?
Here is a rudimentary explanation for you.
Economic Perspective: Price versus cost
Hopefully you can understand what i am about to say next, as it is very basic logic.
These are hypo dollar amounts but you should get the picture.
A bottle of Tylenol costs $6 to make and get to the local CVS, the local CVS charges you a price of $12. The on top of $6 that the CVS is not all profit most of it is consumed by indirect costs by CVS.
That same bottle of Tylenol has the same cost to a hospital but the hospital bills you or your insurance $15-$50 per pill because; some will say "the hospital has more indirect costs", some will say " because you get charged for the whole bottle whether you use it or not". The reasons go on as long as the internet.
You are more than welcome to explore it your self.
10 Wildly Overinflated Hospital Costs | Reader's Digest
https://www.google.com/search?q=hosp...ient=firefox-a
Now get past all of that and for arguments sake your insurance was billed $25 for that Tylenol pill, that is still not the price to you as the Insurance Company has indirect costs built into your premiums to cover the costs of running their company. As a matter of how insurance works you never pay the full price for anything, the costs to that Insurance Company get redistributed amongst all policy holders.
Now we are going to add Government indirects instead of Insurance Company on top of that. ACA has an administration, it has teams of people going door to door that are getting paid, its mas many levels of operational administration that normally make more in total comp that their counter parts in the private sector depending... That is all tax money... Oh and I will add $$100-500M for a website that doesn't work just for the hell of it.
Obamacare's broken website cost more than LinkedIn, Spotify combined | Digital Trends
Going back to my previous comment days ago. The ACA has done nothing to address the costs associated with that Tylenol and all of the gouging that goes on up the chain. All it has done, or shall I say, promises to do is lower the rates for Health Insurance... But it doesn't exactly do that does it? It functions like insurance so it doesn't lower the rates, it redistributes them into a larger pool. This is why the ACA fails with out the healthy younger participation.
If you want to truly lower healthcare costs, stop the price for the end payer for a tablet of Tylenol from being in the $100 range.
Why am I vehemently against this you still ask? My tax dollars are being burnt by incompetent politicians who turn a blind eye to the gouging that is the basis and structure of the health Care Industry.. They do not want to resolve the problem, they just want to put a patch on it by taking more money from me.
Now the Government is bringing in Verizon to fix their website? WTF??? More cost on top of wasted cost. Do you realize how many people the Government could insure for what they spent on that frikken website alone?Posted 10-23-2013 at 01:11 PM by TheOak
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As all industries should be, including embedded and payroll deducted taxes, if the consumer had to actually shell out from their wallets and write a check instead of dealing with our purposefully confusingly designed system, there would be pressure borne in all industries in keeping costs down, not that it would matter for the moocher crowd as they are on the dole anyway.Posted 10-30-2013 at 01:32 PM by SmashMouth
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I haven't read all the responses, but an early response insinuated the "Peace" movement (which was any damn thing but peaceful by the time it became popular - bastardized by then) influenced the end of the Vietnam War.
LOL
The author of this post must surely have skipped History Class. This can be verified by simply looking at the date of the first troop reduction. Then again, one must know a bit about the "Peace" movement to make any meaning of the initial reduction date, which is where this comment makes me laugh and spit skoal on my screen.
Elvis is not dead. Check the spelling on the stone.
Also in fact the United States ramped up its involvement in Vietnam through the duration of the "Peace" movement. Good Lord in Heaven how far we have fallen...Posted 11-01-2013 at 10:49 AM by saintfan
Updated 11-01-2013 at 03:06 PM by saintfan
