Re: Who will be the US "Big 3" in 2016?

In order to promote good transport systems and it is working

Excessive taxation slows economic growth. Hence the poor economic growth in Europe, over the past ten years or so, and the high unemployment rates. Free medical is anything but free. Surly you do not want the US to emulate Europe? ;)

mike hunt

Taxation on petrol has prompted new technology to go away from petrol and thus promoted smaller cars, bigger trains and better economy

US could do well emulating Europe

Europe has been improving a lot its transport system over the last decades and not the least because of controlled taxation by taxing petrol and promoting alternatives

Market economy with lots of interventions by the governments in health care and unemployment benefits has created a very good balance and a strong middle class

The high unemployment rates are mainly in former east areas and results of former centralised controled governments

The production per manhours is much higher in Europe than in the US

The norm is for 6 weeks paid vacations, many countries 35 hour work weeks, not unusual around 50 year pension schemes

The underground economy where people pay each other without letting the government know is also quite high so the overall economy is much better than the official figures show

Unemployed people, people on holidays, medical benefits or pensions are often working and paid with black money giving extra strenght to the economy

The US could learn a lot from Europe but they do not because they think they know it all

Mike Hunter wrote:

No, but it costs a lot less than health care in the US and everyone has it.

Why do you think gas cost

Here is a question for you, Mike. What is the second richest country in the world that doesn't have nationalized health care?

Let me guess - English is your second language? If not, you should find your high school English teacher and sue her for not doing her job.

"Mike Hunter" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@ptd.net:

Instead of creating a nationwide healthcare system, we oughta shore up the free market healthcare system in several ways. First, we need more MD's and nurses, and this can be done by creating more medical colleges and expanding nursing education programs. Quality of care would go up, and costs would go way down. Supply and demand. There are few spots open in medical schools. The difference in credentials between those getting in and those not getting in are negligable at best. There are many qualified people who can't get into medical school, because there are so few spots open. Also nursing. A family friend is a nursing professor at a university near here. There are way more applicants to the nursing program than spots open in the program -- about 5 to 1. There aren't many spots open (even though there's a huge demand for nurses to the point that some make $50/hour), because there aren't enough nursing instructors (they'd rather make $50/hour as nurses in the hospital rather than $20/hour as nursing instructors at a college). We need to increase funding for nursing instructors so as to train more nurses. Also, we need to cap these huge medical malpractice jury awards. Many times, the awards are lopsided. A few victims get the lion's share of the malpractice dollars available, while others get nothing due to the malpractice insurance co. going bankrupt. Capping awards would lower the huge rates that doctors have to pay. All of these measures WOULD lower medical cost and increase the level of time a physician could spend with their patients, and overall improve the healthcare industry.

Really? The Canadian government can command a US company to sell its products in Canada and then set the price? And all the other countries can do this also? How does that work?

Don't be naive. Big Pharma makes a good profit selling to those other countries. They are making a killing in the US. Don't believe the big sob stories about their research and FDA approval costs and the great new drugs they give us. While there are constant improvements in drugs, most new drugs launched on the market are little or no better than the old ones and a new drug always carries an uncertain risk. And a lot of the research is marketing driven.

A lot of work needed, no doubt. Fortunately there are lots of working models to learn from.

If you want to be scared, check out the number of personal bankruptcies which are caused by medical expenses and the stories behind them.

Everyone who want to lower health care cost in the US should write to their Senators and ask them to vote to stop debate, on pending tort reform legislation so it can come up before the Senate for a vote, and you will have more Doctors and Nurses. I have a personal friend, a well known heart surgeon who no longer practices because of Mal Practice Insurance costs.

mike hunt

But medicare pays less than private insurance. And private insurance pays less than you do with no insurance. How the hell can it be Medicare's fault that the price is high. The fact is that Medicare runs a very tight ship. (Except for Bush's welfare subsidy to Big Pharma masquerading as a drug plan for seniors.)

Yep, what we have now is the most expensive health care in the world. When you look at it that way, hard to imagine that the government could make it worse.

You must have your head pretty far up something if you haven't heard that:

1. The US is virtually(?) the only industrialized nation that does not have universal nationalized health care
2. The US has the highest per capita health care costs in the world by far.
3. The overall quality of US health care is mediocre.

1. All the above are getting worse.

Read up:

The study authors reviewed health care spending data on 30 countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the year 2003. U.S. citizens spent $5,267 per capita on health care. The country with the next highest per capita expenditure, Switzerland, spent $3,446 per capita. The median OECD country spent $2,193 per capita.

Take it to email or an appropriate newsgroup.

Just go to alt.autos.toyota if you want to see what you're turning this previously fine newgroup into.

You think the government can not make things worse? You have never been in a VA hospital or seen by a VA doctor. Piss poor doctors and second rate coverage if you can even get into a Hospital or find a doctor

You are confused Medicare sets the rates charged by hospitals and doctors in a given area, and sets them high. I don't know what private coverage you have but my coverage arranges with doctors and hospital to pay far less than Medicare allows per person in the area. The reason Medicare pays five times as much as the VA for the same coverage, is Medicare payments to hospital are a round about way to reimburse hospitals and doctors for free emergency care they must provide, under the Hill Burton Act, for the indigent.. The only was a doctor can charge you less than the Medicare rate is for him not to treat Medicare patients

Paying for drugs was never a problem for me but I now spend around $250 less a month for my meds, since the drug law went into effect, and I do not buy part 'D'. The sad part is, even though I never applied for SS, because of the Medicare law I can not even buy private coverage unless I sign up and pay for part 'B.'

Because of all the old folks in Florida, they get all of their drugs free and need not pay a monthly premium.

mike hunt

I guess we would be better off if the government gave us all free medical care, free drugs. Why stop there? What about giving us a free insured car to go to the doctor, as well as buying the gas to run it. How about a free cell phone to call 911 if needed? How about three months paid medical leave for us and our families when somebody gets sick? How about maid service when we can't clean the house when we get sick. How about paying somebody do to our grocery shopping? How about a minimum wage of $25 a hour, and a 30 hour week so we don't have to work hard to get the things we 'need?' How about a displaced worker payment equal to our take home pay, when all of our jobs go off shore because of all the imports we buy? How about a free college education like in Russia, so we can go to China to design the Toyotas they will soon build there for the American market? Hell we can just raise the death tax to 95% and raise tax rates for the rich to

mike hunt

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" wrote in news:elmop- snipped-for-privacy@nntp2.usenetserver.com:

Obviously you don't care about things that are important. So why not just overlook the off-topic threads and move on? Or killfile some folks. You pencil necked geek.

I care.

But you don't get into heated debates about health care in the middle of my son's school Christmas play.

Everything has an appropriate time and place, and an inappropriate time and place.

I suppose you go to Wendy's and stand at people's lunch tables and start screaming your opinions about welfare, right? After all--according to you--"you care" and therefore it's appropriate, right?

Correct.

Incorrect.

I base my above comments on Canada, which has had Gov. basic medical care for many years at a nominal quarterly cost per individual. Medical costs in Canada are much less and even those who don't have a good medical plan or lots of money get the same care. A big cost saving in Canada is the approx. 30% cost in the USA of insurer overhead cost. As for drugs they are much lower cost in Canada and there is a rebate based on income. Those with lots of money can afford the drugs.

The stories of USA citizens, often seniors, who can't afford required medical procedures, is very sad. Even China has very low cost or free medical.

As I recall, the economy was doing pretty well back in those Kennedy days.

The rich can leave as long as they pay the 95% exit tax that will fund our nationalized health care. Like Bill Gates told the graduates, life isn't fair.

And why shouldn't we raise the lazy bum rich kids windfall tax to 95% (of the estate over $1 million)? Like Bill Gates told the graduates, life isn't fair.

I love how you snip the bottom half of my post and then jump back up and top post your response. Must have been something there that really bothered you.