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I know what you mean. I used to have a lot of respects for the Clintons, but the more I find out about them this election year the harder it is to keep that respect.

Come and see what I'm rambling about now

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22926743/

Nearly enough to make me a Republican. (I said nearly, not definitely.)

ToastTheTrends- Fashion
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god, can we please just leave the country anyways? i can pack and be ready within 24 hours....just need a fatty bank account to go along with the desire to get the heck out.

Airing my dirty laundry at: Peacocks on Leashes

Ok, what the hell is this crap???? Planning to sneak outta the country behind my back??? We have a deal, remember???? You get the awsome villa with a little house for me so that I'm looked after when I'm old and crazy! Which, if you listen to my brother - that's pretty much now. ;-p

STALKING EDGAR ON MYSPACE

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but with the rate social security is going, I suspect I'll find out right about the time I need it. :S

ToastTheTrends- Fashion
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isn't what it used to be. Especially if it were to become privatized. I just checked my W-2 yesterday and found that out of the $9800 that came out of my paychecks for 2007 $2200 of that went to Social Security. Now, how much of that do you think I'll actually ever see when it comes time for me to use it?

Come and see what I'm rambling about now

Without Social Security we would have a nation of people who grew up knowing that they had to plan for their own future instead of relying on the government to do it for them. Hell, SS checks only allow them to spend their last years in poverty and decline, anyway.

Now, I'm not saying that Social Security should be done away with. I grew up expecting to feed from that teat and I haven't planned for my retirement any better than the rest of the country that's expecting to have that income when they retire. What I am saying is that it was a bad idea to begin with and that bad idea has been exploited and corrupted by the government ever since. We should have a huge surplus in the SS account right now but, because the government uses SS funds as part of the total national budget and "borrows" from it on a regular basis, we are looking at huge deficits in the not-so-distant future.

I think we should take a lesson from the SS system when we start talking about a forced national health insurance system....and then just don't do it.

I really don't know why socialized medicine carries such a stigma. Canada has it and all the terrible things you hear about Canada's health care just aren't true. No, I am not basing this off of a Michael Moore movie.

My boss is from Canada and he explained to me how it works. Basically, middle class people and up pay into a government health care fund every month. It is a small percentage of what you make. I believe my boss said when he lived there he was paying $200/mnth. He was also upper middle class.

This money is then distributed accordingly throughout all of Canada's health care system. Because of this, if you are poor you don't pay anything, ever. Because of this, you don't pay co-pays, you don't pay for surgeries, you don't pay for medications. Why? Because those who can afford a "medical tax" have it deducted from their pay monthly. In other words, they don't pay twice for the samething.

I've been trying to find a problem with this system and so far I have been unable to. Can someone please help me find out why socialized medicine is the evil pinko bastard of this century?

Come and see what I'm rambling about now

I had to step away from the initial fear and remind myself that these systems have been in place in other countries - including the UK. The only problem I have seen so far is delay in some treatments. Remember, Inquest of a Woman had to wait painfully long months to get the surgery she needed. And, last time I spoke to her, the problem had arisen again and she felt she'd need another procedure.

BUT, BUT, BUT - is that really something to bitch about???? Uh, the tooth problem I had recently is noteworthy. It was only until coming back to California when I was able to receive dental coverage under the states programs that I could finally have it fixed! If there had been something in place like this, I never would have gone through the years of this problem becoming worse and worse.

So, it seems to me that waiting for treatment is way better than no treatment at all! I just wasn't sure if the other countries made it manditory. That I wanted to be sure of before speaking up.

STALKING EDGAR ON MYSPACE

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it's mandatory in the sense that those who can afford to be taxed are going to be. Just like we are taxed for certain programs here. But mandatory healthcare?? It's not like we would think of it. Here, you've got plans like Edwards had, where you HAD to get checkups. Great, so what if I refuse?? Guns? Jail? The evil eye?? What?!? In other countries, it's just available if you need it.

That's what I understand anyway. I'd be happy to hear the correct way if I'm mistaken.

ToastTheTrends- Fashion
My original fashion site
Watch my AeroGrow

but it is a good question. But, I also look at it this way - how on earth would they have the means or the man power to know if I didn't get a check up??? It just seems too difficult a thing to keep track of. Of course, there does need to be an answer to that qustion. What would they do????

If they were smart, the government would do like some insurance companies do and offer incentives. The group insurance offered where I used to work in Big Spring offered cash incentives for getting yearly paps and mamograms. I'm all for preventive medicine, but there is a reality that it isn't always easy to get to the doctor for yearly anythings.

I'll look more into this tonight if I get a signal on my laptop. My brother will be home soon and taking over his computer! Bastard! LOL

STALKING EDGAR ON MYSPACE

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Absolutely, Spooky. Hell, if you don't have the money you just don't get the treatment - period. I had gall bladder attacks (and these are bad - believe me) for three years and just had to live with them because I had no insurance and no money for treatment. When I finally got a job that offered insurance the problem had gotten so bad that it had caused issues with my liver. So, waiting for a couple of months for treatment just doesn't seem like such a big issue in the face of something like that. I also have friends from the UK that are horrified at our medical system.

Enforced enrollment in a national health insurance plan just sounds like another opportunity for an enormous government cockup and another chance for the government to misappropriate funds. On the other hand, and I don't consider this a contradiction at all, I have always been in favor of socialized medicine.

They can't be trusted not to fuck us over in some way, for true. But, we also can't exactly have some other government handle our health system. So, it seems like we'll have no choice but to deal with what we've got. And, that's what we have now. To figure out the best way to put this into effect that wouldn't screw us. I actually have NO FAITH that this will be even close to smooth when it first begins. But, it's gotta start somewhere.

The only thing I find more worry-some about all this is that it's taken us this long to even consider having our own NHS!

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