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What do you think of Medicare?

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What do you think of Medicare?
It should be expanded to include all Americans 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
It should be expanded to include long-term care 14%  14%  [ 1 ]
Both of the above 57%  57%  [ 4 ]
It should be abolished 29%  29%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 7

pandabear
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31 Aug 2009, 1:29 pm

No time to explain right now--my minutes at the library are almost over.

Basically, Medicare pays for medical care for most Americans over the age of 65, and for some disabled. It does not pay for long-term nursing home stays.



zer0netgain
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31 Aug 2009, 1:40 pm

I'd abolish it.

Medicare exists for only one reason. After a given age, no insurance company would touch someone because the odds of sickness or injury is so high they are a sure payout on any given year. To compensate, the policy premium would be so high nobody could really afford to buy coverage.

So, Medicare covers people who are too old to insure. Medicaid is for people who are younger but disabled/below an extreme poverty level.

If we rework how we deal with health care, Medicare would be unnecessary.

Frankly, my best retort for national health care is, "I'm all for it IF it's the same quality as what members of Congress now enjoy."



TitusLucretiusCarus
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31 Aug 2009, 2:15 pm

Quote:
Frankly, my best retort for national health care is, "I'm all for it IF it's the same quality as what members of Congress now enjoy."


good point



ruveyn
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31 Aug 2009, 6:00 pm

zer0netgain wrote:

Frankly, my best retort for national health care is, "I'm all for it IF it's the same quality as what members of Congress now enjoy."


Here is what federal employees get (which includes members of Congress):

http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp

The taxpayers pick up 72 percent of the premiums.

ruveyn



Sand
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31 Aug 2009, 11:08 pm

Keeping a nation healthy is as much a security problem as maintaining a strong military. I doubt anyone would advocate disbanding the armed forces on the basis they are too expensive to maintain or a citizenry with handguns is sufficient.



ruveyn
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01 Sep 2009, 7:42 am

Sand wrote:
Keeping a nation healthy is as much a security problem as maintaining a strong military. I doubt anyone would advocate disbanding the armed forces on the basis they are too expensive to maintain or a citizenry with handguns is sufficient.


I agree that we need an army. Does it have to be run by the government, which consists of congenital incompetents?

ruveyn



GreatCeleryStalk
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01 Sep 2009, 7:52 am

ruveyn wrote:
Sand wrote:
Keeping a nation healthy is as much a security problem as maintaining a strong military. I doubt anyone would advocate disbanding the armed forces on the basis they are too expensive to maintain or a citizenry with handguns is sufficient.


I agree that we need an army. Does it have to be run by the government, which consists of congenital incompetents?

ruveyn


As Blackwater have shown, private military/paramilitary forces are not immune to incompetence.



zer0netgain
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01 Sep 2009, 7:59 am

GreatCeleryStalk wrote:
As Blackwater have shown, private military/paramilitary forces are not immune to incompetence.


Blackwater is not incompetent....they are not accountable.

Same is true with the military. They spend like drunken sailors (both literally and figuratively) because nobody holds accountable the way contracts are awarded and how many industries rip off the taxpayer for what little is provided.

If we had financial accountability in the military-industrial complex, we could cut the military budget in half and still have money left over. The amount of wasteful spending is mind-boggling.