jcd11235

Unless we're black, yes. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Probably correct in many/most cases. That they may receive better treatment than they would get in the US is just an added bonus. That may also be true, at least for the ones who do not come from one of the 36 countries with superior health care compared to the US. Exactly. They do not provide useful statistics w/r/t the discussion. Just like your examples are not offer useful statistics with respect to the discussion. Thanks for reiterating that point. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I just checked, and the least expensive plan available to me (single 35 yo male non-tobacco) is $3908.68 annually, including deductible. That's not exactly a bargain for anything except catastrophic care. I currently pay far less than that paying cash as I go. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Nope. Adding demand doesn't always drive down prices. Nor does it always increase prices. For example, the US consumes more gasoline/diesel than any other country in the world, yet our fuel prices are among the lowest world wide. Supply and demand are very real forces in economics. They are not, however, the only forces, nor are they always the dominant forces that determine market prices. I suspect that the widespread belief that they are the primary forces of economics is a consequence of (among other things) students being exposed to economics long before they are exposed to multivariate calculus. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

One of the problem's with President Obama's healthcare plan during the campaign was that it didn't allow insurance companies to deny coverage, but also didn't require everyone to obtain insurance coverage. That's a non-workable combination. It would result in many young, relatively healthy people opting to go without health insurance, increasing premiums for everyone else (compared to what they would be if everyone were required to obtain coverage). If insurance companies are not allowed to deny coverage, then everyone must be required to obtain coverage. More generally, it is a fallacy that the government is less efficient than private industry. Neither is inherently more or less efficient than the other. Actually the private sector are there to make a profit. Denying coverage is just one of the ways in which they accomplish that. Private insurance companies make profits by offering consumers a negative expected value on their premiums. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I lost count. Do you know the exact number of foreigners who have access to health care in their own countries that come to the US to receive care instead? Somehow I doubt it. The point is, using such examples to support your assertion is ludicrous, because the medical "tourism" goes both ways. If you want to try to support your claim, you'll have to use real evidence. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

You might want to take another look at the US Constitution if you really believe that BS. Pay close attention to Articles I and V, as well as the 16th amendment. The "we shouldn't be paying taxes in the first place" argument is unsupported, and typically promoted by tin foil hat wearing Libertarians (who are only a subset of Libertarians). Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

While your there, you two could have a marksman competition. (My money's on the redhead.) Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Then are "frequent fliers" in terms of calls for service with emergency services responsible for more of the upkeep in the system? Since those calls are preventing officers from patrolling other parts of town for preventative enforcement in terms of burglaries, narcotics activities and such. That was my point with my example with registration fees for vehicles. In theory, yes. The "frequent fliers" should be paying more via fines levied onto them by the courts after convictions. In practice, that system probably doesn't work nearly as well as basing vehicle registration fees on vehicle types/weights and funding road maintenance with fuel taxes. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Pssst … whole life insurance is a form of term life insurance. Insurance in general is a losing proposition for policy holders, providing a positive expected value only for the insurance companies. While different kinds of life insurance are suited for different needs of different customers, none are really inherently better or worse than others. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Not at all. Research simply indicates that US healthcare isn't that great compared to the rest of the developed world. Denying that our health care system is broken isn't going to help matters. So, why is it that so many Americans go abroad for health care? Is it also because "the quality of care sucks in their country"? Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Move to a more hospitable climate. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I have no doubt that the very best care available in the US is comparable to the very best care available in any country. However, if we only look at the quality of the best care the US has to offer, and the wealthy recipients of that care, we get no useful information about the average care that the average recipient receives, which is far more useful information. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I suspect the underlying motivation behind such variable registration fees has much to do with the relative difference in wear and tear on the roads due to use of the different vehicle types, which seems reasonable. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The US is far from having the "best medical care in the world." It's only the most expensive. If that were true, the rich wouldn't be coming to the states for medical treatment. If your argument were ingenuous, you would compare the means, medians, etc. of different countries, not the actions of elites (outliers). Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Absolutely agree (on the health care part). Health care (providing it and financing it) should all be in the not-for-profit realm. Organizations adminstered by trustees with a goal of positive impact on public health and no interference from needing to satisfy stockholders. It is a very good solution because there is still pressure to be effective and answer to a bottom line (need to be solvent and maintain claims reserves while ensuring good outcomes) but there is no pressure to not pay for needed care. In fact, with proper auditing in place, there is every incentive to get it right. Your suggestion is the first reasonable alternative to socialized healthcare that I've read in this forum. While I'm not sure whether or not I agree with your solution, it does address some of the underlying problems. More importantly, it doesn't reek of the all too common denial of the current system being broken and badly in need of repair. Thanks for offering an option C to what is typically a binary discussion. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

There are some who, unfortunately, seem to believe that only large corporations like WalMart should have such buying power, not individual consumers. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Would you prefer that postal workers read your mail before delivering it, and deciding for you what is important and what is not? I'm pretty sure that it's capitalism that encourages companies to advertise to potential customers. Are you suggesting that we eliminate capitalism so you won't be inconvenienced when you check your mail? Agreed. What do you suggest should be done about the problem? Should we ban hard copy advertisement? I suspect that would only serve to increase email based spam and telemarketing. It might even cause television networks to cram 40 minutes of programming into each hour instead of 44. Should we just make it illegal to use the USPS for advertising? I suspect that would lead to more flyers on my windshield and front door. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

The US is far from having the "best medical care in the world." It's only the most expensive. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I don't think anyone expects doctors to provide free health care. Having said that, providing tax funded universal basic and emergency healthcare should be a priority for the USA. Our current system is far too inefficient. It's absurd (IMO) that the easiest, and often the only way for some people to access healthcare is via the emergency room, when it would be less costly to get the necessary care at a non-emergency clinic. Certainly there are those who abuse the system. That's true of all systems, not just healthcare, and not just by the poor (e.g. Enron, WorldCom, Moody's, mortgage brokers). However, it is not in the nation's best interest to proverbially spend a dollar ensuring a dime isn't stolen, an inefficient practice that is all too common in this country. As a consumer, I like to get the most bang for my buck. As a taxpayer, I fail to see much bang for the buck when (effectively) free emergency care for non-emergency (or conditions that began as non-emergency) is more readily accessible than free preventative care. If taxpayers are going to foot the bill, they deserve a more cost effective system than the current one. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I thought we only sent weapons to Israel. Besides, they have a subtropical climate; they can grow plenty of their own. To paraphrase (badly) LBJ: We shouldn't be sending reefer to Israeli boys that American boys ought to be smoking themselves. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

I'm not aware of any private insurance companies with administration costs as low as Medicare's. Medicare's admin costs are about 5.2% (some estimates are as low as 2%), while private insurance admin costs, including commissions, profit, etc., average 16.7% (some estimates are as high as 20-25%). While some people might be okay paying that extra 11.5%, I would prefer a more efficient system. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

As though you've never heard that two heads are better than one. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

Seems the Constitution guarantees the rights of the people to be assinine. Interesting. What happens when we read that section with the emphasis placed differently? Could you please explain how the public good may have required passage of Prop 8? Thanks. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

@ Pinna and Remster Thanks for the input. A little bit more research revealed that Motobecane USA is not affiliated with the French company with the long bicycle history and good reputation. It appears that all of the authorized retailers have similar deep discounts, which indicates to me that the list price is inflated, rather than the selling price being reduced. I ended up pulling the trigger on a similarly configured bike, a Redline Monocog 29 that received better reviews. I agree that one generally gets what one pays for, but currently my budget does not allow me to order the any of the bikes that I want. One of the attractions of rigid forks and single gear is that if I don't have to pay for derailleurs or suspension, the rest of the bike can be of higher quality than I could otherwise expect, while still staying within my budget. I'm going to find out soon enough how well that strategy has worked, I guess. Thanks again for your input. Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!