US economic role

**CUSP82** · 02-22-2016

Peg we offer the best medical care in the world. Need and MRI? You guys in 2009 had 129 for the country. The state of New York has more than that. Yup I don't want to wait for one when I need one. Don't believe what the press writes.

**not2big** · 02-22-2016

I'm on Medicare and pay a little more for private supplemental insurance. I suffer from diabetic retinopathy. Thankfully, a recently developed eye injection, Eylea, has significantly improved my eyesight. My retinologist advised that had my condition occurred 15 years ago, I would be blind by now. The injections cost $5,000 each. However, after Medicare, my private insurance, and the Cronic Disease Foundation, I pay nothing.

Accordingly, I am quite proud of of the US medical system.

**Marlon LGHanger** · 02-22-2016

Originally Posted by dmizzle

I agree, thats why we need to start doing things like they. US was oncethe happiest place to live, now its gone way down. Its getting harder and harder to make it in the US. Between inflation, cost of education/student debt. Its hard to get a good job with no skills. Most of these happy Countries have free education and less rich "job creators" sitting on their piles of money.

Google Dennis Prager's post on FB today about the difference between "free market capitalism" and "crony capitalism".... very enlightening for those who don't understand the difference. We don't need to transition into a socialistic style of government. That would be the end of us foe sho! The reason we are experiencing a bad economy, the destruction of our health care system, and rising student loan debt can all be summed up in one word - OBAMA. His "hope and change" and desire to "transform" America has been the primary cause for the problems we are currently having.

Wanna lower student loan debt? Get government out of the funding business! These colleges understand when money is easy to get, then it's time to raise prices on tuition!

Besides nowadays the vast majority of college grads can't find jobs! Unless you are going to college for a law degree, medical degree, or engineering degree, you are wasting your time and money with a liberal arts degree!
There are plenty of good paying jobs to those who are skilled in the trades - carpentry, electrician, plumber, welder, machinist, auto body repair, auto mechanic / technician, just to name a few.

Carrier the AC / Heating company is moving it's US based facility in Indiana to Mexico. Why? It's not because American workers don't do a good job. It's because of EPA regulations that have raised the cost of manufacturing in order to comply with excessive and ridiculous environmental regulations, the cost of the government forcing employers to provide X number of dollars of mandatory health care. They don't need to deal with any of that stuff in Mexico, and they can hire people who will work for way less than a minimum wage. I won't purchase anything from Carrier in the future. I hope they have rolling brown outs and black outs with electrical power. I hope they have a drug cartel come knocking on their door with extortion demands to keep them safe. Who knows maybe a couple drug gangs will have a shoot out and bullets will be piecing the walls of the factory (this is what happened to Epson) when they moved their ink print cartridge automation facility down to Mexico.

**Pegasus** · 02-22-2016

Actually Cusp I have had no problem getting an MRI if I need one ,there is no shortage that I know of.
The Oecd were not impressed by the US medical system .

https://www.pegym.com/forums/gym/703...html?highlight=

**dmizzle** · 02-23-2016

Yeah, I always hear people say how we will have to wait for things like MRIs and surgeries, but when you actually talk to people in those Countries, they have no complaints or wait times.

And the problem with the US is not Obamas fault. College tuition has been on the rise for 30 years, and its not stopping. One simple thing to help, which Conservatives are against for some reason, is to allow refinancing of student loans. You give a kid with no credt a loan for 60k at 9% and he is stuck with it until its paid. Tell me thats not fucked up.

**CUSP82** · 02-23-2016

When I went to the schools I went to I had to go to a bank to get a loan. Sat down with a guy, had my parents co-sign; it was a big deal. Some people did not get loans.

Then the federal government came in and basically gave everyone loans. I watched year by year as I have kids that were going to college the prices rise; every year. The colleges were not stupid; they realized they would get their money so up went the price.

**KMWylie** · 02-23-2016

Originally Posted by dmizzle

Yeah, I always hear people say how we will have to wait for things like MRIs and surgeries, but when you actually talk to people in those Countries, they have no complaints or wait times.

And the problem with the US is not Obamas fault. College tuition has been on the rise for 30 years, and its not stopping. One simple thing to help, which Conservatives are against for some reason, is to allow refinancing of student loans. You give a kid with no credt a loan for 60k at 9% and he is stuck with it until its paid. Tell me thats not fucked up.

Re: socialized medicine... that's not necessarily true. I have lots of Canadian friends, and here are two of the most recent examples.

One friend works for the Brampton police department (near Toronto) - so, larger city with lots of doctors. She injured her shoulder at work. It took 2 months for them to do the surgery. Then, it took 8 months after to get the PT approved. By that time, her shoulder was really messed up. Now, she's finally started PT, but they're telling her it's going to be a significantly longer PT process, because it took so long to start. (She still can't lift her arm up. :-()

Another friend lives in the North Bay area - smaller than Toronto. She had gallstones. She literally couldn't eat anything other than broth and jello, without having a gallbladder attack. It took them almost 3 months to approve that surgery and get her in.

Now, how does this compare to the US? I had gallstones a few years ago. The time from my first attack to my surgery - just over a week. In and out - and no longer suffering.

I have a friend in Australia whose mother is 76. She needs bypass surgery. They are in the process of fighting to get it approved.

So, personally, I'm not a fan of socialized medicine. I think what we really need is things like tort reform, to reduce the costs medical professionals incur for insurance, due to our increasingly litigious society. We do need to have affordable healthcare options for those who are uninsured through employment; however, the government forcing citizens to buy into their plan is about the most un-American thing I can think of.

**Marlon LGHanger** · 02-23-2016

Originally Posted by dmizzle

Yeah, I always hear people say how we will have to wait for things like MRIs and surgeries, but when you actually talk to people in those Countries, they have no complaints or wait times.

And the problem with the US is not Obamas fault. College tuition has been on the rise for 30 years, and its not stopping. One simple thing to help, which Conservatives are against for some reason, is to allow refinancing of student loans. You give a kid with no credt a loan for 60k at 9% and he is stuck with it until its paid. Tell me thats not fucked up.

No college tuition rates are not all Obama's fault... you are right the price for a college education has been going up and up for a long time. But it's like I said, once government got into making it easier to get money, the colleges knew that they could screw people. I paid for both of my kid's college education, they have no student loans. My daughter got several scholarships and grants to help offset the cost, which started out at 38K per year, and at the end of her fours years the last year was 43K! I picked up the entire cost. I did take a loan for a portion of that with CitiBank at a 6 5/8% interest rate, then Obama was elected and forced consumers / lending institutions into the federal loan student loan program. My loan was took over by the federal government and immediately the interest rate was jacked up to 8.5%! It's now five years since my daughter graduated and I'm still paying on that loan! Fortunately I only have $4800.00 left to pay! Count the cost before you go head off to college to get a worthless degree that doesn't get you a job! I see these kids bitching about having to pay off 150K in student loan debt for a liberal arts degree in "Women's studies" or some other ridiculous degree that has no demand in the work place. Don't go to college if you can't afford it! There are plenty of other trades and professions that don't require a college degree! I have several friends that are successful business owners that only went to high school. One buddy owns an auto body shop and employs 12 people including his secretary and he lives in a 1.4 million dollar home on 10 acres, both him and his wife drive Mercedes. So don't tell me the deck is stacked against you!!!

**Pegasus** · 02-23-2016

Cusp I do not know about Canada but in Australia you can go private and pay for whatever medical care you want . So many people have private health insurance or pay for stuff out of pocket . The advantage of this is you can cut down wait times and choose your own doc . If you have something life threating the public system is good and waiting times ok. On the other hand for gallstones you might want to consider private as the wait time could be significant ,

**Pegasus** · 02-23-2016

The Australian govt student loans system outcompetes the private system and is a very good deal . The biggest problem at the moment is various private providers of diplomas in the private education system tailoring courses to pull down maximum Govt funds then using hard sell .