Quote: THe pregnancy clause covers spouses. Ileft work to become a stay at home mom, and thru my DH's insurance I was covered.
Insurance is not about the indiviual, it is about the population.
Food for thought. In my state people got emergency health care at the expense of the state when they did not have health insurance. Why is that fair? DH pays for our health insurance AND pays for the person who doesn't. Hospitals here don't turn away people who are in need of care but cannot pay in an emergency. ANd this was BEFORE universal health care in Massachusetts.
Skip the insurance and pay the fine. Let the stupid law collapse under it's own weight.
I think it is unfortunate that the benefits of everyone paying to the health caresystem cannot see the long term value. I understand people are upset by it; Our GOvoner said it took 2 years to get the website working well here at the start up. IMO we should give it a chance. AND . . . . work to get ourselves a whole lot healthier and not need a lot of the medical care that sucks up money unnecessarily.
For example----- eating quality vegetables every day like arugala, alfalfa sprouts and onions and mushrooms, etc are cancer fighting nutreint dense foods.
That type 2 diabetes is preventable and curable by eating a proper diet that severly limits sugars, refined carb foods and junk food. How many of you are aware that the same Standard AMerican diet also causes: strokes, heart attackes, gout, RA, aarthroschlerosis, and many more degenerative diseases?
Toothe decay is far less on a meat and veg diet than thediet of foods we love to eat.
As I read thru this thread, I read a lot of bitching, but no suggestions on what each of us can do to change the situation to help ourselves and our family members.
Get learning how to grow food and teach your family and neighbors. Learn to can and freeze foods. ( My lanb is still edible 10 yrs in the freezer-- tossed some for freezer burn tothe chooks.) Look at how you will feed your animals-- that is expensive. Consider raising meat rabbits, or ducks as well as chickens. But only raise what you can afford to feed. Add more vegies to your diet and eat 2 salads every day when the garden is prosperous.
A lot of land is not necessary to accomplish these goals. Lots of gardening in small space info on line.
Keep healthy: exercise regularly like walking for 30-60 minutes everyday. REv up the body to better utilize the foods we feed it. We were not meant to be sedintary.
THere are countries around the world that are in worse condition that we are. Oddly the world economy runs off the american dollar. That is a huge resposiblity on the shoulders of a few men in our governemnt.
INvest in yourself: education, health, friendships. Keep a good guard dog. FOrget the cats, get a chicken to eat the mice. lol
Your discussion is very thought pervoking. THe US cannot stay as the world leader forever-- no country has ever done that. Many countries have passed their heyday and are still wonderful places to live.
WE need to quit the war in Afghanistan---- these last 10+ years ( so many years that I canot remember the beginning date anymore) have eaten a huge amount of our money. I'm betting that money would have covered a good percentage of our debts.
We need jobs here in this country to put all people to work. Several businesses have chosen to do just that. As the wages rise in CHina, keeping the manufacturin here is often a better choice for a company. More of the manufacturing needds to come here. I do not support giving out free money , better to have low paying jobs and the dignity of a good days work. THis has disappeared. Stop the handouts and see how many are then willing to work. We cannot keep going the way we are now. People need to give back to the community for every dollar they get. ANd get tubes tied for both men and women once they have 2 kids and are on assistance. When they are off assitance and are making a good wage/income, then they can pay to have a reversal.
So while there is a bit of ranting on these 4+ pages, do consider how you can make yourr comminuty a better community. NOt just complain, but change.
So everyone pays for pregnancy insurance so the ones that need it will pay less. Then should everyone pay car insurance even if they don't have a car ? You were covered under his insurance because him or his employer paid for it. Why do you want me to pay for it also ?
"Food for thought. In my state people got emergency health care at the expense of the state when they did not have health insurance. Why is that fair?"
No it's not "fair" it's the humanitarian thing to do, should we refuse treatment to injured and sick people ?
"
For example----- eating quality vegetables every day like arugala, alfalfa sprouts and onions and mushrooms, etc are cancer fighting nutreint dense foods.
That type 2 diabetes is preventable and curable by eating a proper diet that severly limits sugars, refined carb foods and junk food. How many of you are aware that the same Standard AMerican diet also causes: strokes, heart attackes, gout, RA, aarthroschlerosis, and many more degenerative diseases?
Toothe decay is far less on a meat and veg diet than thediet of foods we love to eat."
So should the government mandate what we eat for the good of the "population". Will they mandate how much exercise we do each day ? Should they ban any foods that are not good for us ?
How many rabbits should a family living in a 2 bedroom apartment be raising ? How much of their own food should they grow ?
When we all chip in the overall cost is more affordable to everyone. I have yet to know of anyone that doesn't use health services at sometime in their life. Life flight helicoptes are very expnsive; heck, just an ambulence ride is crazy expensive, but then the cost of running the service for our community is crazy expensive.
Health care is a universal need; just like education is provided for all in the US. WOuld you like to give back your education because that was paid for by tax dollars.? Education and health care are viewed by most people as the greatest contributors to overall well being of the members of our society.
If I could ask the government to dictate food, it would be to elimate all the snack foods in the middle aisles of the gorcery stores. IT will never happen because of the power ofthe lobbiest. Heck, it is the grass roots efforts that is making the information known that the government support of the stupid food pyramid is way off base. I made the choice of dumping most of the high grain foods in favor of more fruits and vegetbles-- and my pediatrition of mid-East decent totally supported this goal. I see all the crappy food full of sugar and white flour provided as free and reduced breakfasts to the poor of my town at school courtesy of the federal government. ANd lunch is only marginally better. My kids pack a bagged lunch everyday. School lunch is cheaper to buy BUT the cost in poorer health is a BIGGER cost.
In the area I live I am already dictate to as to the number of animals I can have. GOvernement already decides that for millions of people living in some cities chickens cannot live withing the sity limits. OTher cities have taken a different point of view.
IN my state all cars on the road must be insured for damage to anothers property. All cars. In the state next to me, RI, insurance is optional. Those that have an accident without insurance walk away without paying for the damage even if they are at fault in too many instances.
Please understand I am not for bigger government-- I would actually like to see a significant cut back. HOwever what I see is more and more people wanting the free and the give me attitude.
As for the insurance that covers pregnancy-- you better hope that no one in your immediate family gets pregnant. THe costs of the endless testing and perhaps treatment is very expensive. YOu have no idea how woman are treated apparently. WOnce we are pregnant we becomepublic property and have fewer rights to decide about our own bodies. Mothers are the most critized group. I am judged for everything I do and don't do as others deem important regarding the health of my born and unborn babies. SO yes, please pay into the insurance system to help cover the women that need health care during their pregnancy and to help keep appointments and testing and treatment affordable. I decided to be the best mom I could by quitting my job and focusing on raising well behaived children that will contribute to positively to our society. Having healthy babies is less of a stress on our society. Having healthy children is less of a stres on our society. ANd it all starts with prenatal care BEFORE a woman becomes pregnant. Can anyone look up the death rates of pregnant women?? It is far higher than non-pregnant woman.
If you aren't willing to pay into the health care system to support healthy pregancies and children, are you willing to be sterilized ? I ask in all sincereity--- I know of one friend that almost died giving birth to her second child. Where does that leave her first child-- without a mother and guide thru childhood?
Health insurance isn't for the individual it is for our population as a whole. IT works like taxes--A friend in rural Maine pays far more in property tax than I do in Massachusetts. OVerall my town has far more money to work with because of the density of the housing. OVerall my town has far more services from painting 4 lines on the roads to regular plowing and salting of the roads in winter for example. I remember in Hancock country in Maine the roads wer not plowed all winter, and we drove on packed an rutted snow. THere was no money for plowing.
Overall I would like to see less regulation in many areas as I do think this is stiffling growth-- but we need to somehow balance this with safety. I know what went into building my house-- the number of permits, and safety inspections thru the whole process. I was grateful for the inspector we had as he caught a few important areas that we had forgotten. IN the end he said this was one of th best built houses he had ever seen. We built the house, not a contractor. We cared about the details. NOt the bottom dollar. BUt if you have money as the drive, who is looking out for the future buyers? THat is the purpose of the expensive inspection system. Of course there are faults in the system . . . but I'll leave that for another day . . .
So again, I will challenge you all to think about what can you do in your own communites to prepare for the worst to come. Plan now what you can grow in the spring and get seeds over the winter if you are in the far north; and if in the south , look at what you can plant NOW-- lots of winter hardy vegies to start now. How can you help a neighbor start a garden. Good neighbors keep you safer. Reach out and get to know your neighbors. I'm not saying you need to trust your neighbors, but to know your neighbors. Create communities again.
Our country is morphing, and likely on the decline as it has not seen great economic growth for decades, but that is not the end, it is a new beginning.
I think of the native americans that lived off the land, with out pay to provide for their families. Is this a clue to our future?
