U.s. Government Shutdown

[Trick37]

Please give me your honest opinions (but keep it clean). I'm curious to see what those outside of the States think about this.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

Couldn't care less.

[honosthemis]

Couldn't care less.

 

You're just a perfect mixture of patronising and condescending.My opinion trick naw that it matters much is that it's a pish democracy when a party that isnae in power hauds the country tae ransom, so they're effectively running the country. Sounds like a s***e set up tae be honest mate.

[Cawston]

Please give me your honest opinions (but keep it clean). I'm curious to see what those outside of the States think about this.

 

Theres not been a great deal of coverage to be honest. The few bits I have seen have shown Ted Cruz to be a fairly despicable human being, Poilticos grandstanding and real people suffering. The kids cancer trials postponement being obviously emotive.

 

I don't get why the US people appear to be so wary of universal healthcare, liberty and justice for all and all that.

 

What's the reaction over there Trick, is any side in particular copping the blame?

[bigdoc1874]

I'm just waiting for one of the great deluded to come on and tell us all how this proves that Scotland should be independent.

[Cet Homme Charmant]

You're just a perfect mixture of patronising and condescending.

With you it's like shooting fish in a barrel, to be honest.

[chrissiboi]

Too many influenced by Fox news and talk radio. We don't need universal healthcare we need more guns and Jesus. Funny that the constitution omitted gods to the rights of the individual now you have politicians having to espouse their conversations with the almighty and that man defeated dinosuars as they were godless commies.

 

Wish we had a constitution, based on equality, but it shows even with the right ingredients incompetence will create a dogs dinner.

[TAFKAC]

Trick - Serious question. What is it that Americans have against access to free healthcare for all?

[Rasta Ton]

What I find interesting about the whole thing is that all federal employees are not getting paid and with the exception of the military have no guarantee that they will receive it retrospectively. Unless of course you are a politician in either the senate or congress who conti us to pick up their salary regardless. Another example of how those making the decisions don't feel the pain.

[Trick37]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll get back to your counter questions tomorrow....or later today...after I get some sleep.

[Trick37]

What I find interesting about the whole thing is that all federal employees are not getting paid and with the exception of the military have no guarantee that they will receive it retrospectively. Unless of course you are a politician in either the senate or congress who conti us to pick up their salary regardless. Another example of how those making the decisions don't feel the pain.

 

The President signed into law a provision to reimburse furloughed federal workers after this is all over (I’m required to work, thus I was already covered). The problem is that the longer this goes on, the harder it’ll be on people. I was already furloughed during the summer for 6 pay periods (12 weeks), and we were just now recovering from that. We can’t make payment on some bills now, and my next year of college classes may have to be postponed until May because of this (we have two other kids in school, too, and my wife has had to postpone her further education, too).

 

Good news with the new law is that 400,000 furloughed federal workers can come back to work. We hope that AFN (American Forces Network) will be included because AFN cannot currently broadcast TV and some radio programs. The only TV channels on AFN right now is AFN News, which mostly shows Fox News…and some CNN. Those stationed overseas, including those deployed to Afghanistan, are crying because they’re not “…getting (our) football fix on Saturday and Sunday…”. (Saturday=college football and Sunday=NFL football. There’s also the baseball play-offs that are gone, and let’s not forget the regular programming that’s broadcasted from the States…as in regular TV shows.) Personally, I speak German, so I can watch German TV, and I can watch CNN International, CNBC News and BBC News on the German satellite, yet people like my wife, who don’t speak the local language, can’t watch those shows on those stations.

You're just a perfect mixture of patronising and condescending.My opinion trick naw that it matters much is that it's a pish democracy when a party that isnae in power hauds the country tae ransom, so they're effectively running the country. Sounds like a s***e set up tae be honest mate.

 

I agree, mate. 40 TeaBaggers are holding the country hostage. I’m neither Republican or Democrat, but I do hope that the Republicans get raked over the coals in the Nov 2014 mid-term elections.

 

 

Theres not been a great deal of coverage to be honest. The few bits I have seen have shown Ted Cruz to be a fairly despicable human being, Poilticos grandstanding and real people suffering. The kids cancer trials postponement being obviously emotive.

 

I don't get why the US people appear to be so wary of universal healthcare, liberty and justice for all and all that.

 

What's the reaction over there Trick, is any side in particular copping the blame?

 

Nobody’s copping to the blame. They’re blaming each other.

 

 

Too many influenced by Fox news and talk radio. We don't need universal healthcare we need more guns and Jesus. Funny that the constitution omitted gods to the rights of the individual now you have politicians having to espouse their conversations with the almighty and that man defeated dinosuars as they were godless commies.

 

LOL! Like that one. The rights of the individual, which are not specifically stated in the Bill of Rights (1st 10 amendments to the Consitution) is actually stated in the 9th Amendment. Yet, the Right will fight that tooth and nail.

 

[Trick37]

Trick - Serious question. What is it that Americans have against access to free healthcare for all?

 

Americans against it (mostly Republicans) believe that they shouldn’t “…have to pay for the health care of others.” And they also don’t want “…the government to get involved in health care,…” thus “…telling us what to do.” Yet, their medical insurance (whoever has it) already pays for the health care of those that are uninsured….and it drives up the prices of those of us that have insurance because the hospitals (for instance) have to get “reimbursed” for the coverage that they gave to the uninsured.

 

For instance, every two weeks I and my employer pay my insurance premiums from my pay check. Here’s an example (again, every two weeks…meaning 26 pay periods per year):

 

From my pay: $138.51 X 26 = $3601.26

Employer Co-Pay: $415.52 X 26 = $10,803.52

Total: $553.71 X 26 = $14,396.46

 

That’s how much my medical insurance company received from my employer and me during every 2-week pay period, and every year (in 26 payments). Yet, I don’t use over $14 thousand in medical insurance (also covered is dental and medications).I understand that employees in the insurance company need to get paid, and other things need to be paid. But you can’t tell me that ALL of that money that’s paid to the insurance company gets used.

 

And now, let’s talk about what I get in return when I file a claim….50% of medication costs; 50-80% of medical costs, but AFTER a deductible is met (about $500-$4000); and about 50% of dental costs AFER a similar deductible. (Emergency care is usually at 100%.)

 

So, at the end of the year, when my insurance coverage automatically renews, where does the money go (which was paid into the “pot”)? My employer and I certainly don’t get reimbursed, so where does it go and what’s it used for? The answer….it goes into a pot, where the insurance company pays for those that are really sick and need a lot of coverage. The exact thing that happened with insurance before this “Omabacare” went into effect is what the Republicans are crying about….”their money is being used to help treat medical conditions of other people.” They don’t understand this at all. And they don’t want to.

 

What’s happening now is that people who’ve never had medical coverage are getting it, which means more money in the insurance “pots,” and which will hopefully mean that insurance coverage, medical costs and medications will cost less.

 

[Trick37]

Trick - Serious question. What is it that Americans have against access to free healthcare for all?

 

Americans against it (mostly Republicans) believe that they shouldn’t “…have to pay for the health care of others.” And they also don’t want “…the government to get involved in health care,…” thus “…telling us what to do.” Yet, their medical insurance (whoever has it) already pays for the health care of those that are uninsured….and it drives up the prices of those of us that have insurance because the hospitals (for instance) have to get “reimbursed” for the coverage that they gave to the uninsured.

 

For instance, every two weeks I and my employer pay my insurance premiums from my pay check. Here’s an example (again, every two weeks…meaning 26 pay periods per year):

 

From my pay: $138.51 X 26 = $3601.26

Employer Co-Pay: $415.52 X 26 = $10,803.52

Total: $553.71 X 26 = $14,396.46

 

That’s how much my medical insurance company received from my employer and me during every 2-week pay period, and every year (in 26 payments). Yet, I don’t use over $14 thousand in medical insurance (also covered is dental and medications).I understand that employees in the insurance company need to get paid, and other things need to be paid. But you can’t tell me that ALL of that money that’s paid to the insurance company gets used.

 

And now, let’s talk about what I get in return when I file a claim….50% of medication costs; 50-80% of medical costs, but AFTER a deductible is met (about $500-$4000); and about 50% of dental costs AFER a similar deductible. (Emergency care is usually at 100%.)

 

So, at the end of the year, when my insurance coverage automatically renews, where does the money go (which was paid into the “pot”)? My employer and I certainly don’t get reimbursed, so where does it go and what’s it used for? The answer….it goes into a pot, where the insurance company pays for those that are really sick and need a lot of coverage. The exact thing that happened with insurance before this “Omabacare” went into effect is what the Republicans are crying about….”their money is being used to help treat medical conditions of other people.” They don’t understand this at all. And they don’t want to.

 

What’s happening now is that people who’ve never had medical coverage are getting it, which means more money in the insurance “pots,” and which will hopefully mean that insurance coverage, medical costs and medications will cost less.

 

[chrissiboi]

Americans against it (mostly Republicans) believe that they shouldn’t “…have to pay for the health care of others.” And they also don’t want “…the government to get involved in health care,…” thus “…telling us what to do.” Yet, their medical insurance (whoever has it) already pays for the health care of those that are uninsured….and it drives up the prices of those of us that have insurance because the hospitals (for instance) have to get “reimbursed” for the coverage that they gave to the uninsured.

 

For instance, every two weeks I and my employer pay my insurance premiums from my pay check. Here’s an example (again, every two weeks…meaning 26 pay periods per year):

 

From my pay: $138.51 X 26 = $3601.26

Employer Co-Pay: $415.52 X 26 = $10,803.52

Total: $553.71 X 26 = $14,396.46

 

That’s how much my medical insurance company received from my employer and me during every 2-week pay period, and every year (in 26 payments). Yet, I don’t use over $14 thousand in medical insurance (also covered is dental and medications).I understand that employees in the insurance company need to get paid, and other things need to be paid. But you can’t tell me that ALL of that money that’s paid to the insurance company gets used.

 

And now, let’s talk about what I get in return when I file a claim….50% of medication costs; 50-80% of medical costs, but AFTER a deductible is met (about $500-$4000); and about 50% of dental costs AFER a similar deductible. (Emergency care is usually at 100%.)

 

So, at the end of the year, when my insurance coverage automatically renews, where does the money go (which was paid into the “pot”)? My employer and I certainly don’t get reimbursed, so where does it go and what’s it used for? The answer….it goes into a pot, where the insurance company pays for those that are really sick and need a lot of coverage. The exact thing that happened with insurance before this “Omabacare” went into effect is what the Republicans are crying about….”their money is being used to help treat medical conditions of other people.” They don’t understand this at all. And they don’t want to.

 

What’s happening now is that people who’ve never had medical coverage are getting it, which means more money in the insurance “pots,” and which will hopefully mean that insurance coverage, medical costs and medications will cost less.

If you look at the cost of healthcare elsewhere in the world the US pays way beyond anyone else and don't the value. Ok top end the medical equipment is top notch but for everyday use of medicines there are a gulf of price differentials.

The thing is it makes so much money just it can create so much negative publicity and be endorsed by big mouthed listen to me types who get coverage by the likeminded networks who promote the same political ethos, the people are duped.

 

We are getting closer to your system by the day as privatisation is being promoted as good while state intervention is seen as bad, this is not only for profit but to control life expectency.

 

 

 

[Trick37]

If you look at the cost of healthcare elsewhere in the world the US pays way beyond anyone else and don't the value. Ok top end the medical equipment is top notch but for everyday use of medicines there are a gulf of price differentials.

The thing is it makes so much money just it can create so much negative publicity and be endorsed by big mouthed listen to me types who get coverage by the likeminded networks who promote the same political ethos, the people are duped.

 

We are getting closer to your system by the day as privatisation is being promoted as good while state intervention is seen as bad, this is not only for profit but to control life expectency.

 

You hit the nail on the head...."for profit...". That's exactly what the insurance companies are in it for. They don't care about the health of those they insure....they care about the bottom line. They ("Big Medicine," "Big Hospital," "Big Network,"....ad nauseum...)not only don't care about the bottom line, but they also have lobbyists that give money and perks to members of Congress (mostly the Republicans/TeaBaggers), thus the voting of said congressional members is skewed towards what the lobbyists, and thus the "Big Corporations" want, instead of following their heart and what they know deep inside to be right.

 

[Scott_Gillan]

I think America is bankrupt and they are only papering over the cracks , Untill they balance the books this will keep happening and each time your closer to collapsing , There is only so much money the US can print before the currency collapses .

 

The fact an elected president is powerless to stop a small faction on goverment from shutting down the entire country is quite scary

 

Trick , Can I ask what the US people dont like about Obama care ? , From my side it looks like he wants everyone to have medical coverage as the US as a superpower that doesnt have universal healthcare is outrageous imo

[Trick37]

 

 

 

 

I think America is bankrupt and they are only papering over the cracks , Untill they balance the books this will keep happening and each time your closer to collapsing , There is only so much money the US can print before the currency collapses .

 

The fact an elected president is powerless to stop a small faction on goverment from shutting down the entire country is quite scary

 

I agree. They can't balance the books and get a budget because of the bickering and blocking of the process not just by the Republicans, but by the whiny, crybaby TeaBaggers. They claim that Obama "hasn't balanced a budget since he took office," which is not true between 2009-2011 because he had a Democratic Congress, but since then they're right...except that he has submitted a budget, yet the Republicans have blocked it in the House (which they control), thus it can't go to the Senate before going to the President for signature.

 

The Republicans blame Obama for the $15+ trillion in debt that we are, but they forget that Dubya (Bush II) inherited a SURPLUS from Clinton, and then threw it all away by tax breaks, tax "refunds" and like, all because "...it's not the government's money...it belongs to the people." That act alone erased the surplus and put us into debt. It went downhill from there because he did the tax cuts and refunds twice, and although the war in Afghanistan was a war that was justified (because of 9/11), the war in Iraq (in my opinion) was NOT. All the invasion of Iraq actually turned out to be, was a tantrum for Saddam's attempt to kill "daddy" in Kuwait during a visit, and (above all else) OIL. They banked on the oil flowing from Iraq to us and the West, thus reducing the price of petrol (which was rising sharply because of the economy and budget deficits)...but they were not only wrong, they were horribly wrong. Yet, the republicans refuse to see this. By the time Dubya left office, and Obama came into office, the national debt was $12 trillion (because of Dubya). Now it's 15+ trillion. But NOOOOOO....it's ALL the fault of Obama....HE and HIS policies are the fault for the debt.

 

And on the same line of discussion, here's our budget deficit chart. Obama took office in January 2009, and Dubya took office in January 2001. (Note that our budget is done on the "Fiscal Year," which ends on 30 Sep and starts on 1 Oct of each year.) As you can see, things got BAD under Dubya, and although they're still bad under Obama, he IS indeed reducing the deficit....drastically. Yet, he's "spending too much" and he's "going to bankrupt us" or "he's going to destroy our country."

 

 

 

[Trick37]

Trick , Can I ask what the US people dont like about Obama care ? , From my side it looks like he wants everyone to have medical coverage as the US as a superpower that doesnt have universal healthcare is outrageous imo

 

They equate a “universal health care” to “social health care,” which they in turn equate to “socialized health care,” which they equate to “socialism” and which they finally equate to “communism.”

 

The Republicans accuse Obama of being a “Socialist/Communist Kenyan Islamist” who’s going to “destroy the county and hand it over to the Muslim Brotherhood.” Thus, anything that’s his policy or the policy of his fellow Democrats, is bad….yet, Obamacare was based off the universal health care system in the state of Massachusetts, which was touted, passed and began by (are you ready?)…Mitt Romney. Yep, the same one who opposed Obama in the last election, and the SAME one who opposed the implementation of Obamacare (and who ran partially on that platform).

 

They also firmly believe that there’s an underlying plot by his administration to “hand the country over to the UN,” which they believe the UN will bring in “foreign troops to occupy our country, take away our rights, and take away our guns.” In fact, they firmly believe that the recent U.N. small arms treaty, which seeks to control and end the INTERNATIONAL small arms trades (i.e. to warlords, etc) is designed to be an end-around by the Obama administration to take down our 2nd Amendment, which gives us the right to keep and bear arms (weapons). This is FALSE, but they don’t want to hear it. In fact, and I know this may scare some of you, when this false info came out (pushed out, of course, by Fox News and the likes of Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh), guns and ammunition across the country started flying off the shelves left and right. People have stockpiled weapons and ammo to “repel the UN army” is they invade, and some have (because of the lack of available guns and ammo they want) started to buy kits (like for the AR-15) and shells and the like to make their own ammunition.

 

Back to your question….they see Obamacare as being bad, and they say it won’t work because “look at the state of health care in the UK, France, Germany”…etc. They think that those systems are failures, but I counter that although I’m not sure about the state of health care in France and the UK, I know for a FACT that the German health care system isn’t just excellent, but it’s thriving. They don’t want to hear that, though.

 

I hope I answered your question.

 

[Tom_McB]

We are getting closer to your system by the day as privatisation is being promoted as good while state intervention is seen as bad, this is not only for profit but to control life expectency.

 

I would not want the American system but by God I'd be very happy with the German, French or Dutch systems all of which are partially private and deliver superior care compared to the NHS.

 

Envy of the world? My @rse

 

Worth noting that this is from the Graun, cheerleader of the NHS.

[chrissiboi]

I would not want the American system but by God I'd be very happy with the German, French or Dutch systems all of which are partially private and deliver superior care compared to the NHS.

 

Envy of the world? My @rse

 

Worth noting that this is from the Graun, cheerleader of the NHS.

It is a study on cancer survival rates that does not encompass the services provided with the NHS. The biggest problems for the Health service are political ones and outwith the day to day running. Interference by ministers of Labour, Conservative and coalition have made decisions based on agendas rather than good governance.