Nice editorial this morning in the chronicle about why tort reform is a red herring. I think the philosophical argument above, coupled with the quantitative data supplied repeatedly by Major et. al. should end the debate on this subject. Aside: This strikes close to home at the moment as I recover from surgery. I think some of what happened in my situation might be grounds for at least discussing the situation with a lawyer, but I know darn well there is no money in it, and consequently no hope of a lawyer being interested.
Please point out the provisions in the bill as written with regards to the public option that will cost the taxpayers. Oh, that's right, you can't point out something that doesn't exist. Now, go back to denying scientific data and allow the adults to have a conversation. Alternatively, you could begin debating based on facts rather than assumptions.
What a relief. This is especially true considering that failure to carry insurance will carry a tax penalty, but NOBODY has proposed jail time for it. You either knew that already and were creating a strawman or you have not gotten informed in the slightest on the topic before reacting in a knee jerk fashion. Which is it?
I'm curious do you have auto insurance and / or homeowner insurance or do you refuse to pay for those even though the law mandates you have them?
Easy solution would be for the IRS to either not issue your tax refund or simply withhold more of your wages.
That is a good point that you could rent, in which case though you pay insurance in directly, or choose to ride public transit. That said most Americans seem OK with owning a car and paying for insurance.
The IRS will put a tax lien on your wages. That is what they currently do if you decide you just don't want to pay your taxes. They do pursue criminal charges when there is clear evidence that you are attempting to commit fraud, such as when people try to hide their money in offshore accounts.
Yes, but there is a key difference. If you choose not to own a car, you will not get in a car accident, so you won't ever need insurance. However, you can't choose not to get sick. If you do get sick and don't have the money to pay for your care, you're forcing someone else to pay for you, either through taxes or through higher insurance premiums.
I never understood why we don't just take it out of of peoples paychecks like what they do with child support? Obviously this won't work with people who aren't paying taxes on their wages but it would generate SOME money and payback into the system? Scenario: Guy walks into hospital gets worked on and has a $10,000 bill. Government takes $100 / check until the $10,000 bill is payed off. Sounds a lot better than having 0 (Zero) paid by the patient.
Seems there is a push by senate democrats to push through the healthcare bill with the Public Option re-instated, by using reconciliation. Schumer Signs Public-Option-Via-Reconciliation Letter Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has signed a letter urging Democratic leadership to pass the public option via reconciliation. In a fund-raising email to supporters, Schumer announced that he had signed the letter, becoming the 17th senator to do so. He lauded the "tenacity" of the four senators who originally signed the letter. "This is far from a done deal, but it's an opportunity to break through the obstructionism Republicans have pushed for the past year," he wrote. The letter, written by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), will be sent to Majority Leader Harry Reid. The signatories so far: Sens. Bernie Sanders (VT), Al Franken (MN), Patrick Leahy (VT), John Kerry (MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Michael Bennet (CO), Sherrod Brown (OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Jeff Merkley (OR), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Roland Burris (IL), Barbara Boxer (CA), Jack Reed (RI), Tom Udall (NM), Barbara Mikulski (MD) and Frank Lautenberg (NJ). rhad, could I possibly get me money back?
wont happen... if it does Dems will lose their majority in November... Lets not forget that the vast majority of people poled say they dissaprove of the Healthcare reform bill. one poll even has it at 53%-36% on nation wide polls. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1295.xml?ReleaseID=1408 Dems should be very careful, especially those who are up for re-election this year... Lets not forget that one of the driving factors in the Dems losing in Mass Senate race was healthcare. Amazing since they already have a semi public option in Mass. Something else to remember is that reconciliation is supposed to be used for budget bills, which this is not.
The majority of polls going into the MA senate race put healthcare lower than jobs and the economy in voters minds. In fact, the reason most people gave for not liking the healthcare bill is that it didn't go far enough. seriously semi public option? where are you getting your information? And Obama has already stated that he would rather have healthcare passed and be a one term president, than not do anything. So you're really not scaring anyone here with your” democrats better be careful" spiel.
