JC Political Thread - For All Things Political Part 2

[Skydrol]

When I was a kid, we had measles parties. Once a kid got it we were encourage to get them too. Is a one shot deal. Once you get then the body will protect itself. Builds your system. Now a shot, really? I do not trust most of the so called prevention medicine shots.

I the USA vaccinations is a scam. I am not saying that all are bad but the vast majority are pretty much "forced". Our pharmaceutical industry is in bed with the Gov and heavy with the current administration. They even are protected by them against law suits if a vaccination screw you. The flu shot is a joke, we have a "season" for it. I refuse to take it and have not been sic in years beside some seasonal allergies.

Here is a good one. The so called Obama Care forces the population to carry medical insurance. If you choose not to, you will be penalized based on your income. For me is like 3,600 USD this year. Talk about socialized medicine. Is another tax to benefit the pharma industry and insurance companies.

Do you guys have some like that in down under?

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

Donald Drumpf

You should learn to spell.

 

[c2105026]

You should learn to spell.

No its a thing now......

Its the ancestral family name from Germany. There was a TV presenter whom Trump heckled about using an Anglicised name (presenter had a Jewish background), so if the shoe fits......

If Trump is so anti-immigration, Drumpf it is.....

 

[c2105026]

When I was a kid, we had measles parties. Once a kid got it we were encourage to get them too. Is a one shot deal. Once you get then the body will protect itself. Builds your system. Now a shot, really? I do not trust most of the so called prevention medicine shots.

I the USA vaccinations is a scam. I am not saying that all are bad but the vast majority are pretty much "forced". Our pharmaceutical industry is in bed with the Gov and heavy with the current administration. They even are protected by them against law suits if a vaccination screw you. The flu shot is a joke, we have a "season" for it. I refuse to take it and have not been sic in years beside some seasonal allergies.

Here is a good one. The so called Obama Care forces the population to carry medical insurance. If you choose not to, you will be penalized based on your income. For me is like 3,600 USD this year. Talk about socialized medicine. Is another tax to benefit the pharma industry and insurance companies.

Do you guys have some like that in down under?

We have medicare. Its awesome. I pay about $1200 a year out of my income to have basically free healthcare (or very low cost). Go to the right place, I can get to see a GP for free. If I cut my finger off in an accident at home, its fixed for basically nothing. The most I've ever paid for a perscription med is $27. You can pay extra for private health, that can cover extras like dentist, glasses and physio. American health system is both broken and mind boggling.

 

[Reaper]

i wonder what % of people cant get vaccinated for medical reasons?
my ex is one of them, allergic to egg white and most (but not all) vaccinations are cultured in egg white.

I have absolutely no problem with people with a medical reason to opt out. In reality it's only 1 - 2% of the population and entirely understandable. Add that to the 2% (approx) where the vaccinations simply don't work and you don't have much leeway for the 95% coverage required to keep these diseases in check.

 

[Reaper]

When I was a kid, we had measles parties. Once a kid got it we were encourage to get them too. Is a one shot deal. Once you get then the body will protect itself. Builds your system. Now a shot, really? I do not trust most of the so called prevention medicine shots.

I the USA vaccinations is a scam. I am not saying that all are bad but the vast majority are pretty much "forced". Our pharmaceutical industry is in bed with the Gov and heavy with the current administration. They even are protected by them against law suits if a vaccination screw you. The flu shot is a joke, we have a "season" for it. I refuse to take it and have not been sic in years beside some seasonal allergies.

I don't get the flu jab myself but those in high risk groups such as my mother where the flu (proper flu and not a simple cold that many mistake for the flu) could kill her I totally support it.

Here is a good one. The so called Obama Care forces the population to carry medical insurance. If you choose not to, you will be penalized based on your income. For me is like 3,600 USD this year. Talk about socialized medicine. Is another tax to benefit the pharma industry and insurance companies.

Do you guys have some like that in down under?

We do. It's called Medicare. Although it has plenty of flaws it does mean pretty much anybody in Australia can gain medical care when they need it. There is a private health insurance system on top of that. Personally I don't understand the resistance to such a system in USA beyond a blind 'socialization is bad' mantra. Like everything, there are degrees of it. IMO there are areas where indeed socialization is not a good thing but a basic level of cover is a good thing.

 

[Calaber]

One extra comment re Medicare. It's calculated at 2 percent of annual taxable income so it can be very little cost when you consider that incomes below 18200 per annum are not taxed.

It's one of the world's best universal medical care systems but it costs a huge amount to subsidise as tax receipts don't cover the full cost of its operation.

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

No its a thing now......

Its the ancestral family name from Germany. There was a TV presenter whom Trump heckled about using an Anglicised name (presenter had a Jewish background), so if the shoe fits......

If Trump is so anti-immigration, Drumpf it is.....

Regardless. His legal name is Trump. So like I said, learn to spell.

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

One extra comment re Medicare. It's calculated at 2 percent of annual taxable income.

That's only the Medicare Levy Surcharge. And only payable by those without private health cover. Military Officers, both commissioned and NCO and their families are also exempt regardless of their income.

Medicare is available to everyone at little to no cost - funded by taxes. And those who choose to not cover themselves privately on top of Medicare pay the Medicare Levy surcharge. And I have to say, the second private health care costs more than 2% of my taxable income (and with deductions increasing with more property investment before the changes to CGT it's probably going to be this year!) I will be canning my private health insurance and pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge. I had my appendix out in August last year with some complications due to it rupturing before I went in for surgery and the ONLY cost I had was was around $40 for antibiotics and pain killers after I left hospital (6 night stay). That was going in as a public (Medicare) patient. The difference had I gone into the SAME hospital with the SAME staff and SAME surgeon would have been my own room with en-suite (I was sharing a ward with 2 others, with curtain partitions) and I would have had to pay my private insurance excess of $300 - $400. So while a private room would have been nice, I didn't get worse care by going public.

Anything emergency or life threatening or pregnancy/birth (with the exception of IVF) is covered by Medicare so why do I need to pay for cover for **** I hardly ever, or never, use? I'll just pay when I use it (dental check up and clean or a new pair of orthotics for example).

Back to the comments re Obama Care... I don't get the hate for this policy. Sure, it's not perfect but as others have said, health care in America is a complete shambles! And Obama has at least tried to do something about it. I don't agree with his policies in almost every area, but Obama Care was a case of "we have to do something". I don't understand the backlash towards universal health care.

 

[Skydrol]

We have and pay Medicare, Medicaid, private health insurance and me, since I am retired, pay military health insurance (Tricare). How much we need to pay? The O Care is a mess of epic proportions, is that bad that one of the insurance companies dropped out of the system because they were going broke.

Our system is broke, really broke. I do not even know where to start... is a complete disaster. Favors insurance companies, the very same people that contribue to political campaings.

People in the states are pretty fed up and someone like Trump shows up and gives a piece of his mind without political correctness. He is kind of the voice of the people.

I do not know what you guys see but is not pretty if you live in the state.