Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[PhillyGirl]

Made me think of this guy. The resemblance is uncanny

[fansince61]

Load of right wing drivel...

Is that what Rush told you to think?  Or was it your minister?

I go to Canada a lot.  They are pissed about government firearm confiscation (hand guns and autoloading hunting rifles and such) and the terrible health care.  Younger people like the health care system since they don't use it much and it's free (more spending money)  Don't listen to Rush and don't go to church but I read the Wall Street Journal everyday.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

This idiot is bound and determined to destroy this country before he leaves office.

FYI and FWIW, Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress are in near-complete agreement on this.

What would be sweet is if they could agree on places to cut the government budget to pay for it.

[fansince61]

This idiot is bound and determined to destroy this country before he leaves office.

FYI and FWIW, Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress are in near-complete agreement on this.

What would be sweet is if they could agree on places to cut the government budget to pay for it.

If budgets were only increased (indexed) at the rate of inflation...BINGO you're there

[rjs246]

I contintue to be amazed by the fact that people still fall all over themselves when they hear the words 'tax cut'. Taxes are what keep a country in one piece. Without them we have no roads, no mail, no public works, no water, no public education... the list goes on and on. And yet, like clockwork, every time there's a problem with the economy someone's response is to cut taxes and the sheep come baah'ing out of the woodwork.

By the way, I can't wait to get my check from the government. I'll be sure to buy even more beer with it.

[rjs246]

nm

[Rome]

By the time you're eligible to receive it that check should just about cover a six pack of Keystone Light.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I contintue to be amazed by the fact that people still fall all over themselves when they hear the words 'tax cut'. Taxes are what keep a country in one piece. Without them we have no roads, no mail, no public works, no water, no public education... the list goes on and on. And yet, like clockwork, every time there's a problem with the economy someone's response is to cut taxes and the sheep come baah'ing out of the woodwork.

By the way, I can't wait to get my check from the government. I'll be sure to buy even more beer with it.

While I think it's fair that people disagree about the breadth of the United States government, I find it ridiculous that spending less than they're taking in is not a larger emphasis.

[Rome]

Deficit spending is a golden idol to politicians.  They can run up enormous debt and by the time those debts come due they're long gone.

I'm not necessarily a proponent of a balanced budget amendment because there are times when spending has to be increased, but for the most part, a government should only spend what it takes in in revenues.

That's Economics 101.

[rjs246]

(At FF) Agreed. On both counts. The point that I forgot to get around to is that tax cuts would be fine and more than welcome if we had a balanced budget or, gasp, a surplus. As it is we are so laughably far away from that scenario that tax cuts shouldn't even be mentioned in intelligent conversation.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Yep.  The only thing that's more idiotic to mention is more spending.

[Cerevant]

I go to Canada a lot.

I live in Canada, so I call bullshtein.

No one is going to die waiting for health care in Canada.  Yes, you might need to wait for some orthopedic work or other procedures that are not life critical, but people are not dying up here because of the health care system.  Quite the contrary - life expectancy is longer and infant mortality is lower.  Cancer survival rates aren't as good (still within 5%), but better than the European average.  The only complaint I hear is that in this small town (with a large retired population), there aren't enough GPs for everyone to have a regular family doctor.  However, there are clinics that will see you by appointment.   I read the paper and the only news is about the major renovations being done to the local hospital and medical center to help draw new physicians to the area.

I've been to the ER twice: once with my toddler son who had a nice gash over his eye and once when I had chest pains.

My son was triaged as non-critical, but they still saw us and had us out the door within 3 hours.  I've spent twice that long in US ERs with ankle sprains, etc.

When I went in, I was seen immediately, and they performed a number of tests.  They determined that I wasn't having heart trouble, but they referred me to a cardiologist anyway.  It was a holiday weekend, so I had to wait until Tuesday to see the cardiologist.  The cardiologist team did a pile of blood tests, a stress test, a stress echo cardiogram (ultrasound of my heart after running) and an ultrasound of my carotid to look for build up.  The cardiologist confirmed that my symptoms weren't heart related, but they made damn sure of it.

My wife is pregnant, and we're working with a midwife who has done a number of screening tests, and referred us to an OB who (personally) did 2 ultrasounds (its a girl!).

Our family doctor (my company hooked us up) found that my son had a slightly larger than average head size, and referred us to a pediatrician.  He was seen within a week.

In short, I heard a lot of horror stories before I came up here, and my #1 concern about moving to Canada was health care.  Are there things that are better in the US?  Absolutely.  I miss being able to choose a doctor rather than feeling lucky to have found one.  I miss being able to see my doctor today or this week rather than 2 or 3 weeks from now.  But I have never been concerned about the care my family has received since we moved here.

So yeah, bullshtein.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Clearly, your personal experiences with health care constitute a representative sample of both systems.

[Cerevant]

If you read the whole farging post, you'd see that I started with evidence that the system as a whole is as good as, or is more effective than the US system.

When debating using logic, you cannot prove by example, but you can disprove by example (proof by counterexample).  Do some people have to wait for certain procedures?  I'm sure they do.  Do all people who live in Canada have to wait months for treatment for life threatening illness?  No, clearly not.

[SunMo]

that may or may not be true...

but honestly, it's more fun to make biting sarcastic remarks in response to everything