| ▲ | WalterBright 3 days ago |
| Profit maximization makes for the high standard of living we enjoy. |
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| ▲ | wiseowise 3 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| The one where one trip to ER can leave you on the street and students have six digit debts? |
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| ▲ | WalterBright 3 days ago | parent [-] | | Ironically, you picked two systems that are heavily interfered with by the government. Back in the Great Depression, my great grandmother got sick and was hospitalized, and they took care of her until she passed. My grandfather did not have enough to pay the bill. The hospital told him not to worry, just pay what he could. It took him a while, but he paid the bill in full. | | |
| ▲ | Synthetic7346 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Heavily interfered how? Canada / UK / Australia have healthcare which is "heavily interfered" as you call it, and they're better off for it | | |
| ▲ | WalterBright 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | | How? The government runs it, and/or heavily regulates it, and shifts costs. > and they're better off for it In the US, the cost of medical care rose in step with inflation until 1968. After that, it rose at a much steeper rate, and has not slowed down. 1968 was when the government got involved with health care. Countries with a heavily-interfered health care system are poorer as a result. | |
| ▲ | genthree 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Whoa now. Consider that getting the government out of healthcare would mean all the rural hospitals close. Consider who that would most-hurt, while saving you money, before you jump to the humanitarian position. Consider it in light of the 2024 election. |
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| ▲ | razakel 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Was the hospital affiliated with a religious order? | | | |
| ▲ | wiseowise 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | > Back in Great Depression Why not civil war? > It took him a while, but he paid the bill in full. How long was “a while” specifically? And how much did it affect your grandfathers life? | | |
| ▲ | WalterBright 3 days ago | parent [-] | | > Why not civil war? My great grandmother's brother, Frank Taylor, fought in the Union Army. He later became a bodyguard for Buffalo Bill. And that's all I know about him, and the personal side of the Civil War. Keep in mind that doctoring was pretty primitive in those days. A doctor could set your broken bones and sew up wounds, and that's about it. You got better or you died. Doctors were called "sawbones" in those days. > How long was “a while” specifically? If I recall correctly, it took him 3 years. I don't know much about his finances. I do know that his first job was shoveling coal in a steamship, which is a filthy, rotten job. https://walterbright.com/trip/chas.html |
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| ▲ | whamlastxmas 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| ah yes, the high standard of living inlcuding checks notes world-leading medical bankruptcies, collapsing life expectancy despite insane healthcare spending, crippling student debt, unaffordable housing that requires a trust fund just to rent, and wages that stagnated decades ago while corporate profits and CEO pay skyrocketed. i spent $57 on a regular size pack of paper towels and toilet paper in the bay area yesterday truly, the invisible hand is giving us the finger |
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| ▲ | WalterBright 3 days ago | parent [-] | | Interestingly, you mentioned the trifecta of industries most interfered with by the government - healthcare, education, and housing. The government puts its foot on the scale there. In contrast, look at the software industry. No regulations, yet highly sophisticated software where the price went to zero. I just reinstalled Ubuntu on my (now fixed!) computer, and every bit of the software was 100% free. And I give away the software I write for it! $zero!! Can you believe it? | | |
| ▲ | whamlastxmas 20 hours ago | parent [-] | | Socialzied medicine works well in many countries where it's 100% government controlled and socialism is much more cultural accepted. The problem isn't government involvement, it's the AMERICAN government involvement, which is largely controlled by billionaires and rich donors (i.e. capitalism) Also software can be reproduced without cost. I cannot get back surgery without a lot of physical time and labor and resources. I think you're rage baiting at this point so I'm done. |
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