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I bet you a dollar the 28% increase was the opening bid from his health care provider and not that far off the opening bid those previous years they ended up pa

by roc 16y ago

I bet you a dollar the 28% increase was the opening bid from his health care provider and not that far off the opening bid those previous years they ended up paying 10+%. Because that's almost exactly what I've seen for the last five years. It's just the way negotiations go. And every now and again, you have to switch providers. It's a horrible hassle, but nothing new. Further, the health insurance reform legislation included a lot of necessary changes to make it viable to sever the employer/health insurance connection. I have a hard time reconciling his clear dislike of the changes with his claimed desire to reduce his own overhead.

Retric 16y ago
Your post is insightful, on topic, informative, and clear. However, I wish it had been posted somewhere else. In the larger context: We spend 22% of the GDP at the state and local level, 25% at the federal level and transfer 3.5% of the GDP though taxes and have a ridicules debt. To meet those obligations the government needs to take a little over half of everyone’s paycheck. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=1903_2010&view=1&expand=&units=p&fy=fy11&chart=F0-fed&bar=0&stack=1&size=m&title=&state=US&color=c&local=c http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=19... At the same time we have a horribly broken healthcare and education systems, aging infrastructure and little will to build for the future AND an ever growing debt. The problem is many people receive huge subsidies from the current system and nobody wants to give up their slice of the pie. Now, if WE have something constructive to add feel which may be implemented in the real world free to post, until then let’s try and keep politics off of HN. Edit: Not to single your post out, but I agreed with everything you said, and yet I still felt like I was wasting time by reading it. I guess I need to simply avoid clicking on link bait.
- eru 16y ago
  I agree. Sometimes I think that we should switch civil servants and politicians around between countries from time to time. That would be a good learning exercise--for good and bad examples. E.g. Britain has a socialized health-care system in a broadly capitalist society. It's interesting to see what does and what does not work, instead of spreading all the FUD. Another, much less charged example are the laws about shop closing times in Germany. Until a few years ago shops were only allowed to open until 18.00 on most day. Looking at other countries, it was obvious that relaxing those rules would not make the sky come down. On the other hand, you can also look for other countries to spot bad ideas before you have to try them yourself.

by roc 16y ago

Retric 16y ago

Your post is insightful, on topic, informative, and clear. However, I wish it had been posted somewhere else. In the larger context: We spend 22% of the GDP at the state and local level, 25% at the federal level and transfer 3.5% of the GDP though taxes and have a ridicules debt. To meet those obligations the government needs to take a little over half of everyone’s paycheck. http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=1903_2010&view=1&expand=&units=p&fy=fy11&chart=F0-fed&bar=0&stack=1&size=m&title=&state=US&color=c&local=c http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=19... At the same time we have a horribly broken healthcare and education systems, aging infrastructure and little will to build for the future AND an ever growing debt. The problem is many people receive huge subsidies from the current system and nobody wants to give up their slice of the pie. Now, if WE have something constructive to add feel which may be implemented in the real world free to post, until then let’s try and keep politics off of HN. Edit: Not to single your post out, but I agreed with everything you said, and yet I still felt like I was wasting time by reading it. I guess I need to simply avoid clicking on link bait.

eru 16y ago
I agree. Sometimes I think that we should switch civil servants and politicians around between countries from time to time. That would be a good learning exercise--for good and bad examples. E.g. Britain has a socialized health-care system in a broadly capitalist society. It's interesting to see what does and what does not work, instead of spreading all the FUD. Another, much less charged example are the laws about shop closing times in Germany. Until a few years ago shops were only allowed to open until 18.00 on most day. Looking at other countries, it was obvious that relaxing those rules would not make the sky come down. On the other hand, you can also look for other countries to spot bad ideas before you have to try them yourself.