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I have friends that are doctors or soon-to-be doctors. Some of the stuff I've heard from them as well as regional outlets always end up being horrifying and it

I have friends that are doctors or soon-to-be doctors. Some of the stuff I've heard from them as well as regional outlets always end up being horrifying and it doesn't help when we see downplaying of the issues coming from both the government and the mainstream media. With profits on the line, I guess it was to be expected. At the same time, I feel like this is going to be a watershed moment for our healthcare system. The average person may forget about it in due time, but the medical community watching their coworkers die and make life or death decisions due to shortages won't.

WalterBright 7y ago
Before blaming shortages on profits, read this: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-27/coronavirus-california-mobile-hospitals-ventilators https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-27/coronavi...
- fzeroracer 7y ago
  That doesn't really disprove my point though, does it? We run our cities and governments like businesses whose goal is to bring down costs as much as possible. Getting rid of emergency prep makes the most sense from that perspective because you're hedging your bets on not needing it. It's the exact same thing corporations do when they don't proactively fix security vulnerabilities because they're hedging their bets that the cost of the problem will be less than the cost to prepare. We're going to have this problem as long as we demand taxes to be as low as possible.
  - WalterBright 7y ago
    > That doesn't really disprove my point though, does it? There is no such system that doesn't have budget shortfalls. Blaming it on profits is implies that non-profits don't have shortfalls. The California incident proves otherwise. > We're going to have this problem as long as we demand taxes to be as low as possible. The Washington State public schools have been angling to be "fully funded" ever since I remember. Being fully funded would solve all their funding issues. They finally got it. The ink wasn't dry on the legislation before they said that wasn't going to be nearly enough.
  - RaceWon 7y ago
    > Getting rid of emergency prep makes the most sense from that perspective because you're hedging your bets on not needing it. ... > We're going to have this problem as long as we demand taxes to be as low as possible The USA has enough nukes to destroy the Planet. We have enough Servers to copy everything transmitted. But we don't enough paper masks even though a Bio Attack is eminently possible (always has been) and certainly much more so in a post 9 11 America. I would submit for your consideration that giving more money to those so blissfully uninterested in protecting those under their watch is not the solution you imply it would be.

WalterBright 7y ago

Before blaming shortages on profits, read this: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-27/coronavirus-california-mobile-hospitals-ventilators https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-27/coronavi...

fzeroracer 7y ago
That doesn't really disprove my point though, does it? We run our cities and governments like businesses whose goal is to bring down costs as much as possible. Getting rid of emergency prep makes the most sense from that perspective because you're hedging your bets on not needing it. It's the exact same thing corporations do when they don't proactively fix security vulnerabilities because they're hedging their bets that the cost of the problem will be less than the cost to prepare. We're going to have this problem as long as we demand taxes to be as low as possible.
- WalterBright 7y ago
  > That doesn't really disprove my point though, does it? There is no such system that doesn't have budget shortfalls. Blaming it on profits is implies that non-profits don't have shortfalls. The California incident proves otherwise. > We're going to have this problem as long as we demand taxes to be as low as possible. The Washington State public schools have been angling to be "fully funded" ever since I remember. Being fully funded would solve all their funding issues. They finally got it. The ink wasn't dry on the legislation before they said that wasn't going to be nearly enough.
- RaceWon 7y ago
  > Getting rid of emergency prep makes the most sense from that perspective because you're hedging your bets on not needing it. ... > We're going to have this problem as long as we demand taxes to be as low as possible The USA has enough nukes to destroy the Planet. We have enough Servers to copy everything transmitted. But we don't enough paper masks even though a Bio Attack is eminently possible (always has been) and certainly much more so in a post 9 11 America. I would submit for your consideration that giving more money to those so blissfully uninterested in protecting those under their watch is not the solution you imply it would be.