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I worked with Molly for years at the Web Standards Project. We all owe her more than most people realize when it comes to being able to use and build on the mod

I worked with Molly for years at the Web Standards Project. We all owe her more than most people realize when it comes to being able to use and build on the modern web. There aren't many single individuals out there who had a larger impact than her. She was also just a lovely and inspiring human and those of us who were fortunate enough to spend time with her are better for it. As sad as this is, it also isn't much of a surprise if you've been paying any attention. She's been very sick for a long time and publicly struggling with enormous medical expenses (there have been various crowdfunding efforts over the years and she had to sell her `molly.com` domain to pay for treatment).

gcanyon 3y ago
> She's been very sick for a long time and publicly struggling with enormous medical expenses (there have been various crowdfunding efforts over the years and she had to sell her `molly.com` domain to pay for treatment). My wife and I were both born in the U.S. and have lived here most of our lives; we love this place. The above is why we have zero intention to retire here.
- samstave 3y ago
  Norway? Where retire?
  - bibanez 3y ago
    You can find many places with good QOL that are cheaper, like Spain. That said, Norway's pension fund is very attractive...
    - throwaway-blaze 3y ago
      Taxes in Spain are quite high, even by comparison with other EU states. And it is not easy to get residency for long periods of time unless you have significant financial resources.
- pnutjam 3y ago
  She died at 60, so no eligibility for Medicare or Social Security. That's a nightmare scenario in the good old US of A. RIP
- weinzierl 3y ago
  I understand you, but health care is expensive everywhere. The difference between the US and many other countries is in the distribution of this cost. So, for example, if a young person from the US or elsewhere comes to Germany to study they will get health care basically for free. I think (and I might be wrong) if you move to Germany as retiree the public health care system would not be open to you. You could choose a private insurance but, very much like in the US, the premiums depend on age and existing preconditions. I cannot tell if this would be cheaper than in the US, but I doubt that it could be much cheaper. Also, I think it would be similar in most other EU countries. Of course you could move to a country with significantly lower living standards to save on medical cost, but then you would increase your likelihood of medical issues and not really gain any real advantage.
  - microtherion 3y ago
    I'm not German myself, but I'm pretty sure the public health care system is open to all legal residents, no matter what age they move there. But like most countries, there are significant hurdles to immigration, and they would be even higher for somebody in retirement age.
    - weinzierl 3y ago
      I am indeed German and to the best of my knowledge our health care system is not open to all legal residents. I worded it carefully above, because it is complicated and there might be loopholes, but in general a person older than 55 that has never been in the German health system will not get in.
      - mongol 3y ago
        What if they are EU citizens?
        weinzierl 3y ago
        Doesn't matter. Even if you are a German citizen and by 55 you've never been in the health system you're out of luck.
kevmo 3y ago
F'ing incredible that the USA doesn't have universal healthcare yet. We lose so much efficiency, productivity, and creativity because of it. One of the primary reasons our average living standards keep going down.
- pohl 3y ago
  Got to fight tooth and nail to protect tax cuts for bajillionaires, yo. Who knows, any one of us might be one someday.
  - kevmo 3y ago
    I always scoff at all of the endless "How will we pay for it???" crap. We'll pay for it by cutting out massive inefficiencies like the insurance system (which is basically a giant RICO scam), which would introduce an incredible burst of innovation and efficiency, as Americans got unshackled from jobs they were only in for insurance benefits & were able to take more creative risks and move into jobs more suited for them. Also, the way we do healthcare straight up costs twice as much while also producing less care.
    - keithnz 3y ago
      yeah, I find it odd, just add up the revenue of the health insurance industry, that's how much you americans are paying, then see how much profit and overheads they have, that's how much health care money is directly not going to actual health outcomes, and then work out if you can do a better system. Should be a case that overall, everyone pays less and you get better outcomes. But, I can't see it ever happening for you guys. Americans are weird, they seem ok when americans let americans die and suffer, but if anyone else trys it, they spend whatever they have to show the world not to mess with America.
      - hnbad 3y ago
        Literally. What is called "profit" in a private industry is what would be called "waste" in a public service. It's literally money that runs through the system and accumulates rather than being used. Ironically when politicians want to run a public service more "like a business", they will try to squeeze the budget to cut costs to in turn justify further cuts until the service fails to do what it was originally meant to do and has to be replaced by a for-profit industry that generates an even larger overhead at even more cost to society once you factor in the fees, subsidies and other factors.
geerlingguy 3y ago
"Dr. Glaucomflecken" [1] is doing a satirical daily video on the US a healthcare system this month, and the short videos cut right to the heart of the insane practices that reduce patient welfare, from insurance policies to hospital administrators. [1] https://www.youtube.com/@DGlaucomflecken https://www.youtube.com/@DGlaucomflecken

gcanyon 3y ago

> She's been very sick for a long time and publicly struggling with enormous medical expenses (there have been various crowdfunding efforts over the years and she had to sell her `molly.com` domain to pay for treatment). My wife and I were both born in the U.S. and have lived here most of our lives; we love this place. The above is why we have zero intention to retire here.

samstave 3y ago
Norway? Where retire?
- bibanez 3y ago
  You can find many places with good QOL that are cheaper, like Spain. That said, Norway's pension fund is very attractive...
  - throwaway-blaze 3y ago
    Taxes in Spain are quite high, even by comparison with other EU states. And it is not easy to get residency for long periods of time unless you have significant financial resources.
pnutjam 3y ago
She died at 60, so no eligibility for Medicare or Social Security. That's a nightmare scenario in the good old US of A. RIP
weinzierl 3y ago
I understand you, but health care is expensive everywhere. The difference between the US and many other countries is in the distribution of this cost. So, for example, if a young person from the US or elsewhere comes to Germany to study they will get health care basically for free. I think (and I might be wrong) if you move to Germany as retiree the public health care system would not be open to you. You could choose a private insurance but, very much like in the US, the premiums depend on age and existing preconditions. I cannot tell if this would be cheaper than in the US, but I doubt that it could be much cheaper. Also, I think it would be similar in most other EU countries. Of course you could move to a country with significantly lower living standards to save on medical cost, but then you would increase your likelihood of medical issues and not really gain any real advantage.
- microtherion 3y ago
  I'm not German myself, but I'm pretty sure the public health care system is open to all legal residents, no matter what age they move there. But like most countries, there are significant hurdles to immigration, and they would be even higher for somebody in retirement age.
  - weinzierl 3y ago
    I am indeed German and to the best of my knowledge our health care system is not open to all legal residents. I worded it carefully above, because it is complicated and there might be loopholes, but in general a person older than 55 that has never been in the German health system will not get in.
    - mongol 3y ago
      What if they are EU citizens?
      - weinzierl 3y ago
        Doesn't matter. Even if you are a German citizen and by 55 you've never been in the health system you're out of luck.

kevmo 3y ago

F'ing incredible that the USA doesn't have universal healthcare yet. We lose so much efficiency, productivity, and creativity because of it. One of the primary reasons our average living standards keep going down.

pohl 3y ago
Got to fight tooth and nail to protect tax cuts for bajillionaires, yo. Who knows, any one of us might be one someday.
- kevmo 3y ago
  I always scoff at all of the endless "How will we pay for it???" crap. We'll pay for it by cutting out massive inefficiencies like the insurance system (which is basically a giant RICO scam), which would introduce an incredible burst of innovation and efficiency, as Americans got unshackled from jobs they were only in for insurance benefits & were able to take more creative risks and move into jobs more suited for them. Also, the way we do healthcare straight up costs twice as much while also producing less care.
  - keithnz 3y ago
    yeah, I find it odd, just add up the revenue of the health insurance industry, that's how much you americans are paying, then see how much profit and overheads they have, that's how much health care money is directly not going to actual health outcomes, and then work out if you can do a better system. Should be a case that overall, everyone pays less and you get better outcomes. But, I can't see it ever happening for you guys. Americans are weird, they seem ok when americans let americans die and suffer, but if anyone else trys it, they spend whatever they have to show the world not to mess with America.
    - hnbad 3y ago
      Literally. What is called "profit" in a private industry is what would be called "waste" in a public service. It's literally money that runs through the system and accumulates rather than being used. Ironically when politicians want to run a public service more "like a business", they will try to squeeze the budget to cut costs to in turn justify further cuts until the service fails to do what it was originally meant to do and has to be replaced by a for-profit industry that generates an even larger overhead at even more cost to society once you factor in the fees, subsidies and other factors.

geerlingguy 3y ago

"Dr. Glaucomflecken" [1] is doing a satirical daily video on the US a healthcare system this month, and the short videos cut right to the heart of the insane practices that reduce patient welfare, from insurance policies to hospital administrators. [1] https://www.youtube.com/@DGlaucomflecken https://www.youtube.com/@DGlaucomflecken