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I know the term "Death Panels" pushes a lot of peoples buttons, but it sounds to me like a government agency that decides that someone, and later when money is

I know the term "Death Panels" pushes a lot of peoples buttons, but it sounds to me like a government agency that decides that someone, and later when money is more tight that some-subset is too expensive, is basically just that - a Death Panel. As rough as it is to stomach sometimes, I'd have to say that the people who "deserve" better treatment are the ones who worked hard and smart and are able to pay for it. Life is not fair, and saving for terrible contingencies helps mitigate those very risks.

jonhendry 14y ago
More importantly, it ignores the fact that this already happens, except it's insurance companies, not a government agency, that do it. "Life is not fair, and saving for terrible contingencies helps mitigate those very risks." For many hard-working people, it's impossible to save enough, or to have saved enough, for such contingencies. The simplest example would be a young couple whose child has some wildly expensive condition.
- ftwinnovations 14y ago
  That was the point about "life is not fair" and again about "mitigating" the risks. I didn't say it removes the risks. Nothing does, not even big brother taking all our personal responsibility and freedoms away.
gooddaysir 14y ago
I take it you haven't experienced the kinds of challenges the poor face every day, challenges that act as a cruel gravity that keep them poor. This heat wave much of North America has been having. If you are poor, you probably can't afford air conditioning. If You have a/c, you can't afford to run it. You need to make rent. The rest of your money is used to buy food, except you can't afford much. Your diet certainly wouldn't be varied. But let's get back to this heat wave. If you've ever been on a second story apartment with no a/c during a heat wave, it's like HELL. The air doesn't move. You shut all the shutters and use house fans (if you got them) and lay low, but it's almost intolerable. You worry for your children and pets. Nobody can sleep at night, yet the constant heat sucks the life out of you. You get totally drained just trying to survive the day, but then the next day is also unbearable hot, and then the next day. You get sick just trying to regulate your tempurature. Your head is in a constant fog and you walk like your on the moon. It's hard to live that way. Hard to run a family, or work a job. You want to get up but life keeps you down. You're damn right life is unfair. Especially when nobody cares. All I ask is that you have some empathy. Imagine what it's like to always have a proverbial boot at your throat. Being poor is hard. It keeps you down.

jonhendry 14y ago

More importantly, it ignores the fact that this already happens, except it's insurance companies, not a government agency, that do it. "Life is not fair, and saving for terrible contingencies helps mitigate those very risks." For many hard-working people, it's impossible to save enough, or to have saved enough, for such contingencies. The simplest example would be a young couple whose child has some wildly expensive condition.

ftwinnovations 14y ago
That was the point about "life is not fair" and again about "mitigating" the risks. I didn't say it removes the risks. Nothing does, not even big brother taking all our personal responsibility and freedoms away.

gooddaysir 14y ago

I take it you haven't experienced the kinds of challenges the poor face every day, challenges that act as a cruel gravity that keep them poor. This heat wave much of North America has been having. If you are poor, you probably can't afford air conditioning. If You have a/c, you can't afford to run it. You need to make rent. The rest of your money is used to buy food, except you can't afford much. Your diet certainly wouldn't be varied. But let's get back to this heat wave. If you've ever been on a second story apartment with no a/c during a heat wave, it's like HELL. The air doesn't move. You shut all the shutters and use house fans (if you got them) and lay low, but it's almost intolerable. You worry for your children and pets. Nobody can sleep at night, yet the constant heat sucks the life out of you. You get totally drained just trying to survive the day, but then the next day is also unbearable hot, and then the next day. You get sick just trying to regulate your tempurature. Your head is in a constant fog and you walk like your on the moon. It's hard to live that way. Hard to run a family, or work a job. You want to get up but life keeps you down. You're damn right life is unfair. Especially when nobody cares. All I ask is that you have some empathy. Imagine what it's like to always have a proverbial boot at your throat. Being poor is hard. It keeps you down.