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> The largest component of "mandatory" spending is health spending (e.g. Medicare), and it certainly isn't the case that Medicare is fully optimized. For exampl

> The largest component of "mandatory" spending is health spending (e.g. Medicare), and it certainly isn't the case that Medicare is fully optimized. For example, is it overpaying for anything? Yeah, it's over paying for private equity vultures who overcharge to extra maximum profit from healthcare. But that's reform that sorely needs to happen by the government reigning in those private companies not to the government. By trying to "drown [the government] in the bathtub" like Norquist advocated, project 2025 asshats are damaging our country. Some things are mandatory only if you love your neighbor.

AnthonyMouse 1y ago
> But that's reform that sorely needs to happen by the government reigning in those private companies not to the government. So the government passes regulations that cause private equity asshats to jack up prices, e.g. by making it infeasible to start new companies to compete with them, and then the government overpays to buy things from them, but this is somehow not the government's doing? Bad regulations passed at the behest of private asshats are still bad regulations and the solution is still to repeal them. > Some things are mandatory only if you love your neighbor. And some things aren't mandatory at all, like having the government overpay for stuff which is nevertheless classified as "mandatory" spending.
- daveguy 1y ago
  > So the government passes regulations that cause private equity asshats to jack up prices, Nope. That's not what I said, but nice try. It means we don't allow for-profit companies to run our healthcare. Public. Accountable. Non-Profit.
  - AnthonyMouse 1y ago
    How are you supposed to get an accountable government agency? Is the VA or the DMV or the DEA actually accountable right now, and if so then why are they so bad? Accountability comes from the ability to reject something objectionable, i.e. it comes from having other alternatives that subject the provider to competitive pressure. That's not what you get from a government agency, nor is it what you get from a consolidated market where the incumbents have captured the government. It is what you get from a competitive market, which is the thing we currently lack.
    - daveguy 1y ago
      Apparently you don't know the difference between a non-profit with public reporting requirements (what I was talking about) and a government agency (what you misunderstood). I will leave it up to you to learn the difference. Regardless, it was nice talking. Have a great week!

AnthonyMouse 1y ago

> But that's reform that sorely needs to happen by the government reigning in those private companies not to the government. So the government passes regulations that cause private equity asshats to jack up prices, e.g. by making it infeasible to start new companies to compete with them, and then the government overpays to buy things from them, but this is somehow not the government's doing? Bad regulations passed at the behest of private asshats are still bad regulations and the solution is still to repeal them. > Some things are mandatory only if you love your neighbor. And some things aren't mandatory at all, like having the government overpay for stuff which is nevertheless classified as "mandatory" spending.

daveguy 1y ago
> So the government passes regulations that cause private equity asshats to jack up prices, Nope. That's not what I said, but nice try. It means we don't allow for-profit companies to run our healthcare. Public. Accountable. Non-Profit.
- AnthonyMouse 1y ago
  How are you supposed to get an accountable government agency? Is the VA or the DMV or the DEA actually accountable right now, and if so then why are they so bad? Accountability comes from the ability to reject something objectionable, i.e. it comes from having other alternatives that subject the provider to competitive pressure. That's not what you get from a government agency, nor is it what you get from a consolidated market where the incumbents have captured the government. It is what you get from a competitive market, which is the thing we currently lack.
  - daveguy 1y ago
    Apparently you don't know the difference between a non-profit with public reporting requirements (what I was talking about) and a government agency (what you misunderstood). I will leave it up to you to learn the difference. Regardless, it was nice talking. Have a great week!