6 ms·
How do they know that the players are actually writing letters? How do they know they don't just click "Yeah, sure, I wrote it. Now, where's my [virtual curre
by amalcon 17y ago
How do they know that the players are actually writing letters? How do they know they don't just click "Yeah, sure, I wrote it. Now, where's my [virtual currency]?"
I suspect the number of people doing this would rather dwarf the number of people who actually bother to write letters.
- Deestan 17y agoFrom the article: > Instead of asking the gamers to try a product the way Netflix would, "Get Health Reform Right" requires gamers to take a survey, which, upon completion, automatically sends the following email to their Congressional Rep: > "I am concerned a new government plan could cause me to lose the employer coverage I have today. More government bureaucracy will only create more problems, not solve the ones we have."
- orangecat 17y agoUgh. I don't support the proposed plan, but protecting "employer coverage" is just about the worst possible reason to oppose it. Why should my employer have anything to do with my health insurance, any more than they do with my housing or auto expenses? In fact, much of my opposition to Obama's plan is that it strengthens that foolish and harmful dependency.
- icey 17y agoJust a minor nit, there is no such thing as "Obama's" plan. There is a House bill and a Senate bill (currently under review for amendments), and he hasn't endorsed either yet.
- walkon 17y agoIf health benefits didn't have tax breaks, employers would probably stop giving them and would be able to pay a bit more in salary (benefit cost - increased taxes). I personally would prefer to be paid more and use that to select my own health plan, that way it would be portable.
- potatolicious 17y agoExcept non-employer health plans rarely cover pre-existing conditions, which ultimately is what ails most people and contributes most to prolonged suffering in quality of life. I'm of the opposite opinion, having grown up in Canada (now in the US). I'd much rather have a public plan, even if it means worse care for a moderately well-to-do individual like myself. The whole American health care debate appears to me as a matter of the haves vs. the have-nots, with the added complexity that a lot of have-nots seem to incorrectly identify themselves as haves.
- orangecat 17y agoExcept non-employer health plans rarely cover pre-existing conditions, which ultimately is what ails most people and contributes most to prolonged suffering in quality of life. There definitely needs to be a solution for those who are uninsurable, but employer coverage is a lousy mechanism for that. I'd much rather have a "public option" that charges a reasonable multiple of what the premium for a healthy person would be. That would ensure that you could always get coverage, and provide a guaranteed ceiling on your expenses.
- walkon 17y agoThe game would be significantly changed if employers stopped offering it as part of a benefit package. I'm sure the housing hazard insurance industry would look much different if it was a standard employment benefit. Ultimately, insurance of any kind is a financial risk mitigation pool. The financial risks are spread over those in the pool instead of just one. Everyone in the pool shares the cost of everyone else. I don't want the government creating a super large public pool that I am required to pay for, even if I'm allowed to choose not to be a member of it.
- abstractbill 17y agoThe financial risks are spread over those in the pool instead of just one. Everyone in the pool shares the cost of everyone else. I don't want the government creating a super large public pool that I am required to pay for, even if I'm allowed to choose not to be a member of it. This uniquely American attitude is honestly one of the very few reasons I occasionally consider moving back to Britain.
- amalcon 17y agoWell, I doubt that would work too well either. A rash of e-mails of the same general form will probably be attributed to a few spammers spoofing return addresses, rather than to a genuine movement. These people probably get spam about political issues all the time.