Some more thoughts 

1.For Republicans charity is not an act of kindness . It's a excuse to no look greedy.

2. Republicans want charity so they can pretend to be generous while pushing an agenda .

(January 27, 2018 at 2:48 pm)A Theist Wrote: I don't know how it all works in the UK and Germany.

In the UK we have the national health service paid for by taxes. Go to your GP with a problem and they'll either give you something to fix it or refer you to a specialist department if you need it. Walk into A&E (ER) and a triage nurse will determine how urgent your case is before you wait to be seen. Phone 999 and an ambulance comes round. Or phone NHS 24 and get advice. They'll tell you if you need to go to the A&E. All of it is free.

Prescriptions require you to pay a standard cost per bottle regardless of how expensive it is. I can't remember how much it costs, something like £6. The reason I can't remember is because I live in Scotland and all prescriptions are given out free here because the cost is offset by having less paperwork.

The advantage of the NHS is that economies of scale bring down the cost of healthcare for everyone. Disadvantages are that it can be a postcode lottery for some of the more obscure and expensive procedures. but this is rare. Another advantage is that the NHS can do its own research evaluating drugs etc rather than rely on profit seeking corporations with vested interests.


In Germany everyone has to have medical insurance. You are not allowed to move there without having the ability to look after yourself. The insurance company will take a cut out of your wages, The more you earn the more you pay. If you don't earn much you don't pay much. If the insurance company makes a profit at the end of the year then they give all their members some money back. This happened to me once when I was living there.

Go to the local doctors or whatever, show your card and get seen. The insurance company will pay for it all. Unlike the UK you can walk into a specialist department rather than wait to get referred by your GP. Everyone tries to offer you the best service they can because they know that the insurance will pay for everything.

(January 27, 2018 at 2:23 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: It isn't that conservatives don't care about poor people. It's that they feel we should help the poor in the form of charity donations, volunteer work, etc... verses having money forcebly taken from people and handled in whichever unproductive way the government sees fit. As a general rule, Christians are supposed to give at a minimum of 10% of their income for the less fortunate. When CD posted here about a charity project he was doing, AM was one of the members who donated the most money of the people here.

I will agree that this is by far most ideal. Giving to charity vs having it taken by force by the government, I mean. Obviously the former is better. Only problem is it relies on everyone to do the right thing and voluntarily give. And unfortunately many dont do that. So the government has to step in. I see this though, as a necessary evil vs an ideal good. I support money especially going to single moms and people who have disabilities and aren't able to work. Maybe the government could be more efficient in giving to those who actually need it? I do also support appropriate tax breaks for people who give a lot to charity.

The only way to sort out problems is through taxation and government intervention. Charites can provide band aid solutions and highlight issues but to really solve the problem you need the government.

Bottom line, charities don't work in the long term.

"tax breaks" to people who give a lot to charities exist and are abused as a tax dodge by the wealthy.

For instance they can donate a painting to a charity and decide how much that painting is worth. There have been instances where rich people have brought a painting for a million, decided its worth 100 million donated it to charity and used their guess of its value to deny the tax payer 100 million.

(January 28, 2018 at 6:08 am)Mathilda Wrote:

(January 27, 2018 at 2:48 pm)A Theist Wrote: I don't know how it all works in the UK and Germany.

In the UK we have the national health service paid for by taxes. Go to your GP with a problem and they'll either give you something to fix it or refer you to a specialist department if you need it. Walk into A&E (ER) and a triage nurse will determine how urgent your case is before you wait to be seen. Phone 999 and an ambulance comes round. Or phone NHS 24 and get advice. They'll tell you if you need to go to the A&E. All of it is free.

Prescriptions require you to pay a standard cost per bottle regardless of how expensive it is. I can't remember how much it costs, something like £6. The reason I can't remember is because I live in Scotland and all prescriptions are given out free here because the cost is offset by having less paperwork.

The advantage of the NHS is that economies of scale bring down the cost of healthcare for everyone. Disadvantages are that it can be a postcode lottery for some of the more obscure and expensive procedures. but this is rare. Another advantage is that the NHS can do its own research evaluating drugs etc rather than rely on profit seeking corporations with vested interests.


In Germany everyone has to have medical insurance. You are not allowed to move there without having the ability to look after yourself. The insurance company will take a cut out of your wages, The more you earn the more you pay. If you don't earn much you don't pay much. If the insurance company makes a profit at the end of the year then they give all their members some money back. This happened to me once when I was living there.

Go to the local doctors or whatever, show your card and get seen. The insurance company will pay for it all. Unlike the UK you can walk into a specialist department rather than wait to get referred by your GP. Everyone tries to offer you the best service they can because they know that the insurance will pay for everything.

Also you can pay a yearly fee of about £100 that gives you unlimited prescriptions no matter the cost or amount of drugs needed.

You can even split that cost into easy monthly payments.

---

(January 27, 2018 at 9:57 pm)Chad32 Wrote: I know there's already 16 pages, but hearing the title I can only think one thing. How many domestic terrorist groups are there that identify as conservative, compared to liberal? Pretty sure there's more of the former, meaning they do not have more self control in general.

It depends how you define self control, in the case you mention above it could just as easily be called brainwashed.

There is nothing like brainwashing and fundamentalism to keep you on track.

That's a fair point.

(January 28, 2018 at 4:51 am)Tizheruk Wrote: Some more thoughts 

1.For Republicans charity is not an act of kindness . It's a excuse to no look greedy.

2. Republicans want charity so they can pretend to be generous while pushing an agenda .

You can't prove either of those thoughts, unless you are a mind reader.

Considering republicans encompass millions and millions of people, I'd assume they have a variety of motives.

Quote:You can't prove either of those thoughts, unless you are a mind reader.

As a general rule you can . Because a great many all but admit to it . Second what they tend donate to speaks volumes. I don't need to prove thoughts only actions  

Quote:Considering republicans encompass millions and millions of people, I'd assume they have a variety of motives.

Yup millions of people who tend toward similar protices .

(January 27, 2018 at 2:48 pm)A Theist Wrote:

(January 27, 2018 at 2:03 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: Not that's not what he meant at all.

he lives in a society where a lot of activities are Christian based Christmas, weddings etc. 

You can take part in those things but not believe the bullshit.

I myself have gone to christenings because they can be quite nice get togethers and they mean nothing outside of that.

I'm sure he meant none of it. He was just playing the politician for votes.

---

I'm sure you misunderstand his motives, what he said was clear. He said was he enjoys some of the non-religious aspects of Christianity.

(January 28, 2018 at 4:51 am)Tizheruk Wrote: Some more thoughts 

1.For Republicans charity is not an act of kindness . It's a excuse to no look greedy.

2. Republicans want charity so they can pretend to be generous while pushing an agenda .

BINGO, be it religious charity or corporate charity. It is bait.

Real charity is when you do something and don't get anything back or expect reward.

If you get a tax break that the rest of society have to make up for, then really it is nothing but another type of partial loan.

(January 28, 2018 at 11:52 am)CapnAwesome Wrote:

(January 28, 2018 at 4:51 am)Tizheruk Wrote: Some more thoughts 

1.For Republicans charity is not an act of kindness . It's a excuse to no look greedy.

2. Republicans want charity so they can pretend to be generous while pushing an agenda .

You can't prove either of those thoughts, unless you are a mind reader.

Considering republicans encompass millions and millions of people,  I'd assume they have a variety of motives.

I don’t give a trump’s ass for what the variety of motives happen to be.  I care about the effect of the policies and agenda of the party they support, and how that agenda is passed by obfuscating the rationale and disguising the damage it does to its victims.

If they don’t wish to be tarred by the effect of the agenda of their party, they are free to not be members or supporters of that party.