Donald Trump predicting Red Wave!!

[Brian37]

Fair enough. However, could you explain to me why you believe it is a right? I am just wondering.

Because having to go bankrupt in order to stay alive is ridiculous, and dying from a preventable condition because one can't afford to see a physician who could catch it in time is straight-up dystopian. Your health and well-being, very obviously, are important. It has an incredible impact on your quality of life and ability to work. By claiming that health care should be mostly privatized and left up to the market, you are essentially saying that only a certain percentage of citizens deserve to be cared for. The private health care market sans government would not even be a health care system, given enough time it would just kill all lower middle class / poor people. Private insurance companies, when left unregulated, would surely refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions without raising their rates to affordable numbers, and can essentially only offer coverage to those with the least health complications and the most money -- because there is no money to be made in people with a history of cancer, diabetes, or basically any other condition that might mean that they'll need -- *gasp* -- HEALTH CARE. It's a market failure. Private free market health care is not actually health care in any way. 

Then there's the morally bankrupt argument: "If they worked hard, they would be able to afford insurance. I shouldn't have to pay for them." First of all, that's what insurance fucking is. You're paying for other people regardless of whether it's government or private. Secondly, it contributes to the American myth that has been pervasive since the 19th century that hard work will always = success and anybody in a bad situation deserves it because fuck 'em, lazy cunts. But this is so far removed from the truth it hurts. Many are working way more than 40 hours a week but their employers are not offering insurance, or, even worse, they're offering useless expensive junk plans that will do them no good when they really need it. But even then, even if it were true that those without insurance just "weren't working hard enough," who the hell are you to say who does and does not deserve to live, or to have any reasonable quality of life? You're making that choice? Another individual deserves to die or drown in debt because you judge them to be lazy? The "I got mine so fuck everybody else" attitude that's so common among conservatives and libertarians makes me sick. It's centuries of propaganda by our government that has conditioned us to attack one another instead of the people above us. We've been conditioned to accept the shitty situation we're in and call people "entitled" when they snap out of it and realize we could do better.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775760/


In 2009, this study found that uninsured people have a 40% increased risk of death, and lack of insurance was associated with an average of 44,789 deaths per year.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15318584

This 2004 study found that more than 13,000 persons between ages 55-64 die due to lack of coverage.

https://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148

Medical bills are the number one cause for personal bankruptcy in the U.S.

In order to facilitate a productive society, the government has to be willing to foot the bill on health care. There are too many people unable to contribute to the economy because of medical debt, and there are too many people who cannot work because they are not healthy; greater, unrestricted access to health care services will lead to greater preventative care. I appreciated Obamacare for trying to increase the amount insured, but it was a bad system that eventually raised costs for most people. It proved that you cannot half-ass universal health care. The U.S. will inevitably provide government-funded health care for all just as so many other nations do for their people. I know it's going to happen, it's just up to us whether we want it in less than 10 years or 100. Democrats are slowly warming up to the idea, and I credit Sanders for the push. People have a fundamental misunderstanding of universal health care. It can cut costs for the entire population while also making us more productive as a society. 

For the record, I don't support single payer. It wouldn't work here. A secondary public option that can cover everybody in addition to private health care would be the most effective IMO.

I don't care what you want to call it, "single payer", or "medicare for all". If privatizing everything worked which the GOP loves masturbating over, we would not have the pay gap we do now.

[Aegon]

For the record, I don't support single payer. It wouldn't work here. A secondary public option that can cover everybody in addition to private health care would be the most effective IMO.

You should. We have the secondary public system here in Ireland and all it is is a system to allow the private insurers and hospitals to dump the hard cases and the patients they botch onto the public purse.

It ensures the ensurers and private hospitals (most owned by the rcc) gain all of the profits, while the state has to pay all of the costs.

More than half of Americans have private, employer-based insurance. And after Obama's big "you can keep your doctor" fumble, it's just not feasible. Trust in government is too low. A two-tier system should be implemented and only then do I think Americans may warm up to single payer. It will take decades.

[Foxaèr]

Where's Katniss when you need her?

[Jehanne]

Bump.

Donald Trump now predicting Russian interference:

Without a shred of evidence, yesterday Donald Trump tweeted that he is concerned that the Russians will help the Democrats in 2018:

Unless he talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin about this at their recent summit, he doesn't have a clue about Putin's plans and it is exceedingly unlikely that Putin would have told him anything, even if asked point blank. It is indeed possible that Putin will help the Democrats because his real goal is to sow discord within America and weaken the country. In 2016, he sensed that Trump would divide the country more than Hillary Clinton would. He may now believe that a Democratic House would impeach Trump, leading to a bloody trial in the Senate that would tear the country apart. That would serve his interests well. That said, Trump's "guess" is based on the notion that no president has been tougher on Russia than he has been, which is about as far from the truth as saying that Joe McCarthy mollycoddled Communists.

In reality, Trump doesn't believe a word of what is in his tweet. This is just another way for him to publicly insist that the Russians played no role in his victory. If he really believed that Putin was planning to use information warfare and other methods to help the Democrats, he would be taking strong action to prevent it. So far he has done nothing and there isn't much time left to take any action. Most likely, he really believes Putin will help him again because he thinks Putin is his friend. Putin knows otherwise. (V)

Trump Claims to Be Worried that Russians May Help Democrats in 2018

[Angrboda]

It doesn't matter. The Republican sheep will believe what Mein Fuehrer has to say no matter how ridiculous it is.

[Jehanne]

It doesn't matter.  The Republican sheep will believe what Mein Fuehrer has to say no matter how ridiculous it is.

It's turned into a cult, no different than Jim Jones.

[Amarok]

Red Wave you say

[Cecelia]

Hey at least I'm honest about it! I just don't believe in large government. I think much of it should be privatized such as education, ems and healthcare. At a bare minimum I believe government should serve only a few purposes. That is protect it's people, and it's people's rights. I just want my weed and guns.

BUT....that is how I feel. Don't hurt me

Education being privatized is the WORST idea ever.  And why I'd never vote Libertarian.  Yes, let's make something like education based solely on how much you can afford.  Let institutions come in and defraud parents of their money by creating crappy schools that aren't held to any standards because "Small Government."  Cause you know... that's what we already have with for-profit institutions.  

Maybe you should get off that weed, I think it's done too much brain damage already.  Either that, or you got your degree from University of Phoenix.  Maybe both.

[CapnAwesome]

It doesn't matter.  The Republican sheep will believe what Mein Fuehrer has to say no matter how ridiculous it is.

It's turned into a cult, no different than Jim Jones.

Lolwat?

[A Theist]

It's turned into a cult, no different than Jim Jones.

Lolwat?

Yeah, no shit!