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Here's an interesting twist on the employment picture: Dentists across the country are noticing...
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Friday, March 2, 2012, 7:45 PM ETHere's an interesting twist on the employment picture: Dentists across the country are noticing an increase in new patients coming through the door. Why? More people with health insurance as a result of getting full-time jobs.
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Turn off Fake News TV and talk to real working people.
Whatever is posted by Terry comes directly from the dnc and media matters talking points for the day. Never a thoughtful comment just lefty BS.
I was being serious in my above comment, not sarcastic.
Free dental care for kids is a high payback investment - dental disease is the leading cause of illness, lost school days etc. among kids. In fact dental diseases is the commonest condition affecting kids and is preventable. No child should miss a day of school or be afflicted with this.
Free dental care for pregnant women - especially single mothers is important - poor dental hygiene is the leading cause of low birth weight and premature babies - you reduce that and you save big bucks
Crooked teeth can create jaw problems but it is also well known that straight teeth improve the chances having a better paying job and getting out of poverty.
Free dental is a good investment. It is misguided to punish children and divert resources away from them. They should always be high priority.
E
http://bit.ly/wluLLc-
base model chevy cruze: in round numbers $58,000 !
a good use of taxpayers money.
highly leveraged and great payback. much better than ethanol subsidies or payments for green energy or to oil companies
E
It's never free ... it's just paid for via taxes and via the government. And in fact they do have it in every OCED country in the world. It's called national healthcare programs or to the right winger's it's called socialized medicine. The US is the only country in the western economies that does not.
Of course it's a good investment and so would a national healthcare program be as well. But it's like everything else, such would not maximize the incomes of the vested interests in the healthcare industry, so it will never happen in the US until it bankrupts the country first.
For those who doubt it, look at Holland. Holland had an almost identical healthcare system to the US about a decade ago and it was bankrupting the country. Holland moved to a national healthcare program which is entirely run by the private health insurers in Holland. The government just sets prices. Has resulted in dramatic improvements in Hollands healthcare system and costs according to all involved including: government, health insurers, healthcare industry, and citizens.
Nobody should get anything for "free". Sweep the streets, mow the grass in the park, just make the receivers of "free" stuff do something in return.
If the braces for the kids are "free" then have the parents do something.
For those of you seeking alpha - there is no alpha in what follows.
These are the issues we need to understand in relation to public expenditures
1. Wants and needs are unlimited but resources are finite
2. Priorities
3. ROI
Sadly for you and lot of others like you on the right and the left - you only partially understand
Starting with the obvious - yes everything must be paid for. In that context there is an optimal level of government or taxpayer provided services (of any kind) and an optimal level of taxation to deliver it. The answer to services can never be "none" or "womb to tomb" and the answer on taxes can never be 0% or over 60%. This is so self-evident but it must be said since neither side is able to see the issues as anything other than an all or nothing debate.
As a society we all contribute to and pay for defense, police, public education, etc. These seem to have some value. We al want to be safe and we all believe that educating children to a basic standard is a good idea. I am not going to get into the provision of those services - that is a whole other topic - for example I am big proponent of public education but believe that parents should be given vouchers and be free to choose where they send their kids - others strongly disagree with that point of view.
ROI. Some expenditures have very large payback. In that context not only are they free but they actually payback to society. Again returning to education - it is easy to understand this concept. You invest in a child's education and that child can go on to bigger and better things - this seems self evident.
Priorities.
This is an important point. So pay attention. Up to a certain point and if spent on the high ROI stuff expenditures tax payer funded expenditures create very large social goods and downstream investments.
Dental Health for children to the age of 21 is one such area. Avoiding lost days of school or very expensive emergency room visits by children (which are paid for) are simple examples of the large benefits of such a program. The benefits far outweigh the costs. It should be provided free and funded by taxpayers.
One that is in the news now and controversially for many- the Oral Contraceptive Pill - providing this free to all females over the age of 16 could create large social goods. This is public health issue - the avoidance of unwanted pregnancies and the increase in productivity generally should be weighed. Giving all women the ability to choose when they conceive may enable many to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. As an aside - I find Limbaugh's (jackass) comments reprehensible - not only because they are derogatory to women but also because they are stupid and miss the point - contraception is not about sex - it is about equality.
Sadly neither of these high ROI spends are funded - let's turn to some others that are
Medicare covers Viagra and other ED treatments. It is the God given right for everyman to get a boner but is it a priority worth spending tax payer money? Where is the ROI? For those of you are who are hard core Christian consertavies - this will really bake your noodles - what if the man is homosexual? How do you feel about funding his lifestyle? Do you like that? Just messing with you. I say the ROI is low. How about we stop paying for it? Just take it off the list.
Medicare also covers Dialysis. Treating this is about $100k per year per person. End Stage Renal Disease is a terrible condition - but if you cannot pay for it should society pick up the tab? I doubt it.
End of life care. Most health care costs are spent in the last year of life in a futile attempt to prolong it. As a doctor I have a living will and strict instructions to turn the machines off. We should make this choice easier for people by just not paying it - or giving them a life time max. You go over it and you are on your own.
If all of this evokes talk of "death panels" then so be it. Go ahead. But it is clear to al that limits must be set and priorities created and managed to. These are hard choices and serious ones. They need to be made and require rational discusion, cclear eyed evaluation and compromise by all sides. What we don't need is emotional discussions religion. This is not about that. There are some expenditures that have high payback that effectively do become free - by providing a benefit or avoiding other costs and there are others that are highly questionable. Poor children do not have lobbyists working for them - drug companies and others do. At the moment choices are made without regard to economics but with an over reliance on vested interests and religous (non economic) arguements. This has to change if we are to not become overburdened by taxes and to provide for those where needs are greatest.
E
Was the meal paid for with your welfare card or food stamp card?
Lets compare Obamacare with Romneycare then.
Romney mandated coverage of 8% of the population of Mass.
Mass - 6.4 million x .08 = 528,000 people on Romneycare
Obamacare mandated coverage 100% of US citizens
300 million people
So even Holland's healthcare system cannot even come close to the cost of what Obamacare will cost and it doesn't even do what Holland or Canada's system does.
So how can you compare these things together when the numbers are so far skewed, they are in the same category but far from an apples to apples comparison.
Ever heard of per capita comparisons? That's how everyone in the real world compares results and performance.
Yet a 4th benefit to my earlier suggestion posted below.
Work build self esteem. It is good for people.
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies.
Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion.That is “trillion” with a “T.” That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion.
Numbers that large are sometimes hard to understand. Some people may wonder why they matter. Here is why: This year, the Federal Government will spend $220 billion on interest. That is more money to pay interest on our national debt than we’ll spend on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. That is more money to pay interest on our debt this year than we will spend on education, homeland security, transportation, and veterans benefits combined. It is more money in one year than we are likely to spend to rebuild the devastated gulf coast in a way that honors the best of America.
And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.
Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities."
Senator Barack Obama
Senate Floor Speech on Public Debt
March 16, 2006
A lot of other restaurants are closed. Duh!
Bush killed over 5 million people from Iraq and over 60,000 young service men and women. Obama did not do that.
Bush killed over 60K service men and women?
What is your source for that number?
Wild exaggerations diminish any credibility your comment may otherwise have had. To be taken seriously , stop it.
If it were not true, why would he say it?
Look at the population of Iraq after war. Also Obma killed just one person that is Osama Bin Landen.
Yes our troops. He send them on the war.
That is the fact.
Service men and women refer to our armed forces and we did not have over 60K killed.
Obama has continued Bush policies for better or worse so not sure what you are trying to insulate him from.
Are you talking about wounded or killed? Maybe your english is getting in the way of what you are trying to say.
Bingo! The sex, drugs and rock and roll generation is in charge.
These savings will also save on future Obesity programs, and food stamps, as these people won't be able to eat much without teeth.
About 3 problems solved, all at once.
It is only common sense.
So I go with the poster that said people are doing now what they should have done last year or two ago, but could not afford.
Vivid proof of our decaying public school system.
One word of caution though: when a person believes his job is at risk, he makes the most of the benefits he has while he is working. If there is a question mark about your job existing at the end of March, you take your annual checkup now, and send the kids to the dentist for a cleaning and check up.
what is the correlation to the trend in unemployment? Personal bias is that I send the family to the dentist & for annual checkups if I think the job & the insurance will not be there in the future.
The best indicator of US 'health' (economic)...current account balance.
Out of 192 countries...US is dead last.
http://bit.ly/xD0mUT
US dead last in balance of payments:
http://bit.ly/y1jpiT
Oh yea all is well......
We are what we eat (and drink).
I can remeber waiting in the chair while my dentist had a long conversation with a mother who was concerned about having her teenage son's teeth whitened. I suppose there would be benefits, that glowing smile, keep up with the other kids, etc.
So it could just be the upper middle class and wealthy, back to buying luxury items, in this case, cosmetic dentistry.
Meanwhile longevity is fairly well predicted by how many teeth you still have. Bad teeth leads to heart problems, etc. So it would be really nice if every child in the country had adequate dental care.
I guess the surge in new patients is why I never got to see more than $20K in Fed Taxes this year..., now I know where they went. 1980-XLS 2.0 you're a genius btw...
""GM blamed the lack of sales in January on “exaggerated” media reports and the federal government's investigation into Volt batteries catching fire, which officially began in November and ended Jan. 21," the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News reported".
You can't make this s**t up.
Perhaps the can-do people who actually build things and keep the country humming do not have time to come to this neighborhood.
Those who think that this country is last in everything should spend a few days in Mumbai or Manila or Mombasa.
the whole point is that America should never be compared with Mumbi or Manila or Mombasa. Unfortunetely we are slipping fast, though hopefully not to those levels.
Just what can Americans expect when the rediculous debt we have run up has to dealt with in a crisis mode? We all know that until there is sereve crisis the debt will just be ignored.
Perhaps when a few more cities file chapter 11 and no more retiree benefits are paid that will be catalyst.
For conservatives, the distance from Obama hatred to America hatred seems to be shortening everyday.
The debt is ignored because it SHOULD be ignored. It's just a political (not economic) talking point.
Also, if your statement is true, then why do countries pay interest on their sovereign debt? Whar causes inflation?
Get a history lesson son.
Thanks for the clip. Send it to Buffet.
How long before we hear something similiar from the administration?
That's not entirely true about the debt not needing to be paid back. Most people don't understand who the USA is indebted to. The great majority of the debt is owed to ourselves. So if the debt is not repaid, that 401k or IRA or pension you are relying upon later in life may not funded. Then you must factor in the amount of money the govt/taxpayer will allocate to paying the interest on this debt.
Think operation twist and zirp is all about housing? Not a chance. Its also about servicing the debt. 30 yr t-bills at 3% interest when they should be over 10%. When the rate goes back to historical norms, how much more of your taxpayer dollar will be spent servicing 16.2 trillion of debt?
Like your medi-care and Social Security and your low tax rate? With rates at normal levels the govt will have some choices. 1) Tax you a lot more to pay the interest on the debt 2) Cut services and entitlements and use the money to pay interest on debt 3) Default.
Any way you slice it, the debt is a BIG issue and not to be misunderstood, and all should be concerned.
In case you have never been told it is considered YELLING if you type in all CAPS.
Kinda like cussing, if you do it for effect it works but if you do it all the time you just look ignorant...
You don't know what you are talking about. There is no other explanation for one of the worst posts on SA in years.
Its called: ByloSelhi
I thought it was terry.
Not a whisper was heard from these folks when Dick Cheney famously proclaimed that Reagan proved that deficits don't matter.
Obama hatred will drive these guys to insanity if it already has not. At least their God - four time married and off label Viagra aficionado - Limbaugh is already on the borderline and is about to cross over to la la land within a few more outbursts.
I refuse to engage in 'woe is us, we are the enemy' nonsense.
There are objective criteria that we can use to judge the performance of Presidents.
Obama, has run the debt up to 100% of GDP and doesn't seem to care about the example being laid before him in Europe. He is too busy leading from behind, and leading us into the same debt trap they set. Instead of using foresight, he uses hindsight.
-annual accumulated national debt
-Unemployment rates.
-Gasoiline Prices
-Dollar debasement
-Food prices
-Food stamp recipient statistics.
-Downgrades of US soveriegn debt.
-Percentage of Americans living in poverty
I could go on, but it may crash the SA servers as the list is simply too extensive.
What metrics exactly are you using?
I look at the change from 2009 - what he inherited - to today.
S&P 500 up 61%.
Taking care of Osama bin Ladin. (remember the 'I don't know where he is'?)
Also, the reversal of the job bleeding
http://bit.ly/yeSWoL
Lets examine what you just said:
He inherited a crisis, which he simply continued to do what Bush recommended...TARP, that was Bush.
S&P 500 up 61%, loose monetary policy and 0% interest rates makes the stock market the only place to put money. Savings account you lose money on inflation alone.
Osama was killed using Rendition, which also was a Bush policy that Obama used and benefited from, even after attempting to shut down the program, and GITMO.
Reversal of job bleeding is simply the markets taking care of itself. 1% decrease in unemployment is nothing to write home about, and one quarter 80k in jobs was McDonald's alone. Presidents don't create jobs, they just take credit for it.
So your points are so hollow and weak, it will be a miracle that your hero president is re-elected.
The CIA unit tasked to take care of Osama was shut down in 2005. It was revived by Obama.
That alone kills all your credibility.
Typical wingnut reaction. Anything good under a Democratic President has nothing to do with the President. This is what I expected you to say.
Anyway, I do not consider Obama a hero. I am, however, very aware of the Obama hatred that continues to rot the brains of conservatives and listeners of Rush Hannity Beck.
You are a very loyal Sheeple.
They really need you.
Mission Accomplished.
is that you hannity?
Status quo's dream.
It's working.
I miss Bush, at least you could count on him doing what he said. If he said he was gonna kill you, you could bank on it.
I also miss the 5% unemployment rate.
It has been observed that when a nation's debt equals or exceeds its GDP it results in slower growth. Which then drives high UE. We are experiencing this now.
Please don't burst the Sheeple's bubble.
They need to believe in something.