GOP plan to cut Medicare and Medicaid!

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Being unable to pick up on the emotional distress of others is one thing, while refusing to feel empathy for another is quite another. As you have described yourself as coming from at least a moderately affluent family with conservative views that extend to racial and class matters, I speculate that that has more to do with your opinions than Asperger's does.
The people getting government help generally are truly needy, as the government confirms income of individuals applying for said help. They just don't throw money to anyone just for the asking.
I have no idea who Dave Ramsey is, though from what you'v e told me, I'd probably very much dislike him.

People in western countries with universal health care and high taxes seem to have a pretty high standard of living and happiness index. I think results should have more precedent than political theory.

I can't believe you advocate for taking people's money. To me that is an absence of morality, like a home burglar that justifies criminal behavior by convincing himself, "they're rich, I'm not, so it's OK". Where's the morality? Where's the empathy for people and their hard-earned money?

What's wrong with taxes if your money is pooled with more money to implement systems and infrastructure that you could never afford on your own and that benefit you?

Your health insurance actually works in a similar way. Your premium goes in to a health insurance pool and when someone who hasn't paid in as much has a big medical expense, your money pays for some of it. Likewise when you have a big medical expense that exceeds what you have paid in. The money others contributed pays for it.

The difference is a private health insurance company can find ways to drop you when you need them and that doesn't happen with government universal health care.

As I previously said, Europeans don't like universal health care because it benefits their neighbor. They like it because it benefits themselves.

That's not accurate.

Very few countries with "universal health care" score higher than the US., most are far below the US in terms of "standard of living".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... ealth_care

And all of them are below the US in household wealth accumulation, which is high on my list
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/income/

I said western countries.

The 19 countries with the highest standard of life



It's not what you have but what you have gets you.

I said western countries.
The 19 countries with the highest standard of life
This is a "Social Progress" list made by a company called "Social progress imperative".

For me #1 is freedoms. Likely, not even measured on this list.

Cognitive empathy show you peoples emotional states, and how to properly react to it, but it do not make you feel compassion for them; this is rather coming from affective empathy, something not affected, or possibly strengthen, by ASD.


The way you define "freedom" is not a freedom at which I'm interested with; which in long term is incompatible with the way I see freedom, as your "freedom" bring inevitable steep social inequality, which then bring social problems and a rise of intolerance that destroy what I see as freedom.

I like freedom too. Like freedom to walk in to the hospital, get treatment, and not have to worry about medical bills. Freedom to not die from treatable things. Freedom to live without having to worry about being denied necessary medical care.

I think you are going to be in for a serious financial and reality shock if a serious illness ever befalls you.

Taxation is NOT theft, regardless of what you conservatives say. It's the price we pay for living in a civilized society.
As far as morality goes - - is allowing someone to die for lack of medical care morally acceptable? Because that's just greed in action. If people with money weren't so tightfisted, there wouldn't be this problem.
It's difficult to feel empathy for people with money when it's opposed to empathizing with people who could die just because they can't afford medical care.

every person that has said to me "i'm just looking out for #1," is IMHO exhibiting sociopathic behavior, or at the very least malignant narcissism. there is absolutely no difference between this statement, and "all for me and screw you!" or "I've got mine so you can go to hell!" there is NO EARTHLY use in engaging such toxic selfish people. avoid them and avoid unhappiness.

That's slavery.

You want to indenture people to provide you with things.

Other people want to indenture you to provide money for wars -- they will say "That's freedom". The "freedom" to wage war.

Last edited by LoveNotHate on 01 Jul 2018, 5:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

this old-timer is reminded here, of a stuck groove in a phonograph recording.

That's all people. Everyone is looking out for #1. It's "egoism". The difference is conservatives are more honest about it.

i'm sure The Dotard-in-chief feels the same way. but that is quite an egocentric way of thinking, NOT all people are like that, but such worldly moral relativism only sees itself. some people choose mammon, others choose something greater.

If you were really looking out for yourself then why wouldn't you want unhindered access to health care without the risk of losing coverage or being saddled with a debt that financially ruins you?

You have $6,000 more a year due to tax cuts but that's a nominal sum in the world of American health care. There's a saying "Money in the bank is more valuable than money in the hand". It means that money invested is more valuable than money that is not, and paying a little more in taxes and getting universal health care out of it for yourself would be more beneficial to you than your current situation for the following reasons.

1. You can't be denied or lose universal coverage.

2. In the long run you will likely end up paying less. The cost of health care in the U.S. currently significantly out paces any interest you get from money you have that you can invest in low or moderate risk investments. If you were able to invest you invested $100,000 income (I am guessing you can't but let's be generous) at the lucrative rate of 7% interest annually, that is a return of $7,000 before any taxes. Let's be more generous and say it's tax free. But let's say that year some horrible thing befell you and you ended up with $100,000 in medical bills. Your insurance covers some of it but not nearly as much as you thought because...

a) You were actually kept in an "out patient observational unit" rather than admitted as an in patient. This means the hospital billed everything as out patient. This is good for the hospital because it means they don't run the risk of your insurance company refusing to pay for everything and it also allows them to charge you higher rates for more things. This is also good for your insurance company because it allows your insurance to be more selective about what they covered and how. They have decided many things were not covered or not medically necessary given the circumstances so you are responsible for those fees.

b) You were seen by out of network providers. Some did procedures on you but most of these people just came in your room and talked to you while you were in a drug induced daze and billed it as a very expensive consultation.

c) The out of network providers are unhappy with the out of network compensation your insurance has provided for their services so they "balance bill" you. They hold you responsible for paying the part of their fee that insurance company didn't.

d) The hospital gave you a $10,000 non formulary medication. Because you were considered an out patient, this was billed to your insurance through your pharmacy benefits, leaving you responsible for the co-pay.

Let's say when all was said and done, they actually ended up paying 60%. You are responsible for paying $40,000 and that is on top of your premium. There goes your $6,000 in saved taxes. There goes your $7,000 in investment returns. There goes whatever you had in your HSA and the remainder from your savings, and it can all happen all over again in an instant.

What if the only thing you ever had to pay was a premium and perhaps it would be lower than what you pay now because the insurance pool would be bigger with universal health care?