OBAMACARE and
the CULINARY ARTS
 |
| A Classic Culinary Disaster |
The President’s Signature Legislation is a Septic Sauce
Funny that no one yet (to my knowledge has used this singularly apt analogy from the Culinary Arts:
It is virtually impossible to "fix" a sauce that has gone wrong. Once you've put in a wrong ingredient –– or even too much of a right one –– there's really nothing to do but throw the whole batch away, and start over again –– THIS time paying STRICT attention to ALL the details in the list of instructions of a tried and true recipe.
Instead of wasting time and energy hurling insults, hooting catcalls and throwing brickbats at Democrats for their treachery and idiotic misdeeds, what REPUBLICANS should have been doing all this time was SETTING UP and EMPHASIZING a simple, clear set of instructions designed to make our medical system work better for a greater number of people.
Instead of wasting time and energy hurling insults, hooting catcalls and throwing brickbats at Democrats for their treachery and idiotic misdeeds, what REPUBLICANS should have been doing all this time was SETTING UP and EMPHASIZING a simple, clear set of instructions designed to make our medical system work better for a greater number of people.
HOW WE SHOULD HAVE FIXED our MEDICAL CARE SYSTEM
1. ALL medical expenses should have been made TAX-DEDUCTIBLE –– PERIOD!
2. ALL HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES should have been made PORTABLE from state to state and job to job, and should not lapse because of unemployment.
3. ALL policies should be written for MAJOR MEDICAL EXPENSES ONLY with a 5 to 10 thousand dollar deductible. (Anyone who can't afford to pay 5K toward his own medical care probably doesn't deserve to live anyway.
4. Doctors and Hospitals should be REQUIRED by LAW to accept regular MONTHLY PAYMENTS without INTEREST, however small, from patients unable to pay their deductible expenses.
5. ONLY the absolutely DESTITUTE (i.e. mentally and physically incompetent people living in the street with no hope of becoming gainfully employed), should receive ANY government assistance whatsoever.
6. Our DISABLED VETERANS should have ALL the very BEST CARE AVAILABLE provided FREE of CHARGE, and they and their minor children be given decent housing, and a TAX-FREE status for the rest of their lives
7. VICTIMS of VIOLENT CRIMES [these should NOT include "Date Rape" or "Statutory Rape" or the so-called mental suffering from the long-term after-effects of Child Abuse, Racial Slurs, Name-calling, Sexual Harassment, etc.] should receive MONETARY COMPENSATION for their losses, and whatever treatment they may require FREE of CHARGE, and be granted TAX-FREE status for the rest of THEIR LIVES. [Violent assault implies the need for extended medical treatment, and long lasting effects of maiming or crippling, hence the need for special status.]
8. Strict and severe limitations should have been placed in the right of anyone to SUE doctors, hospitals and laboratories for MALPRACTICE. The process has become a tremendously lucrative RACKET for unscrupulous attorneys and wily, unprincipled individuals eager to “milk” or “game” The System. The EXPENSE to the Medical Community has been RUINOUS, and has, of course, been passed on to decent, perfectly innocent “consumers” like you and me.
Let's see if we can get our heads together and try to refine and improve these thoughts, then send our findings to the legislators. Please don't laugh, I beg you.
I'm reading an interesting book right now: Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed By Father -- and How We Can Fix It. See this information at Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThe author of the book does not support ObamaCare and does support a form of nationalized medical insurance, but for reasons that most have not cited.
Although the author doesn't mention that "the sauce has been ruined," he might as well! Excellent analogy, FT!
"Let's see if we can get our heads together and try to refine and improve these thoughts"
ReplyDeleteGet our herds together with progressives?
That is a real shocker!!
PLEDIA VALEGIONCE said
ReplyDeleteWhere did he mention progressives? He is talking about what those on the RIGHT ought to PROMOTE.
With naysayers and faultfinders like you around, Anonymous, we will never find our way out of the woods. People like you are what makes The Stupid Party stupid.
Lots of good ideas here and you dwell on a stupid idea not presented in the article.
Putting all medical expenses in a NO TAX ZONE, and encouraging citizens to save as much as possible for medical emergencies in TAX-FREE INVESTMENTS, instead of pissing their wages away on beer and wine and rock concerts, tattoos, piercings, and designer jeans and the like would help a lot.
Wouldn't "getting our heads together" be, well... sort of like collectivism? Oh my gawd, and thus progressive, the great and loathsome destroyer of everything good and wholesome.
ReplyDeleteLeaving one with the choice of... Hemlock?
Possibly of interest: Obamacare ‘the greatest act of punitive liberalism’ Democrats have imposed on America.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriot Act and the NSA are greater threats to liberty and freedpms than the ACA ever will be. A "chicken in every pot", a bogeyman in every cormer.
ReplyDeleteAhh, if only those idyllic days of the 50's would only return.
Les,
ReplyDeleteThe Patriot Act and the NSA are greater threats to liberty and freedpms than the ACA ever will be.
Hindsight will prove otherwise, IMO. Financial slavery via unaffordable premiums and reduced healthcare networks will be the reality for many in the middle class. Furthermore, reduced disposable income will significantly impact our already-gasping-for-air economy.
I do recall that very few ere concerned when the Patriot Act was made law.
Many are unconcerned, until it is too late.
DeleteI would be more concerned with a declining middle class as more jobs are shipped offshore to keep prices low because American consumets want their toys on the cheap and business responds so they find ways to provide lower costs and remain profitable as well
Nothing is ever as simple as most would prefer.
Hum, a Patriot. You hear this word spoken all the time in American politics. Yet there seems to be so many definitions attributed to it. On one hand, you have Conservatives/Republicans/Libertarians defining a patriot who extols the will of our Constitution. Or a soldier on the battlefield defending our freedom. On the other, you have Liberals/Democrats/Progressives defining patriotism as helping the poor, educating our children and offering change to the country that would better suit the collective. An activist standing up for the rights of others. You hear the word bandied about and abused as a weapon or a tool for the disparagement of others in the political arena. But does anyone know what a real patriot is?
ReplyDeleteI was taught that patriotism was something resulting in love of country over self. I still believe that. I love my country, even in the sordid state of affairs it's in right now. But there are so many ways people define a Patriot. Many people when they hear the term, conjure up images of George Washington crossing the Delaware River or the First Continental Congress signing the Declaration of Independence. But nobody knows what a real patriot is, neither side has it right. To be a patriot, one should be devoted to your country, through thick and thin, to love her and cherish her like the finest cut diamond.
Patriotism isn't something which can be linked to political viewpoints. It is blasphemous to suggest such. If one questions another’s patriotism, is it for disagreement in politics? If it is, the one is a fool, for he knows not the true meaning of patriotism. If one questions another’s patriotism, is it for gauging their love of country? If it is, then the one is enlightened, knowing full well the meaning of what it takes to be a patriot.
Demonstrating respect for the law is patriotic? To what extent do you "demonstrate respect for the law"? To be patriotic would be knowing when those laws are unjust and tyrannical. To "demonstrate respect for the law" without question is nothing more than slavery. Now if you were unhappy with people "supporting armed aggression towards another country that is violation of the law" then where were you when Obama attacked Libya? Or Yemen? Or Pakistan? And wanted to attack Syria! And supported the OVER THROWING and the MURDERING of Foreign Leaders? Was Obama being patriotic?
Why is it you say "shouting down someone else's opinion because you don't like to hear it" is unpatriotic, when just recently Obama's friends from Organizing for America tried to shout down Ted Cruz at the Values Voters Summit the other week, and when Harry Reid, and Obama violated, and trampled all over the Constitution? Were they supporting Ted Cruz’s right to disagree?
The President doesn’t have the authority to simply ignore Congress and say, ‘We’re not going to enforce the laws you’ve passed.’”
And when you suggest that "everyone should be given due process of law" just who is 'everyone'? Illegal’s? Foreign terrorists? That is unpatriotic.
My question to you, all you guests of Mr Thinke, do you know what makes a patriot?
Forgive me if I call your pending replies bullshit.
This is the Libertarian Purity Test, which is intended to measure how libertarian you are. It isn't intended to be any sort of McCarthyite purging device -- just a form of entertainment, hopefully thought-provoking. I like it a lot better than the more famous "World's Shortest Political Quiz" because I haven't stated the questions with any intent to give an upward bias to a test-taker's score, and because it gives a clearer breakdown between hard and soft-core libertarians. Enjoy, suggest your friends try it out, and see how you compare to other test-takers...
ReplyDeleteAre taxes too high?
Yes
No
Is government spending too high?
Yes
No
Are we over-regulated?
Yes
No
Are you for free trade?
Yes
No
Should the minimum wage be abolished?
Yes
No
Should rent control be abolished?
Yes
No
Are zoning laws too strict?
Yes
No
Do we spend too much on Medicare?
Yes
No
Do we spend too much on Social Security?
Yes
No
Should we privatize the Post Office?
Yes
No
Would school vouchers be an improvement over government schools?
Yes
No
Should we relax immigration laws?
Yes
No
Would housing vouchers be an improvement over government housing?
Yes
No
Should the government sell off more of the public lands?
Yes
No
Are worker safety regulations too strict?
Yes
No
Does drug-approval take too long?
Yes
No
Do you think we spend too much on anti-poverty programs?
Yes
No
Is occupational licensing (for doctors, plumbers, and other professions) too strict?
Yes
No
Does the government spend too much on higher education?
Yes
No
Does the Federal Reserve have too much discretionary power?
Yes
No
Should marijuana be legalized?
Yes
No
Should all sex between consenting adults be legal -- even for money?
Yes
No
Do you believe in freedom of expression for books, newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, and so on, even for offensive and unpopular views and subject matters?
Yes
No
Should private clubs have sole authority to select their own members, even if they are discriminatory?
Yes
No
Are you against national service?
Yes
No
Are you against the draft?
Yes
No
Does the U.S. intervene too much in other countries?
Yes
No
Should the military budget be cut?
Yes
No
Should the U.S. refuse to pay for the defense of allies that are rich enough to defend themselves?
Yes
No
If it has to fight a war, should the U.S. try harder to avoid civilian targets?
Yes
No
Love your country (the state) more than yourself? Hm, collectivists love that I'm sure. Especially the consevatve, neo con. and so con statists.
ReplyDeleteBeing a patriot means to question ANYTHING that threatens the principle than man/woman exit for their own sake. The same principle can be appled to nations. Reason then dictates the need for laws and recognizing the rule of law to maintain social order.
A patriot should recognize that armed force is justified only in the face of aggression against your person, your family, or your nation.
Reason, individualism, capitalism, respect for the rule of law, and the willingness to defend those values is for me patriotism. Acquiescence to boilerplate platitudes and hyperbole from either side is not.
Free... regarding insurance portability...
ReplyDeleteGiven that states make the regulations that insurance companies must adhere to, how exactly should we make their product portable across state lines?
Wouldn't that involve a significant move by the feds to standardize the industry?
If so, how could conservatives, who have long advocated against this type of federal reach, support such a muscular federal reach?
Many times we do not get the laws, or programs we want, but the ones we can politically pass.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThanks TemplarKormac, you made my day.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's a septic sauce. You can't get 85% of Americans to move to Single Payer without completely ruining what was previously working for them.
ReplyDeleteThank you, FJ, for cutting through the balderdash, and getting straight to the heart of the matter.
ReplyDeleteI believe The Obamafia has found a way to implement the Cloward-Piven strategy very effectively. [Look it up, if you don't know. Those ignorant of the meaning of the term have no right to an opinion on the subject.]
This thread was not supposed to be about patriotism per se, it is intended to be a springboard for discussion as to how we might BEST revise our medical care system.
ObamaCare obviously is not it. There have been far better alternatives waiting in the wings for decades, but neither party has been the least bit interested in discussing them -- much less attending to their implementation.
The ulterior motive behind ALL so-called "liberal" initiatives is to expand the central government's power over the individual, eliminate freedom of choice or reduce it as much as possible, and to REDISTRIBUTE existing wealth in ways that will cripple anyone's chances of generating greater wealth for himself, his company or the nation. In short the Goal of the Left is to reduce all citizens to a mushy, malleable malodorous mediocrity.
As for defining patriotism, I can tell you more easily what it is not:
Anyone who favors an ideology, a foreign religion such as Islam, or seditious, anarchistic policies antithetical to the principles laid down by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution -- principles that clearly regard LIBERTY as the highest of all virtues -- could never properly be regarded as a patriot.
"... a foreign religion such as Islam..." Hm, christianity was born in, the middle east? Technically doesn't that classify it as a foreign religion as well? I suppose being a Norman would then qualify you as a super patriot.
ReplyDeleteFree Thinke, someone should write a poem and entitle it... "America, Frozen in Time circa 1789."
A smart man once said to me to standstill is to move backards. He was a conservative, He was right then, he is still right today.
@Dave Miller --
ReplyDeleteFree... regarding insurance portability...
Given that states make the regulations that insurance companies must adhere to, how exactly should we make their product portable across state lines?
Wouldn't that involve a significant move by the feds to standardize the industry?
--------------
Bingo ! Dave wins the large kewpie doll.
The reason insurers want portability is that it would allow them to operate at the lowest level of regulation.
Of course Federal regulation avoids all that but that would be socialism.
Since when did the word " foreign" have but one definition?
ReplyDeleteMore properly, RN, it's a matter of being frozen around 1952.
ReplyDeleteYeah Ducky, perhaps you have a point. Does reactionary work for ya?
DeleteGod must have loved idiots and contrarians. If He didn't why did He make so many of them?
ReplyDeletePlayne Jayne of the Great Plains
but, but, but, he have everyone free will. Didn't he? Or was he a she? Or perhaps, just a concept of man, er women, er both?
ReplyDeleteOne day everyone will know. Or not.
RN USA,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the premise of your last comment (10:38 PM). We were supposed to have a "Service Economy" to replace the "Production Economy" when unions (I've been in six of them) priced us out of the "World Market". That doesn't seem to be working either as much of the, so called, service has also been "out-sourced" to other countries, as well. As you know, our various forms debt (deficit caused and unfunded liabilities) has reached unsustainability or worse and our balance of trade completely sucks. Since socialism and isolationism have, long since being tried, been proven not to work; what is your plan? All I know is that we can't continue to pay people to produce nothing as we continue to borrow and print money not backed up by commensurate production of goods and services.
ReplyDelete_______ The Road Not Taken _______
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~ Robert Frost (1874–1963) - from Mountain Interval (1920)