Healthcare reform - It is necessary

First, a couple of facts:

The private insurance system in America is more socialism than public healthcare because the few pay for the many. If you're upset about paying for other people's healthcare, you must oppose our current system in which if you are paying premiums, co-pays, etc. you are paying mostly the costs of the uninsured. All rates are higher because of the problem of hospitals and doctors having to recoup their costs from uninsured and bankruptcies.

Second, almost 60% of all bankruptcies are due to medical bills. Over 75% of those families were insured. The lesson: playing by the rules and being responsible does not work. That means the system is broken. That would be like showing up for work, doing your job, and having them hand you a bill rather than a paycheck.

America needs healthcare reform, and it needs to stop being run by for-profit unregulated corporate giants. The myths about "social healthcare" are nonsense. It works around the globe, and provides better quality of life for residents in nearly every country on earth. France has public healthcare, it's cheaper than American premiums, and has more choice than the American system. Rather than listening to ignorant talking heads who are just trying to improve ratings, here is a great grid to show highlights of Single payer vs. public option.

Become informed, don't listen to the sensationalism.

Taxes, taxes, taxes... It's always all about taxes

Just wanted to emphasize something, since the noise machine simply will not be quiet about the T word.

Even if the Republicans cared at all about tax cuts for anyone who was not already a billionaire, would it matter? Let's assume they really are about tax cuts.

When you're unemployed, how does a tax cut help you?

When you can't pay an insurance premium, how does a tax cut help you?

When sales taxes are increased on groceries to cover your state's budget deficits, how does an income tax cut help you?

People in the middle class, please understand that your taxes could be cut to zero and that doesn't help you keep your house from being foreclosed on. If you're not making enough (or any) income to survive, what do tax cuts accomplish for you?

By the way, when the ultra-wealthy get bigger tax cuts do you really think they're just going to give that money away through new jobs? Why do they care? That would be a form of their wealth being redistributed.

Think about it.

Fireside conversation about economics, with a drunk conservative sympathizer

Sitting at the pub last night when a friend introduces a Twitter n00b to me. I honestly don't remember how an introduction turned political, but somehow it did. The young girl tells me that she likes what the Democrats do for us socially, but likes the Republican's economical policies much more. To which I had to reply that the only Republican economical policy is "Screw you all!"

She wanted to explain her argument to me, which I was happy to listen to, yet warned her that she can tell me why she feels that way only for me to prove everything she says is wrong. She had a look of surprise, but wanted to justify her position.

"Did you know that 1% of citizens pay 40% of all taxes? Do you really believe that is fair? As most of those people are small business owners who are struggling to survive right now."

She made this too easy on me. First, I asked her if she had any concept of what those top 1% make. She replied that her parents were in that number, clarifying that her parents were wealthy, she was not. So I asked her if her parents made more than $40,000 per day, why does she work, and further, why is she drinking Bud Light in a place like this. If her parents were in that top 1% they would make more than the average person's annual salary each day. Therefore, why would she work at all when her parents could hand her two days worth of pay and have her rolling in cash. 

Further, does she understand that the statement "pays 40% of the taxes" doesn't mean paying 40% taxes on their income. The real number is about 22% for these people. Let's do the math, and that means your parents make at least $10,000,000 annually, we're rounding down for simplicity. 22% would be 2,200,000 in taxes. Leaving them with only a measly $7,800,000 in their pocket, which is more than 150 times what the average American earns. (It's actually 177 based on these numbers, but I didn't break out the calculator right there).

So it takes 150 or more average Americans to pay the same amount of taxes that the top 1% do. Further, that is personal income tax you're talking about, which doesn't mean the total taxes collected in the country. So of course those who are extremely wealthy pay a greater share, the average person does not make anywhere near the amount of money so how could they contribute more? But the real point is this, you and your family do not benefit from Republican economics. Actually, you are worse off than you should be. You've been poisoned with lies to convince you to vote against your best interests by a power-hungry mob who despise the social good which you say you like. My only question to you now is, shouldn't it be time to talk to your parents about real economics and beg them to stop supporting and propagating this ridiculous mentality?

This is what is wrong with our nation today. Average people with modest lifestyles have been convinced to follow a system that hurts them. Sensationalism gets all the attention and people fall for it because very few of us are happy with our incomes and lifestyle. But the way to make things better is not by following the myths of tax breaks. Tax cuts can put maybe a thousand dollars in our pockets annually, when we are spending more than that each month in interest & insurance costs alone. So what would truly enhance your life? A measly tax cut, or health care reform that could save each of us $1000 per month?