tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post1536746487020736313..comments2023-10-31T04:37:20.113-07:00Comments on Bloviating Zeppelin: Nine Trillion Dollars Lost, And Your Government Doesn't CareBloviating Zeppelinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01359816456769157176noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-52545935477803612232009-06-22T15:48:08.280-07:002009-06-22T15:48:08.280-07:00The talking points against public health care woul...The talking points against public health care would make a lot more sense if the VA and Medicare patients didn't have much lower health care costs per patient that any of the privately insured comparators. The VA is constantly being smeared, but the quality of care indicators actually compare favorably to private options. This in spite of the fact that their patient population is much sicker than the general population.<br /><br />Private insurance companies are loaded up with bureacrats whose job it is to run up their company's profits at patient expense, by denying reimbursement whenever possible, and by striking high risk patients from their insurance rolls whenever possible. What we have currently are high costs, health care rationing (if you can't afford it, or your insurance won't cover it, you don't get it), and relatively low quality health care compared to most other First World countries.<br /><br />For all the bally hoo about lawyers and tort reform, malpractice concerns contribute only a few percent to costs. The biggest driver for high costs is the profit motive. Doctors and medical groups make greater profits when they order more tests and perform more procedures. As a result, there is a strong incentive to over-treat patients with expensive tests and unnecessary surgical procedures.<br /><br />Because so many of us get our medical insurance from our employers, many of us are just a layoff and a major illness or injury away from bankruptcy. <br /><br />When a patient goes into a hospital, the physicians and staff are all made aware of what kind of insurance the patient has. The better the insurance, the more care they get. Rationing, in other words.<br /><br />There's a lot to be said for the free market, and government is not the solution to everything. But there are no free-market forces in medical care that drive costs down. There are only incentives that drive costs up. This is a case where private companies are screwing consumers when they are at their weakest, and there is nothing in place to stop it.<br /><br />The current private insurance based system is so expensive, and so bad that even a poorly run public program would be a big improvement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-16207238715750905712009-06-17T02:44:23.157-07:002009-06-17T02:44:23.157-07:00The Debt Star arrives.The Debt Star arrives.A Jacksonianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07607888697879327120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-3629194897932599792009-06-15T09:21:57.586-07:002009-06-15T09:21:57.586-07:00Pitchforks and Torches Time!!!
(Sorry I have been ...Pitchforks and Torches Time!!!<br />(Sorry I have been AWOL, Pollock "B" Season just began and Dutch Harbor is HOPPING)Carlisleboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10946443702898587022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-85605909156443394522009-06-15T07:08:55.440-07:002009-06-15T07:08:55.440-07:00Unfrickinbelievable. Watching videos like that lea...Unfrickinbelievable. Watching videos like that leaves you feeling a little hopeless. <br /><br />Lord how I hate bureaucrats.Thomas Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16715804034327241877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-30535435909147779652009-06-15T04:07:50.592-07:002009-06-15T04:07:50.592-07:00Just imagine all the money that will disappear una...Just imagine all the money that will disappear unaccounted for with a national healthcare plan!<br /><br />The idiot IG in the video is obviously stonewalling and, well, oblivious to the issue at hand. This study, that study; this investigation, that investigation -- all of which cost even <b>MORE</b> money.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-11366064653901009482009-06-14T20:42:50.058-07:002009-06-14T20:42:50.058-07:00Anony: ask him what? His phone number? His birth...Anony: ask him what? His phone number? His birthday?<br /><br />BZBloviating Zeppelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01359816456769157176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-19157677165007111212009-06-14T19:44:49.106-07:002009-06-14T19:44:49.106-07:00Ask Bush!Ask Bush!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-69059843755595534372009-06-14T16:05:46.106-07:002009-06-14T16:05:46.106-07:00Until we elevate the penalties for white collar cr...Until we elevate the penalties for white collar crimes in a massive fashion, until we begin to hold executives both public and private responsible for their fiscal behavior, this will continue unabated.<br /><br />All of these people are beyond Tone Deaf. They really are NOT beginning to realize the public is finally starting to become unsettled. And the LAST thing you want to do is kill your cash cow, the American Public -- because it is the American Public that pays for, essentially, MOST EVERYTHING on this planet, in every country.<br /><br />BZBloviating Zeppelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01359816456769157176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-3816337913401057552009-06-14T10:57:12.232-07:002009-06-14T10:57:12.232-07:00I found it very interesting how this dimwit IG tri...I found it very interesting how this dimwit IG tried to evade the question, BZ. That video made me more than a bit angry, it made me furious! I think there are many people out there who don't even realize how much money $9 <i>trillion</i> is.<br /><br />I also agree that we are far too soft on white collar crimes. I doubt if any person found guilty of a white collar crime, regardless of the amount of money stolen or the amount of people ruined, will ever get the death penalty, but I think life without parole in a real jail a viable option. <br /><br />Personally, I'd like to beat the snot out of this particular IG!Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02540710405153666843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-51809864498856082202009-06-14T07:00:47.580-07:002009-06-14T07:00:47.580-07:00I think she knows exactly where it went and she do...I think she knows exactly where it went and she doesn't want us to know lest we get a little upset.shoprathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05265612188236394307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-73715198897009986922009-06-13T21:38:18.966-07:002009-06-13T21:38:18.966-07:00Who knows if this money went into as dangerous han...Who knows if this money went into as dangerous hands as those weapons that were missing in Iraq? <br /><br />What a post, BZ...how can it not make everyone angry? manZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15989573357446569262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-32791226527112751302009-06-13T19:52:27.198-07:002009-06-13T19:52:27.198-07:00BZ,
I do understand my friend and I have many goo...BZ,<br /><br />I do understand my friend and I have many good friends dealing with what you are and I'm truly sorry.<br /><br />My point was that these assholes are going to do what they do. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, this has been going on since the beginning of the USA.<br /><br />They simply don't care.Ranandonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-4061850062087389462009-06-13T19:34:07.247-07:002009-06-13T19:34:07.247-07:00Mahndisa:
And how could this administration NOT s...Mahndisa:<br /><br />And how could this administration NOT see that EVERYTHING it wants requires billions and billions MORE dollars than it takes in?<br /><br />Our last truly balanced budget was way back in 1969. Since then, our debt has ALWAYS outstripped our revenue.<br /><br />How long can we continue to print money we don't have and remain the slightest bit VIABLE on the global screen??<br /><br />BZBloviating Zeppelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01359816456769157176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-70841125162378057312009-06-13T19:26:12.362-07:002009-06-13T19:26:12.362-07:00Well BZ:
I've been bitching about this for a w...Well BZ:<br />I've been bitching about this for a while now. It is totally true. Not only do they NOT care about where the money went, they are doing everything possible to bleed American families to death. The new smoking bill is bullcrap and it seems like everything this administration is doing is geared towards making us a broke nation and that bothers me to the core.Mahndisa S. Rigmaidenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08507292526980604567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-66919036319449722662009-06-13T19:11:43.276-07:002009-06-13T19:11:43.276-07:00Ranando: dude, I love you to death, but I happen t...Ranando: dude, I love you to death, but I happen to know you're insulated by cash. It allows you to take a stance and enjoy vacations and diversions that the rest of us don't encounter. I'm not quite so insulated; daily events affect me either positively or negatively. I wish I could embrace your lifestyle and have a little of it for myself. Life, for me, just isn't going that way. <br /><br />I say: God bless you for your insulation. May you and your wife and family only prosper and be enriched, and not suffer in the slightest.<br /><br />Just please understand that, perhaps, me and a few other people don't have that ability. I hitched my ship up to a local government job and then gave it the best 30 years of my life. <br /><br />Now, at 60, I'm facing a removal of my retirement, my diminution in seniority, a tier reduction, top step removal, at the worst possible time. I'm not 23 anymore. I can't just step up and take any job. I lawfully could retire tomorrow -- and then lose whatever benefits I've worked long and hard to accumulate.<br /><br />Everyone knows: private business is high-risk/high gain. There are bonuses to be earned for performance.<br /><br />I came from a gov family and chose slow and steady. I gave up bonuses and rewards in exchange for some semblance of solidarity and consistency. <br /><br />Just please understand that Life isn't an ignorable Bowl of Cherries at this point.<br /><br />BZBloviating Zeppelinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01359816456769157176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7370534.post-61688891439275422009-06-13T18:31:42.836-07:002009-06-13T18:31:42.836-07:00I felt the same way about the billions of dollars ...I felt the same way about the billions of dollars and millions of dollars in weapons that went missing in Iraq.<br /><br />In that case these dollars and weapons may have gone to our enemies, no outrage there.<br /><br />As for your post, I agree this is an outrage but I have no control over it so I don't let it get to me.<br /><br />Just another day in Washington.Ranandonoreply@blogger.com