How would ending say the Department of Education or Health and Human Services as two useless federal programs harm national security?![]()
How are they useless you squishy pile of shit?
No, but the Department of Education and Health and Human Services will do their part to make sure they are poorly educated and in ill health...
Maybe we should stop importing so many illegals. That'd be a start...
Republican efforts to defund the federal government is harming national security. These efforts will continue until the US has another 9/11 moment. Possibly a nuclear one or a dirty bomb.
When even the RW Washington Examiner expresses concern about national security and Republicans shutting down the government, most Americans should be concerned too.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...omeland-security-programs-government-shutdown
Two Homeland Security programs tied to government shutdown in danger of disappearing
Oops. Too late.![]()
Congrats, Terry. You've officially attained geezerhood.![]()
Obviously, you don't have any evidence since you didn't provide any. Did you get this opinion off a Tweet? Your friends on this forum or others? A Trump speech?
States have their own departments of education. It's not rocket science to appreciate that a state's or the entire nation's youth benefit the nation by being well educated. Like the US military, why wouldn't all states benefit from a central federal agency to coordinate both local and national problems?
Why are you and your Alt-Right friends so anxious to kill the Federal government?
https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea
https://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml
Why do you think Americans are better off being poorly educated and in ill health in the 21st century?
How can the US compete with rising stars like China and Brazil with a population of sick dumbasses?
Why do you think Americans are better off being poorly educated and in ill health in the 21st century?
How can the US compete with rising stars like China and Brazil with a population of sick dumbasses?
No link? IS this because you're a plagiarist or because you wrote it yourself?
Remember how you used to always bemoan name-calling and tried to keep the conversation on an even keel, albeit leaning to starboard? I miss those days.
No link? IS this because you're a plagiarist or because you wrote it yourself?
You're cherry-picking two organizations. How about the US military? The Department of Homeland Security? The CIA? The FBI?
The only people guaranteed to be paid during a government shutdown are... wait for it..... congressmen and senators? Yeehah.
Congrats, Terry. You've officially attained geezerhood.![]()
Obviously, you don't have any evidence since you didn't provide any. Did you get this opinion off a Tweet? Your friends on this forum or others? A Trump speech?
States have their own departments of education. It's not rocket science to appreciate that a state's or the entire nation's youth benefit the nation by being well educated. Like the US military, why wouldn't all states benefit from a central federal agency to coordinate both local and national problems?
Why are you and your Alt-Right friends so anxious to kill the Federal government?
https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea
https://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml
Republican efforts to defund the federal government is harming national security. These efforts will continue until the US has another 9/11 moment. Possibly a nuclear one or a dirty bomb.
When even the RW Washington Examiner expresses concern about national security and Republicans shutting down the government, most Americans should be concerned too.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...omeland-security-programs-government-shutdown
Two Homeland Security programs tied to government shutdown in danger of disappearing
I wrote it myself. It is a Word file on my computer.
This was in response to someone writing a letter to the editor in the Arizona Republic dated July 16 2017
Hello Reginald,
Read your column on Obamacare in Sunday’s paper. Oh, what follows is completely polite. No diatribes, no insults. Wanted to get that out there up front. We gain nothing if we just shout at each other. I read your column, please read my response.
I won’t go through the history lesson of the government making a mess of health insurance and how we pay for health care in America. It’s really a moot point.
I also completely disagree with you on the ACA. Obamacare is a train wreck. It’s a big government solution to a problem that was generated and passed by idiots. That’s being polite, believe me. I sincerely doubt you or I would set up a business system that provides employees health insurance based on Obamacare.
Oh, I don’t care if Obamacare is popular or not. This isn’t high school and we aren’t voting on a class president…
The “death spiral” is real. It’s already visible to anyone who spends some time looking at what insurers are doing. Last year, here in Arizona we almost had one county (Pinal) without any plans on the Obamacare marketplace.
This year, we’re already looking at 40 to 200 counties nationwide that won’t have a plan, depending on who’s data you use. The big health insurers are jumping ship, that’s a fact. Blue Cross, Etna, and Humana, among others are fleeing the program. The smaller companies can’t take the losses even if they stay in the program. They’ll pull out too. Maybe not this year, but within a year or two they’ll be gone.
In Arizona, it’s entirely possible that for the FY 2018 open season only Maricopa and Pima counties will have an Obamacare plan available. That’s two of sixteen counties.
Of course, insurers want the ACA to continue and the government to guarantee their losses are covered. It’s a sure bet for them. They don’t give a rat’s patoot that people get crappy coverage so long as their bottom line is in the black. But, with Trump and the Republicans refusing to cover (illegally I might add due to the poor set up of Obamacare) those losses in full, the insurers are bailing.
Obamacare coverage is no better or worse than what people had previously. But, Obamacare does force one-size-fits-all coverage on people. You can’t have a “better” plan, or opt for minimal coverage. You get one type of policy and the deductible is the only variable.
So, if Obamacare is a disaster, what to do?
Well, the solution I suggest follows. Please read it. I spent a lot of time thinking it up, more than Congress has, that’s for sure. It involves getting government out of the way, making people responsible for their own health care costs, and gives crumbs to big insurers and the government to make them feel better they’re being kicked to the curb.
First, we make all health care expenses 100% tax deductible. Your personal health care costs are high? You can deduct all of them from your taxes. Why should the government be taxing people for trying to stay healthy?
Next, we expand the Individual Health Savings account program immensely. Money put into these accounts is pre-tax now. Second, the limit is taken off. You can stuff as much into one of these as you want.
If you take the cash out for health expenses, it’s tax free. If you take it out for something else (ie., you don’t direct pay a health provider by debit card or check) then you get it taxed as income.
For those who are low income and get things like EIC (Earned Income Credit) this money doesn’t go to the taxpayer directly but is instead deposited in their health care payment account to cover their costs up to a maximum amount of say $5,000. Once they hit that number, they get the EIC as a tax return just like now.
That means virtually everybody has a health care savings account. Better, we could make these earn some interest too. That’s for discussion.
We also make these accounts available to businesses. But, we do it a bit differently with these. Like the personal ones, each employee gets an account up to a limit of say $5,000 to $10,000. The exact amount isn’t critical here for discussion. The employer simply reimburses the employee for health costs as they occur and the employee reports them.
This system is easily implemented. Most employers already have companies managing employee pay, like ADP, due to the complexity of government regulations.
Now comes the sweet part for employees and employers. At the end of each year, the employer and employee are allowed to split the remaining funds in each account 50 – 50.
That means if the employer account is $5,000 per year and the employee doesn’t use the account they get a $2,500 bonus at the end of the year. The employer, likewise, gets a similar “bonus” to use towards reducing their costs next year on employee health care costs.
Now, to cover massive, costly health problems… That’s where insurers and the government come in. What we do is abolish Medicare / Medicade and replace it with a national catastrophic health insurance program with a $5,000 to $10,000 deductible. This might be higher or lower. Again, that’s for debate. But, everybody has this coverage.
That means hospitals will only be out the deductible for anybody they treat. That’s collectable if the individual doesn’t pay up front or make payments. They can live with that It also means almost anyone will be able to cover most or all of the deductible from their own pocket via their health spending account.
Thus, individuals can have their own spending account to pay for health care, employers and employees have a similar account they use together, and everybody gets covered for major medical disasters in their lives.
The government stops taxing people for paying for their health care, and insurers are running the catastrophic plans.
If someone wants more health insurance coverage, they’re free to pay for that too. You, the individual, get to pay for what you think you need in health care rather than have the government decide for you.
Well, that’s my plan. I think it’s a damn sight better than the semi-socialized medicine, one-size-fits-all government mandated Obamacare plan is any day of the week.
I've been very consistent on this on the subject of health insurance and paying for health care for decades.
You are trying 'Whataboutisms' as a response here.
This was in response to someone writing a letter to the editor in the Arizona Republic dated July 16 2017
Hello Reginald,
Read your column on Obamacare in Sunday’s paper. Oh, what follows is completely polite. No diatribes, no insults. Wanted to get that out there up front. We gain nothing if we just shout at each other. I read your column, please read my response.
I won’t go through the history lesson of the government making a mess of health insurance and how we pay for health care in America. It’s really a moot point.
I also completely disagree with you on the ACA. Obamacare is a train wreck. It’s a big government solution to a problem that was generated and passed by idiots. That’s being polite, believe me. I sincerely doubt you or I would set up a business system that provides employees health insurance based on Obamacare.
Oh, I don’t care if Obamacare is popular or not. This isn’t high school and we aren’t voting on a class president…
The “death spiral” is real. It’s already visible to anyone who spends some time looking at what insurers are doing. Last year, here in Arizona we almost had one county (Pinal) without any plans on the Obamacare marketplace.
This year, we’re already looking at 40 to 200 counties nationwide that won’t have a plan, depending on who’s data you use. The big health insurers are jumping ship, that’s a fact. Blue Cross, Etna, and Humana, among others are fleeing the program. The smaller companies can’t take the losses even if they stay in the program. They’ll pull out too. Maybe not this year, but within a year or two they’ll be gone.
In Arizona, it’s entirely possible that for the FY 2018 open season only Maricopa and Pima counties will have an Obamacare plan available. That’s two of sixteen counties.
Of course, insurers want the ACA to continue and the government to guarantee their losses are covered. It’s a sure bet for them. They don’t give a rat’s patoot that people get crappy coverage so long as their bottom line is in the black. But, with Trump and the Republicans refusing to cover (illegally I might add due to the poor set up of Obamacare) those losses in full, the insurers are bailing.
Obamacare coverage is no better or worse than what people had previously. But, Obamacare does force one-size-fits-all coverage on people. You can’t have a “better” plan, or opt for minimal coverage. You get one type of policy and the deductible is the only variable.
So, if Obamacare is a disaster, what to do?
Well, the solution I suggest follows. Please read it. I spent a lot of time thinking it up, more than Congress has, that’s for sure. It involves getting government out of the way, making people responsible for their own health care costs, and gives crumbs to big insurers and the government to make them feel better they’re being kicked to the curb.
First, we make all health care expenses 100% tax deductible. Your personal health care costs are high? You can deduct all of them from your taxes. Why should the government be taxing people for trying to stay healthy?
Next, we expand the Individual Health Savings account program immensely. Money put into these accounts is pre-tax now. Second, the limit is taken off. You can stuff as much into one of these as you want.
If you take the cash out for health expenses, it’s tax free. If you take it out for something else (ie., you don’t direct pay a health provider by debit card or check) then you get it taxed as income.
For those who are low income and get things like EIC (Earned Income Credit) this money doesn’t go to the taxpayer directly but is instead deposited in their health care payment account to cover their costs up to a maximum amount of say $5,000. Once they hit that number, they get the EIC as a tax return just like now.
That means virtually everybody has a health care savings account. Better, we could make these earn some interest too. That’s for discussion.
We also make these accounts available to businesses. But, we do it a bit differently with these. Like the personal ones, each employee gets an account up to a limit of say $5,000 to $10,000. The exact amount isn’t critical here for discussion. The employer simply reimburses the employee for health costs as they occur and the employee reports them.
This system is easily implemented. Most employers already have companies managing employee pay, like ADP, due to the complexity of government regulations.
Now comes the sweet part for employees and employers. At the end of each year, the employer and employee are allowed to split the remaining funds in each account 50 – 50.
That means if the employer account is $5,000 per year and the employee doesn’t use the account they get a $2,500 bonus at the end of the year. The employer, likewise, gets a similar “bonus” to use towards reducing their costs next year on employee health care costs.
Now, to cover massive, costly health problems… That’s where insurers and the government come in. What we do is abolish Medicare / Medicade and replace it with a national catastrophic health insurance program with a $5,000 to $10,000 deductible. This might be higher or lower. Again, that’s for debate. But, everybody has this coverage.
That means hospitals will only be out the deductible for anybody they treat. That’s collectable if the individual doesn’t pay up front or make payments. They can live with that It also means almost anyone will be able to cover most or all of the deductible from their own pocket via their health spending account.
Thus, individuals can have their own spending account to pay for health care, employers and employees have a similar account they use together, and everybody gets covered for major medical disasters in their lives.
The government stops taxing people for paying for their health care, and insurers are running the catastrophic plans.
If someone wants more health insurance coverage, they’re free to pay for that too. You, the individual, get to pay for what you think you need in health care rather than have the government decide for you.
Well, that’s my plan. I think it’s a damn sight better than the semi-socialized medicine, one-size-fits-all government mandated Obamacare plan is any day of the week.
I've been very consistent on this on the subject of health insurance and paying for health care for decades.