Mischief and other things

[Satira Capriccio]

Bonnie, your healthcare is supported through taxes isn't it?

While the US is a rich country, the wealth is distributed inequality, with something like 75% of the wealth in the US being controlled by 10% of the population. As you move down that "wealth" ladder toward poverty, you discover the less wealth a person has, the greater percent of that wealth goes to paying taxes. At the same time, you find that the debt burden increases. At one point, you could probably blame that on Americans spending far more than they could afford on luxuries and "wants." But that's not really the case anymore. Most people are going into debt because of the high costs of medical care, education, housing, and food.

While a single payer healthcare system is becoming more popular with more Americans, the question becomes ... just how the heck is that going to be funded. You can't move money out of existing programs because they are all already under budgeted. You can't move money out of the military, not when you have two mentally unstable national leaders trying to prove they are bigger and badder than the other. So ... that means increasing taxes. But ... most Americans really cannot afford a greater tax burden.

Of course, the benefit of a single payer health system, where everyone is covered by tax funded insurance, would be that our personal health care debt would decrease. No more paying a huge chunk of our income to insurance premiums, deductibles, copays, medication ... blah, blah, blah. So, you've got to educate the public that increasing their taxes to pay for a single payer health system will actually save them oodles of money. Meanwhile, the opponents of increased "government interference" and "entitlement programs" will be running non stop ads claiming a single payer health system will only benefit the very poor and the very sick (who are only sick because of bad lifestyle choices) and the rest of us will have to subsidize the very poor and the very sick as well as face increased health and tax costs.

But an even greater problem will be that the insurance industry is very, very powerful. And they will be the biggest losers in a single payer healthcare system. So you know they will be bribing every congressman they can get in their pocket to sabotage any attempt to pass a single payer health system.

Soo ... there you have it.

The rich get richer and affordable health care. The rest of us get poorer and sicker and die.

And then ... the rich bring in undocumented workers to replace all of us who died. And pay them a fraction of what we were paid.

I don't get why in a rich country like the USA you don't have free healthcare like most other developed countries. I mean why not, and why don't you all demand it? A fraction of what the USA spends yearly on armed forces and wars could probably pay for free healthcare for all of you.

 

[Hornet3d]

Bonnie, your healthcare is supported through taxes isn't it?

While the US is a rich country, the wealth is distributed inequality, with something like 75% of the wealth in the US being controlled by 10% of the population. As you move down that "wealth" ladder toward poverty, you discover the less wealth a person has, the greater percent of that wealth goes to paying taxes. At the same time, you find that the debt burden increases. At one point, you could probably blame that on Americans spending far more than they could afford on luxuries and "wants." But that's not really the case anymore. Most people are going into debt because of the high costs of medical care, education, housing, and food.

While a single payer healthcare system is becoming more popular with more Americans, the question becomes ... just how the heck is that going to be funded. You can't move money out of existing programs because they are all already under budgeted. You can't move money out of the military, not when you have two mentally unstable national leaders trying to prove they are bigger and badder than the other. So ... that means increasing taxes. But ... most Americans really cannot afford a greater tax burden.

Of course, the benefit of a single payer health system, where everyone is covered by tax funded insurance, would be that our personal health care debt would decrease. No more paying a huge chunk of our income to insurance premiums, deductibles, copays, medication ... blah, blah, blah. So, you've got to educate the public that increasing their taxes to pay for a single payer health system will actually save them oodles of money. Meanwhile, the opponents of increased "government interference" and "entitlement programs" will be running non stop ads claiming a single payer health system will only benefit the very poor and the very sick (who are only sick because of bad lifestyle choices) and the rest of us will have to subsidize the very poor and the very sick as well as face increased health and tax costs.

But an even greater problem will be that the insurance industry is very, very powerful. And they will be the biggest losers in a single payer healthcare system. So you know they will be bribing every congressman they can get in their pocket to sabotage any attempt to pass a single payer health system.

Soo ... there you have it.

The rich get richer and affordable health care. The rest of us get poorer and sicker and die.

And then ... the rich bring in undocumented workers to replace all of us who died. And pay them a fraction of what we were paid.

With the exception of the National Health Service (NHS) which is basically free at the point of provision (I say basically because most working people pay a contribution to the medication the only exceptions are the young the old and the chronically ill) the rest of what you say could equally be applied to the UK. I am all for having a safety net for those that hit a bad patch in life either in health or finances, but many here feel it has gone too far when you have families where no one has worked for three generations or have ten or more kids which they could not afford if they were not on benefit. Problem is they are the minority but always used as the example as why taxes should not go up.

The NHS is not without it's problems, like all government departments when it needs work done by other companies it gets ripped off, there is a constant battle with costs, particularly as the new drugs become more a more expensive. There also needs to be a adult discussion on what procedures should be funded and what should be private but no political party is brave enough to open the discussion. There are inconsistencies such as, if you are involved in a traffic accident and need X-Rays these have to be paid for, usually by your motor insurance, even if you are the innocent party, but if you go out and get paralytic with drink and need Accident and Emergency there is no cost.......go figure.

For all it's problems and faults there is tremendous support for the NHS yet we just do not pay the staff that well, at least not those working at the sharp end, but then that is not so much a political problem as a cultural one.

 

[Bonnie2001]

It must be a constant worry in case you get sick or have an accident and have to pay out of pocket for stuff your insurance doesn't cover. I thought it was bad here with people waiting months or years for operations, but at least it's free.

 

[quietrob]

There is virtually no limit what you can accomplish with Money and Power here in the USA. Including literally living without a heart.

That may be the same elsewhere.

Our current president wants to spend a trillion dollars for a new war.

I want them to spend that same trillion on curing cancer.

See First Sentence.

 

[Hornet3d]

There is virtually no limit what you can accomplish with Money and Power here in the USA. Including literally living without a heart.

That may be the same elsewhere.

Our current president wants to spend a trillion dollars for a new war.

I want them to spend that same trillion on curing cancer.

See First Sentence.

I profess to not understanding war and after two world wars you think humanity might have learnt something. I also find it strange that you should spend vast amounts of money protecting your people when so many of the same people are falling victim to other enemies such as cancer and the like or live in constant pain as they wait for joint replacement surgery. If I were I cynic I might think that all this spending on arms has more to do with invested interests than defending the people.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

Hmm Hornet. I wonder. I wonder ...

 

[quietrob]

I profess to not understanding war and after two world wars you think humanity might have learnt something. I also find it strange that you should spend vast amounts of money protecting your people when so many of the same people are falling victim to other enemies such as cancer and the like or live in constant pain as they wait for joint replacement surgery. If I were I cynic I might think that all this spending on arms has more to do with invested interests than defending the people.

This happens easily. The book, 1984 seems more true than ever. I was a soldier. I could hear the fanatical North Korea army sing songs of how they were going to kill me every morning when I stayed at camp. My weapon was clean, my jaw was clenched and my eyes narrowed. Yet I agree with Eisenhower that we must beware the never ending wars of the Military Industrial Complex. Our military shouldn't define who we are, but our capacity for doing good through trade, science, farming and the arts. I better stop now and put my soapbox away.

 

[Bonnie2001]

I profess to not understanding war and after two world wars you think humanity might have learnt something.

It isn't just two world wars, but all the other wars, crusades, regime change wars and interference before and since the world wars. We don't learn it seems, and history repeats again and again.

 

[Hornet3d]

It isn't just two world wars, but all the other wars, crusades, regime change wars and interference before and since the world wars. We don't learn it seems, and history repeats again and again.

To that I agree. I always find the defense that nuclear arms are responsible for keeping the peace rather strange as I haven't seen much peace over the years. I also think it is sad that the most intelligent beings on this earth have used that intelligence to devise the means of our own mass destruction. What a way to single us out from the animals.

 

[Faery_Light]

I had been having a lot of problems with acid reflux and heartburn so bad that I had to sit up all night.
Loss of sleep made me feel worse so my nursing care team suggested a bland diet of toast and banna and/or broth for a clear diet.
None of that helped and I got very weak so my daughter changed our diets to fresh fruit and raw vegetables with meat only about twice a week.
My tummy is feeling so much better.

Meats and potatoes just lay heavy on my stomach and seems to work up into my throat at night choking me.
So far the fruit and veggie diet isn't doing that.

 

[Hornet3d]

Acid reflux is horrid, you have my sympathy but glad to hear that the new diet is having a positive effect.

 

[Alisa]

 

[Pendraia]

Glad to hear that fruit and veg diet is working for you Fairy!

 

[quietrob]

I had been having a lot of problems with acid reflux and heartburn so bad that I had to sit up all night.
Loss of sleep made me feel worse so my nursing care team suggested a bland diet of toast and banna and/or broth for a clear diet.
None of that helped and I got very weak so my daughter changed our diets to fresh fruit and raw vegetables with meat only about twice a week.
My tummy is feeling so much better.

Meats and potatoes just lay heavy on my stomach and seems to work up into my throat at night choking me.
So far the fruit and veggie diet isn't doing that.

Oh no. Food is one of the few joy they haven't taxed and like anything, is only bad for you if you overindulge. What's your favorite food, Faery Light? Can you enjoy chocolate cake?

Can you enjoy chocolate?

 

[Faery_Light]

Chocolate is bad to cause reflux, mint, ice cream (boo-hoo) and any fatty or spiced foods.

At present my daughter changed our diets (every person here) to raw, fresh veggies and fruits at least 3 days a week with chicken maybe once or twice a week, eggs or beef once a week or two.
I am now allergic to peanuts or mixed nuts so avoid them as well as the strawberries and oranges...sigh.

With this new diet my reflux has almost cleared up so a lot of it is simply due to what ever it is they add to packaged foods.
My weight is dropping so that is good and cholesterol should be going down this way too.
Potato chips (US type) has so much salt it leaves blisters in my mouth, pretzels do the same.

The new stomach medicine gave me hives after the 3rd day of use and I ended up on Benadryl for almost two weeks.

I do miss the ice cream and milk shakes but not enough to suffer over them...lol.

 

[Pendraia]

Glad to hear that the new diet is helping Faery...

 

[Miss B]

Yes, it's hard when you have to give up foods you really like. I had to give up oranges and orange juice back in 2009, because I had been eating too many for too long (every night), that I wound up fighting a losing battle with a recalcitrant kidney stone. ~sigh~

If the new diet is helping FL, that's the main thing, so stick with it.

 

[quietrob]

Eating issues are terrible to deal with. While losing weight is normally a good thing, it should only because you want to, not because your body can't eat a certain food that it used to enjoy. Your tastes buds have memory and I'm sorry you have to give up chocolate or any of your favorite foods. I'm highly interested in your acid reflux because of what we (Sweetheart and I) are going through here. Did food burn going down? How long did it take your esophagus to heal up? Please don't answer if I'm being too personal.

Please enjoy what you can. As far as cooking versus raw, I do believe that cooking some vegetables is better for you than eating it raw. Not only can you digest it better, but it releases more vitamins. I'm pretty sure that isn't for all vegetables like, say, broccoli. I'm certain your daughter has a handle on these things. I'd like to know what she thinks.

 

[Hornet3d]

My problem is a burning sensation around the bottom/side of the chest. I am told it is acid rising up and it does burn, a bit like a hot curry would in your mouth, at least for me it is. While food can be the cause, in my case it is also related to stress, I can feel it starting when I am really wound up. Lasts for a day or so in my case but once it has happened I am prone to bouts for the next week or so.

Hard to pin point when it first started for me but it was confirmed while I was working in Australia and got rushed to hospital with chest pain. The never found the actual cause of the chest pain but they did find I was type 2 diabetic and I had this burn form acid reflux. What wonderful memories to have of such a wonderful country.

 

[Faery_Light]

quietrob, for some reason foods would feel like they formed a lump midway between my throat and stomach in the esophagus about even with the sternum.
They did not start properly digesting and felt heavy on my stomach all night coming back into the throat and causing extreme acid reflux.
Tests showed an ulcer and hiatal hernia but no blockages to case that.

We do eat cooked veggies (not canned) as well as raw fresh ones but it seems less reflux on the raw veggies and fruit.
And daughter does let me have beef once a week or so, she is not, and never has been, one to eat meats.
Coffee is a trigger if I drink more than three cups a day but I finally got a handle on that (I'm a coffee drinker).
I do not drink any carbonated beverage (no beer in years...sad) and gave up sodas at when I was 27 due to the pain they caused.
Learning which foods were mainly causing it has helped and the weight loss is welcome as well.
The esophagus healed fairly quickly as it was only slightly inflamed which surprised me.

I would say it depends what causes your reflux, mine is the hernia and th eulcer (a leave-over from bad gall bladder).
By experimenting on your foods to see which cause the acid reflux you can reduce it greatly.
The spincter muscle in the esophagus weakens so sometimes a little exercise to strengthen it helps.

It has taken three years to get back to the weight I was (even then too much) when I first moved out of the city.
The doctor I had here had to put me on prednisone for the RA and Fibro which took my weight from 158 lb to 180 lbs in a short time.
He retired and I had a new doc who weaned me off due to mini-strokes.

Until I reached the age of forty I was lucky if my weight went over 100 lbs, then in a month's time it went to 140 and stayed there for a long time.
My ideal weight is 110 to 120 and no more but it has been many years since it was that .

I know this seems lengthy but my brain is still fogged up from all this last bout with whatever hit me.