Given that it is one of the few states from which there is a thin but steady stream of both economic, political and cultural refugees, I would say yes, NJ is toast.
Wow. That's some expensive health insurance. We got a seperate health insurance policy for my wife and kids since it was cheaper than going through my plan at work. It was no where near the $1000-3000/month quoted in that interview. $200/month for us here in WA.
Granted there's a $5000 deductible, but we get to put $5800 ($5950 next year) into an HSA fully tax deductible. That'll save us $1900+ in taxes. And that money is always ours with no use-it-or-lose-it requirements. It comes out tax free if used for health care, and at 65 it can be used for anything without penelty (but with income tax if not used for health care).
If we're going to socalize health care why don't we implement that kind of insurance plan? That's likely even cheaper than Medicare. Note that I'd faaaaar rather see deregulation of health insurance, and a decoupling of the tax benefit to employers for providing the health insurance (provide evidence for what you spent and that is deductible regardless of whether you or your employer paid for it).
I just do not understand how medical care has become a rights issue. It is not just the left that is saying it anymore, it is also mainstream Republicans. Health care is no more a right than abortion, equality in outcome, or any of the other neo-rights.
The rights, put simply, are to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (where happiness = property, most likely). There are the rights which were enacted in an attempt to ensure these basic rights would be maintained, such as free speech, freedom of assembly (though this one is very eroded by "civil" and "equal" rights actions by disallowing the right to not assemble with unsavory sorts), religious freedom, the right to keep and bear arms, and the rest. Actually, all of those have been greatly eroded. When we tip-toe past those, we go very far astray. Further, sneaking past those means giving some of those up in the process. It is a balancing game, if you get this, you lose that. And we are losing hugely.
I am outraged at the socialist indoctrination that has left so called conservatives clambering for government handouts. No matter what, when the government gets involved, quality or availability (and probably both) decrease, real rights are eroded, and unrealistic promises can never be kept, at any price. British doctors and ethicists are trying to float a "do not resuscitate" order through laws allowing them to not serve 1.) people who are overweight, 2.) people who smoke, 3.) people who drink too much, 4.) to be announced... conservatives perhaps, the poor maybe, sick people even?
Note:
All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost;
references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>
JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2008/09/listen-to-this.html (5 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
Zoinks! NJ is seriously screwed up. But then we knew that already. Good for a laugh, and an example, once in a while.
>>Zoinks! NJ is seriously screwed up.
Given that it is one of the few states from which there is a thin but steady stream of both economic, political and cultural refugees, I would say yes, NJ is toast.
What bothers me isn't what NJ does, it's that Obamarama's "plan" is to make NJ's plan nationwide.
And then offer Medicare to those who "can't afford" health insurance.
Wow. That's some expensive health insurance. We got a seperate health insurance policy for my wife and kids since it was cheaper than going through my plan at work. It was no where near the $1000-3000/month quoted in that interview. $200/month for us here in WA.
Granted there's a $5000 deductible, but we get to put $5800 ($5950 next year) into an HSA fully tax deductible. That'll save us $1900+ in taxes. And that money is always ours with no use-it-or-lose-it requirements. It comes out tax free if used for health care, and at 65 it can be used for anything without penelty (but with income tax if not used for health care).
If we're going to socalize health care why don't we implement that kind of insurance plan? That's likely even cheaper than Medicare. Note that I'd faaaaar rather see deregulation of health insurance, and a decoupling of the tax benefit to employers for providing the health insurance (provide evidence for what you spent and that is deductible regardless of whether you or your employer paid for it).
I just do not understand how medical care has become a rights issue. It is not just the left that is saying it anymore, it is also mainstream Republicans. Health care is no more a right than abortion, equality in outcome, or any of the other neo-rights.
The rights, put simply, are to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (where happiness = property, most likely). There are the rights which were enacted in an attempt to ensure these basic rights would be maintained, such as free speech, freedom of assembly (though this one is very eroded by "civil" and "equal" rights actions by disallowing the right to not assemble with unsavory sorts), religious freedom, the right to keep and bear arms, and the rest. Actually, all of those have been greatly eroded. When we tip-toe past those, we go very far astray. Further, sneaking past those means giving some of those up in the process. It is a balancing game, if you get this, you lose that. And we are losing hugely.
I am outraged at the socialist indoctrination that has left so called conservatives clambering for government handouts. No matter what, when the government gets involved, quality or availability (and probably both) decrease, real rights are eroded, and unrealistic promises can never be kept, at any price. British doctors and ethicists are trying to float a "do not resuscitate" order through laws allowing them to not serve 1.) people who are overweight, 2.) people who smoke, 3.) people who drink too much, 4.) to be announced... conservatives perhaps, the poor maybe, sick people even?
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>