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US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

peoplespolicyproject.org

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Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#181

Post by bradknowles »

kelnos wrote: post #121
DanBC wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't the US have out-of-hours pharmacies, or out of hours doctors, or urgent but not emergency treatment centres?

Not really. There are non-ER/non-hospital urgent-care centers, but they usually keep to roughly normal business hours. For after-hours care, the ER at a hospital is often your only option.

Depends on where you are. Some places have 24-hour Urgent Care centers that can handle the basic stuff that doesn't need a real ER.

But many places don't have any kind of Urgent Care centers, much less one that is open 24 hours a day.

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#182

Post by bilbo0s »

jdmichal wrote: post #136
rhacker wrote: post #87

Like to bring this up when we talk taxes: I think it's totally crazy that we give the feds 25% or more and our states soo soo sooooo much less. I think it should be the other way around: 5% for the feds, and maybe 20% to the states. The reason is that our cities are filled with bums, and have absolutely no money to either give them jobs or make new programs. The feds don't give a shit and are busy making missiles or…

This is actually a huge lever of control for the federal government, and I think has contributed greatly to increase of federal power over the states. The reason being that states can tap into that large federal stream... If they meet the federal criteria. This kind of carrot system is actually how many federal laws that seem to effect the states work. For instance, no state was ever mandated to implement the No Chil…

Yeah, but then we'd just be dominated by states like Minnesota, California, Delaware, New York, etc. Basically, ginormous pools of money would start to build in the old Union and out on the west coast. But almost everyone in the middle would be hosed. (I mean places like Oklahoma and Colorado would likely be pretty happy, but everyone else would take substantial financial hits.)

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#183

Post by jimbokun »

analog31 wrote: post #107
dnautics wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Private healthcare insurance has margins well below most profitable companies, in the us. If anything I'd hazard that the poor treatment of consumers by these entities stems from being barely able to hold the line, not because of greed. Rising medical costs, I think, have the blame elsewhere, but insurance companies sure do make a good Boogeyman for politicians, because they are very poorly understood.

Somebody's gouging us. Who? Everybody cries poor and points the finger at everybody else. Nobody knows where the money is actually going.

Doctors?

Seems to be a huge reluctance for anyone in politics to place the blame on them. But I'm pretty sure they make far more in the US than anywhere else in the world.

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#184

Post by [deleted] »

peteradio wrote: post #170
jakobegger wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a point of comparison, in Austria: - taking a kid to the ER costs nothing - taking a kid to a GP or a pediatrician costs nothing - staying a night at the hospital costs around 15€ - getting a prescription from the pharmacy costs 5€

Oh yea but how many billionaires does your country have. Hah!

[deleted]

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#185

Post by jedberg »

rhacker wrote: post #87

Like to bring this up when we talk taxes: I think it's totally crazy that we give the feds 25% or more and our states soo soo sooooo much less. I think it should be the other way around: 5% for the feds, and maybe 20% to the states. The reason is that our cities are filled with bums, and have absolutely no money to either give them jobs or make new programs. The feds don't give a shit and are busy making missiles or…

The whole point of allowing people to deduct their state tax payments was to solve exactly this problem. Let the states that want to tax more and provide more social services do so without harm to their citizens.

Of course that deduction is gone now, which just further solidifies government power.

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#186

Post by adamnemecek »

rootusrootus wrote: post #78
z2 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That budget seems to be always nonnegotiable, despite the occasional media outrage. Realistically, how can US voters change this? As an aside, the US is the only country I've seen give military personnel priority boarding for civilian flights. With all due respect to veterans, it seems so strange to do this sort of worshiping in what is effectively peacetime.

It's a small thing, and I consider it a bit of payback for what society did to veterans back in the days of Vietnam.

It’s bullshit because the govt makes these meaningless gestures but when it’s time to open the wallet, all of sudden they are out of respect.

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#187

Post by tathougies »

munk-a wrote: post #174
tathougies wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Mafia also provides security. Since I've written the same thing to like three different comments. I'll say it again: Arguments that attack the morality of US action do not counter my claim that US action benefits many foreign countries, corporations, and individuals, who do not contribute anything to the funds that allow such action to take place. Depending on your point of view, this makes the rest of the world…

Perfect! So as a counter to that, and dialing my language back to patton-y style, America is going around stirring up shit that the rest of the world needs to shovel. Why is it that after Syria and ISIS have emerged and created a refugee crisis the US is miraculously missing (on a per-GDP basis) in the aide efforts. While America is fueling economic growth beyond the ability for the earth to sustain it why has it ref…

> Oh wait, that was too reductionist... maybe the US does a lot of good by sending food aide around the world but also causes problems... maybe the rest of the world is the same, being good sometimes and bad others, and no one nation is some beacon of light and purity that all others are constantly sucking[1] the productivity out of.

I never claimed America was a beacon of light. I merely claimed that many non-American countries benefit from American global hegemony. That is an observation (which perhaps you think is wrong, but I don't see any generalized counter claim), not a value judgement.

> [1] The analogies used above were pretty weird and awkward,

Perhaps, but that doesn't take away anything from the main argument.....

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#188

Post by bradknowles »

dkural wrote: post #151
rhacker wrote: post #87

Like to bring this up when we talk taxes: I think it's totally crazy that we give the feds 25% or more and our states soo soo sooooo much less. I think it should be the other way around: 5% for the feds, and maybe 20% to the states. The reason is that our cities are filled with bums, and have absolutely no money to either give them jobs or make new programs. The feds don't give a shit and are busy making missiles or…

who are the "wrong people" that massive social programs enrich? Can you give an example? Most of federal spending is medicare, medicaid and social security; which are immensely popular with voters of all kind.

Except the voters who don't need any of those things, and who feel that those programs should be eliminated in their entirety.

Now, consider how the above is impacted in the wake of Citizens United where $1 == 1 vote, and Corporations are People Too.

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#189

Post by [deleted] »

bilbo0s wrote: post #146
AlexTWithBeard wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, a typical state college is closer to $10,000. Yes, it's not Ivy League, but it does the job.

I wonder if 10 thousand is a lot for undergraduate education to a German, or Austrian, or French person? EDIT: Doh! Just checked the cost of undergrad in some of those nations. Umm, Yeah. I guess if I were a German or French guy, I'd likely find tuition levels in the US a bit outrageous.

[deleted]

Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums

#190

Post by munk-a »

tathougies wrote: post #180
munk-a wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Partially yea, it may be that using the word "security" in that first post was a wording error that caused a bunch of people to misunderstand you. But then, in this follow up, you've mentioned that Norway is benefiting from the US lowering the supply of oil (I assume via setting it, and the people who extract it, on fire)... I am not Norwegian and can't speak as to their preference, but given that Norway is currently…

> Norwegian ethical stance is against the US starting wars in the middle east and killing people to make their oil a bit more valuable. I mean the American ethical stance, as demonstrated numerous times by various popular votes, is also against war. However, that does not change the fact that countries benefit from it. Ultimately, while perhaps making some countries hypocritical, none of what you said changes the arg…

No.

Both countries do not benefit from it, otherwise they would view these wars as just and support them. The political machines in both countries support these wars and force the populace into them - in part (in the US at least) by being a two party system without any way to politically express a desire to not go to war, one party is more hawkish but both parties are full of hawks.

As an American I am happy to say, "Please, America, stop messing up the world for everyone with your endless economic wars." A bully cannot neutrally justify their own actions, they are biased in approving of the path they have chosen.

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