Live data from Hacker News

Why YC went to DC

ycombinator.com

161–170 of 407 posts

Re: Why YC went to DC

#161
post #160

> This country is built on the idea of rugged individualism, ingenuity, and grit. > It’s also built on the idea of equal opportunity Anybody else get “out of touch” vibes from this post?

I didn’t even get to that point, I got that when Tan referred to himself as a representative of “little tech”

Re: Why YC went to DC

#162
post #37

It's well and good to advocate for change within the industry (large and small) but realistically, all of this is missing the forest for trees, or equating symptom with the cause. The only way out of this long term, is to take money out of politics, repeal citizens united, revolving doors and other methods of lining politicians' pockets.

While I agree toward the harm it's done, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a Supreme Court ruling; you can't "repeal" those. It must either be reversed/overturned by the Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment be made by the states. Those are both extremely hard and rare.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#163
post #160

> This country is built on the idea of rugged individualism, ingenuity, and grit. > It’s also built on the idea of equal opportunity Anybody else get “out of touch” vibes from this post?

I didn’t even get to that point, I got that when Tan referred to himself as a representative of “little tech”

Yeah, that was where I got off the PR train, too.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#164
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard disagree. Healthy relationships include negotiating when potential boundaries are in question, or if things change that require re-aligning boundaries. It's reasonable to give more to the other party from time-to-time, and reasonable to discuss with the other party if it becomes a point where it feels unfair. Instead we (Americans) take an unnecessarily adversarial stance against what our government could do, en…

> Healthy relationships In reality, the vast majority of relationships aren’t actually healthy in this way. Most people get that only from their parent and family, if that. So parent’s advice is important.

> the vast majority of relationships aren’t actually healthy in this way

The vast majority? I'd love to see data backing that claim up.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthcare insurance - employees of SMBs automatically get access to medicare This puts you in the same company of abusing the system as Walmart, the nation's biggest welfare queen. Employers should just have to give health benefits. You want workers, you pay benefits. Period. Maybe then you all will get on board for a single payer system. Its what you want, but only in fits and starts. quit fucking around already.

I really don't want my at-will employment status to be the arbiter of whether an unforeseen health issue will bankrupt me. Tying either private insurance or public insurance eligibility to your employer seems like a bad pattern we should be trying to get away from.

It's a bad pattern for the employee, but a good pattern for employers and the healthcare industrial complex. The possibility that you could be bankrupt if you let your insurance lapse is an enormous concern for employees that may want to leave but can't; much more powerful, and cheaper, than golden handcuffs.

COBRA is a joke, as if most could afford multi-thousand dollar a month bill when unemployed.

What that communicates to me is that those in power, both of the gov and of businesses, are primarily concerned with forcing productivity to make line go up than they are with incentivizing treating people humanely. But really I don't think that's so surprising considering the timeline we find ourselves in.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't want my at-will employment status to be the arbiter of whether an unforeseen health issue will bankrupt me. Tying either private insurance or public insurance eligibility to your employer seems like a bad pattern we should be trying to get away from.

Good luck convincing employers of that.

Indeed, that's why we need the government to step in.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#168
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't want my at-will employment status to be the arbiter of whether an unforeseen health issue will bankrupt me. Tying either private insurance or public insurance eligibility to your employer seems like a bad pattern we should be trying to get away from.

It's a bad pattern for the employee, but a good pattern for employers and the healthcare industrial complex. The possibility that you could be bankrupt if you let your insurance lapse is an enormous concern for employees that may want to leave but can't; much more powerful, and cheaper, than golden handcuffs. COBRA is a joke, as if most could afford multi-thousand dollar a month bill when unemployed. What that commun…

IME, COBRA is almost always a better deal than the marketplace offerings typically, unless you qualify for marketplace-only subsidies. COBRA premiums for whatever reason are hundreds of dollars (or more) cheaper than marketplace plans.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#169
post #140
post #101

Why should healthcare be tied to employment? "Quit fucking around" and institute a national, single-payer plan that covers everyone, like every other modern industrialized country.

> "Quit fucking around" and institute a national, single-payer plan that covers everyone, like every other modern industrialized country. Except we're not starting from a blank slate. So short of heavy-handed, dictatorial decisions how would you propose to get to a single-payer plan that covers everyone? You'll have to work with the existing hospital infrastructure, insurance companies, and citizens who don't want a…

3) Medicare for all, starting today.

Stroke of a pen I just fixed everything.

> existing hospital infrastructure

Hospitals already deal with medicare.

> insurance companies

Oh no the vultures in the system will go hungry whatever shall we do

> citizens who don't want a single-payer system

Buy premium insurance above and beyond the public option, same as every other modern industrialized country. If you don't like the offering for free, the market can cover whatever gap exists.

Re: Why YC went to DC

#170
post #140
post #101

Why should healthcare be tied to employment? "Quit fucking around" and institute a national, single-payer plan that covers everyone, like every other modern industrialized country.

> "Quit fucking around" and institute a national, single-payer plan that covers everyone, like every other modern industrialized country. Except we're not starting from a blank slate. So short of heavy-handed, dictatorial decisions how would you propose to get to a single-payer plan that covers everyone? You'll have to work with the existing hospital infrastructure, insurance companies, and citizens who don't want a…

Remove employer healthcare plans and allow everyone to enroll in Medicare or private insurance directly.
Post reply on HN