[Rhodes22-list] Health Care (Political)

Thu Sep 25 13:16:14 EDT 2008

Brad,

If you want to try your hand at being "King for a Day" you will need some 
REAL documented experience.  I suggest keeping your eye on the gov's office 
in Alaska as I hear it may be available soon and seems to be a great 
experience builder.  You could be her VP in '12!

Nah, stick to doing what you know best: driving the sky bus.

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY

From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com>Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 
12:43 PM
> Andrew,
>
> No, I don't assume anything.  We have an expression in aviation about
> the word assume - ASS/U/ME?  Again, I applaud you and my employer for
> providing a great benefit.  There are many great companies that
> provide good health care benefits.  But (and this is a big but) you
> have to first have a J/O/B.  That doesn't work for the self-employed
> or the temporarily unemployed.  I can fart crossways and go to the
> doctor and for a $15 co-pay he/she will inspect my #6 o'ring. I don't
> do that (go to the doctor that is) for the same reasons I do my math
> while flying and don't run my employer's fuel bill up by thousands of
> dollars.  It is the right thing to do.
>
> I would like to see 'affordable' health care available to all and I'm
> cocky enough to think if they made me 'King for a Day' I could make it
> happen.  If I, or anyone else, had to run it past the 'gang of 535' it
> will never get done.  Well, maybe that's why it hasn't ever been done.
>
> We keep seeking Nirvana and we'll never find it, except for that one
> night in the back seat of a 66' Nova with.......nevermind.
>
> Brad
>
> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 10:43 AM, Andrew Collins
> <sailingvesselcarmen at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Brad
>>
>> What problem? I  only said that I felt health care was good and provided 
>> it
>> for concrete reasons. You are assuming that I advocate universal health
>> care?
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 10:44 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Andrew,
>>>
>>> Kudos to you for treating your employees well.  My employer provides
>>> me with gold-plated health care (my part is about $140 per month) but
>>> they have 200,000+ employees to spread the risk among.
>>>
>>> The health care issue was solved by me and a doctor from Middle
>>> Tennessee last Spring on a cruise ship from Alaska.  All it took was a
>>> bottle of scotch and some good cigars. Unfortunately, we didn't have a
>>> stenographer to take notes.  TennCare, Tennessee's attempt at
>>> universal health care, "broke the bank".  Our Governor, Phil Bredesen
>>> - Democrat, made his millions in the health-care industry and he's a
>>> smart guy.  He couldn't make it work without seriously cutting back on
>>> benefits and eligibility.
>>>
>>> So here's the plan that the good doctor and I came-up with.  Encourage
>>> everyone to participate in HSA's, health savings plans, that are
>>> already on the books.  Give everyone a $2500 tax credit on the front
>>> end to fund their personal account.  After that, the first $2500 of
>>> costs each year on you, no matter what.  Set a hard limit on total
>>> lifetime expenditures (mine is currently at 2 million with my
>>> employer). If 90 year old grandma's life can be extended another 90
>>> days by spending another million bucks and she's only got $25 left in
>>> her account, well, it must be time for granny to go.  You have to
>>> solve the cost issues at the far end of the tails of this problem to
>>> make it work.
>>>
>>> What's next, nuclear proliferation?  Naw, you got that one, I'm headed
>>> to the hangar.
>>>
>>> Brad
>>>
>>> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 8:47 AM, Andrew Collins
>>> <sailingvesselcarmen at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> > Guys
>>> >
>>> > Health care is not entirely economic. Having health care is good, 
>>> > right?
>>> I
>>> > think we can agree on that.
>>> >
>>> > As an Enlightened Capitalist, socially liberal, econically
>>> > prudent/conservative, admitted fallow traveller and small business 
>>> > owner,
>>> I
>>> > pay for 85% of the healthcare cost for all of my employees. In NYC no
>>> less,
>>> > which is more than double the cost in adjacent regions like New 
>>> > England
>>> and
>>> > the mid-Atlantic (I know, I checked).
>>> >
>>> > Why do I break ranks with Wal-mart?  Let me count the ways:
>>> > 1. It is the right thing to do.
>>> > 2. I can't sleep at night if I don't do it.
>>> > 3. It makes my employees able to have families and live like the
>>> civilized
>>> > people they are. They need not fear becoming ill.
>>> > 4. It makes them loyal, and makes them less likely to quit, so I 
>>> > profit
>>> by
>>> > retaining the institutional knowledge they have in-house.
>>> > 5. It makes my firm more attractive than other consulting firms when a
>>> > candidate must choose between firms. Benefits are important.
>>> > 6. All of the above works, we have very little turn over, the quality 
>>> > of
>>> our
>>> > product is recognized by our stable client roster.
>>> >
>>> > One man's plan
>>> >
>>> > Andrew
>>> > EC
>>> > sv Carmen
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 9:13 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> 
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Rob,
>>> >>
>>> >> Did you take the time to poke around the website of the movie?
>>> >> Liberal claptrap. I don't have the time or energy to debunk all the
>>> >> silliness printed there but I will take on WalMart.  First, I love
>>> >> WalMart, probably because I'm a heathen redneck and like the fact 
>>> >> that
>>> >> I can buy bullets in the gun department while my wife is shopping for
>>> >> tomatoes, but whatever.  WalMart could offer its employees health
>>> >> care, hell, they COULD offer them free housing.  You'd pay more for
>>> >> goods at WalMart but then you don't shop there anyway, right?  Does
>>> >> the farmer's market where you buy your arugula offer health care?
>>> >> WalMart is a business and one that is very well run (and besides, if
>>> >> my 401K doesn't recover I may want to work there someday).
>>> >>
>>> >> Do they have an economics department on your campus?  Maybe you 
>>> >> should
>>> >> broaden your education some.
>>> >>
>>> >> Brad
>>> >>
>>> >> On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 7:56 AM, Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu> wrote:
>>> >> > Too bad it's too true to be funny. - rob
>>> >> >
>>> >> >
>>> >> > -----Original Message-----
>>> >> > From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
>>> >> > [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Brad 
>>> >> > Haslett
>>> >> > Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:01 PM
>>> >> > To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
>>> >> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Re publican's Web Site! (Political)
>>> >> >
>>> >> > Ed,
>>> >> >
>>> >> > That's Funny!
>>> >> >
>>> >> > Brad
>>> >> >
>>> >> > On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 5:49 PM, Tootle <ekroposki at charter.net>
>>> wrote:
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >> See:  http://imvotingrepublican.com/
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >> And I quote, 'stir the pot'.
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >> Ed K
>>> >> >> Greenville, SC, USA
>>> >> >> --
>>> >> >> View this message in context:
>>> >> >
>>> http://www.nabble.com/Republican%27s-Web-Site%21-%28Political%29-tp19659
>>> >> > 662p19659662.html
>>> >> >> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>>> >> >>
>>> >> >> __________________________________________________
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