Palin pick?
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Palin pick?
| Wed, 09-03-2008 - 2:02pm |
Palin pick?
- Always planned on voting for McCain
- Now voting for McCain because of pick
- Now voting for Obama because of pick
- Always planned on voting for Obama
You will be able to change your vote.

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You can speak directly to me.
Why would you make the incorrect assumption I have not read it?
I was not commenting on you in particular. Yes your post was part of Shannon's post but my comments were directed towards her not you. What I said pertained to the multitude of posts that have referred to Obama's plan as socialized medicine. You yourself did not call it that but you did state that you wouldn't have a choice of insurance under Obama's plan which is not the case. I understand from your other post that you are concerned that having a government watchdog overseeing the insurance companies would give the government too much control but I believe that the insurance companies have way too much control right now and they need some regulation.
Chrissy
mom to Aidan 8/21/03
Grayson Blaine 12/30/07
I appreciate your opinion.
I'm not an expert on health care, except insofar as I've had to navigate the system to get appropriate care for my two children with type 1 diabetes.
Here's a link to the Obama website:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
Obama is not advocating the sort of "government health care" you describe.
I know several people who do live in countries with a "single payer" system. They find it interesting that large segments of our population do not have access to appropriate health care.
RealID (google it, I couldn't decide which was the best link) was a 2005 job, not Reagan, not Clinton. Lots of businesses, schools, etc. used to ask for SSN's, but it was possible to decline. In TX and most other states (there were some holdouts for a while), you can't get a driver's license without a SSN.
Y'all are right that privacy has been under siege for a long time.
"Buy what you can afford, prioritize your spending, save for your future, don't depend on social security or your pension, and take responsibility for your family. It actually IS your responsibility."
When I read this sentence, I wondered if I live on a different planet. Our household income is slightly above the median, which means that slightly more than 50% of households make LESS than us. After deductions, we make less than the $3000 mortgage payment example of your post. Medical bills are our albatross.
Our house is paid for. Our car is paid for (1997 Toyota Corolla, 160K miles, 40-45 mpg, fortunately). We have no credit card debt. No debt at all, in fact. Health insurance: $6000/year. Dental insurance: $950/year. House insurance: $300. Health costs in addition to insurance: $6000+ (2 kids with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition, not caused by lifestyle, no family history, no, we couldn't predict this). Dental bills in addition to insurance: $2800 (out in the boonies, no managed dental care; it really costs this much). Life insurance for main breadwinner: $2000. Car insurance: $600. Car repair: $700 (replaced water pump). Property tax: $1400. House bills: $7200. No TV. No cable. No cell phone. 1 magazine subscription.
What savings? After the rest of the bills were taken care of (food, pet vaccinations, music lessons, and a saxophone, etc.), we did not add anything to our savings this year. We are nothing if not frugal. When my husband finished graduate school, we had $70,000 in the bank, most of it from his small stipend and my half-time secretarial position. We were able to pay off our modest house in four years. We know how to live on "nothing", but the rules change when you have a child with a chronic health condition. I have a kid who will probably be going to college next year, too. And when he's out, how is he going to pay for his medical bills?
We're actually in good shape, considering everything, at least for now. My dh's TIAA/CREF pension has tanked (it would have been better to put the money under a mattress, but he didn't have that option because I guess we just weren't "responsible" enough to know how to manage retirement money) but we still have some earning years left, not many: our ages add up to almost a century. The scary thing is that we're smart, we're educated, we're relatively savvy, we know the value of a dollar. If we're clinging so grimly to maintain a sort of lower middle class existence, how about those in a similar position with just a little less education, a little less money, a little worse luck?
There will be a watchdog group policing the ability for insurance companies that are not the FEHBP
I'm not sure what you mean by this.
>>one by one will vanish under Obama's watch starting with health care<<
It isn't freedom when 47 milion Americans can't afford health insurance.
"The executive executes the laws. Congress makes them. The courts interpret them. The only way to reverse a Supreme Court ruling is if Congress were to pass a law or if a Constitutional Amendment were passed. "
You left out the case where the SC overrules a previous SC case. Yes, it has happened. YCLIU. Now turn to the next page in your civics text. The executive executes laws by, for example, policy decisions and appointments. The president is given this authority in Article II, section 3. However, the president can make policy decisions by executive orders that circumvent the intent of the law, or work in the loopholes. For example, Bush created an EO that limited DoS funding for international groups that provide abortion related counseling. UCMJ used to have provisions preventing abortions at any military facility. In these cases, congress can make laws to clarify or they can take it up with the SC. Abortion is not the only issue affected by EOs. An EO, for example, was used to move Japanese and German Americans into internment camps.
Through political appointments a president can have a more pervasive and subtle influence. An appointee can execute his function over an agency with vigorous zeal, or he can refuse to do anything, if he just happens to disagree with the law. (There are cases for example where states use the courts to try to force the EPA to enforce its own statutes. This is just one agency.)
I'll skip "freedom" for actually being able to care for the health of my family.
If what you want is government subsidized care for all, that's not YOU caring for the health of your family, that's THE GOVERNMENT taking over your responsibility to care for the health of your family.
FREEDOM is what an 18 year old suddenly has. The right to move away from home. The right to own a car. The right to open a credit card account. The right to enter into contracts. These rights come with a very large responsibility: the responsibility (obligation) to pay your own way. Want a tattoo? Mom & dad can't say no anymore--but you gotta pay. And if you want health insurance/car insurance/life insurance, that's on you, too. No more help from Mommy & Daddy. You're on your own.
There is no right to healthcare or health insurance in this country. There is the FREEDOM to obtain these things for yourself and your family, but that freedom, like the 18 year old''s, comes with a right, an obligation, to pay for it yourself. You have no more right to have the government pay for you to provide healthcare or insurance to your family than an 18 year old has to demand his parents buy him a car if he can't afford one himself.
I'm sure everyone has heard this, but this is exactly what is meant by FREEDOM comes with RESPONSIBILITIES, FREEDOM comes with a PRICE TAG. Government is not obligated to have a tag sale, price reduction, or buy one get one free sale on healthcare. It isn't a right, and you are responsible to obtain it for yourself.
And if you are about to say, "But healthcare is necessary!" I say so is food, but there is no "right to groceries" here, either.
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