Affordable Health Care Law under review by SCOTUS

[heyelander]

Absolutely agree. We've all heard the stories of $200 toilet seats and other oddities (though working in supply in the Army for 2 years I wonder about the truth of such things), and maybe some day we'll figure out how to stop it.

I have a friend who each year calculates his % tax burden based on all the taxes he pays throughout the year. This year he broke his fed down by how much he pays for different things:

Well, it's that time of year again: the Yearly Tax Burden Breakdown. I wanted to try something different this year. In order to highlight how ridiculously imbalanced our federal budget is, instead of representing a total tax burden, I wanted to show what it would look like if we received separate monthly bills from the federal government for the services received (percentages according to 2015 budget, from Natl. Priorities Project). This is what L and I would have paid every month in 2016:

Military & Veterans: $877/mo
Medicare & Health: $709/mo
Debt Interest: $409/mo
SS & Unemployment: $225/mo
Food & Agriculture: $134/mo
Government Admin: $91/mo
Education: $67/mo
Transportation: $51/mo
Energy & Environment: $43/mo
Diplomacy & International Aid: $40/mo
Science & Research: $29/mo
Housing & Community Development: $3/mo
Arts: .53 cents/mo

Our budget conversations need to look more like this. You know why? Because if I got a $877/mo bill for bombs, planes, and soldiers every month, I would be seriously peeved. I'm also pretty unhappy with how much debt service I'm paying. I also would like to see more in return for the $709/mo I'm spending on others' health care. Everything else on the list seems fairly reasonable. You know where I would vote to increase my monthly bills? The bottom five (Environment, International Aid, Science, Housing, and the Arts), with a heavy emphasis on the Environment, and Science & Research.
Crunch the numbers for yourself, and then tell me that we should increase military spending. If you cut my monthly military bill by 75% ($219), I would still say it was too much. (Currently my largest monthly bill is a mortgage that includes loan, taxes and insurance, at $1073/mo.)

[Pogues]

Cut the military AND VETERANS budget to 25%, and suddenly the veterans aren't getting shit.

[heyelander]

Cut the military AND VETERANS budget to 25%, and suddenly the veterans aren't getting shit.

yeah, I might have broken those two out. I guess it is a measure of going forward though... having this large of a military creates a lot of veterans and the obligations that should come with that.

[umjewman]

Living in New Jersey, I am seething right now that he pays mortgage, taxes and insurance for under $1,100/month. His house is probably bigger than mine too. Stupid New Jersey.

[heyelander]

Living in New Jersey, I am seething right now that he pays mortgage, taxes and insurance for under $1,100/month. His house is probably bigger than mine too. Stupid New Jersey.

3 beds 2 baths 1,653 sqft

He's a lawyer in Boise Idaho. Works on death penalty appeals. She's a civil engineer with a water treatment firm.

[swampdragon]

Living in New Jersey, I am seething right now that he pays mortgage, taxes and insurance for under $1,100/month. His house is probably bigger than mine too. Stupid New Jersey.

my taxes in new jersey were more than that total per month

[umjewman]

3 beds 2 baths 1,653 sqft

He's a lawyer in Boise Idaho. Works on death penalty appeals. She's a civil engineer with a water treatment firm.

Woo hoo, my house is bigger (slightly).

[cardboardbox]

fingers crossed this thing doesnt pass today!

[DMT]

fingers crossed this thing doesnt pass today!

What are your objections to it?

[cardboardbox]

What are your objections to it?

it pisses off both sides which is usually a good sign but I dont think it is this time. The bill doesnt seem to solve much of the problems with obamacare, it just rearranges things in a way that is political suicide.

I posted this 9 days ago:

If I were a republican strategist I'd tell them to realize they lost the battle, 2012 was the last chance to repeal obamacare and even then it wasnt a sure thing if they had won. Regardless of their free market principles, there's no going back, entitlements dont go away, they only grow. Once republicans understand this they can then focus on creating the best health care entitlement they can think of that doesnt cause people to lose insurance or pay more for it.

I should have emailed Paul Ryan. I'm sure he would have listened to me. :|

[baldgriff]

What are your objections to it?

Its is incredibly difficult to put a Genie back in the bottle. So while I may not like the idea of what we currently have as a practical matter - this doesnt solve the issue at hand. If your going to make changes - make ones that are positive and wont hurt a large portion of the society. This is just another example of why government shouldnt be trying to run health care - government doesnt efficiently or effectively run much of anything at all.

[cardboardbox]

#GOP pic.twitter.com/3ePIBUgibG

— Pradheep Shanker MD (@Neoavatara) March 23, 2017

[Hornsby]

The GOP but the vote on hold for the Trumpcare/Ryancare/Theydontcare bill...seems like Trump is demanding a vote tomorrow come hell or high water. One description I read that sounds pretty accurate is the bill is like a water balloon...you push on one side and it bulges out on the other. In other words, they add something in to make one group happy, they alienate another group.

[Sour Masher]

What I don't get is how anyone can thoughtfully vote on a bill that is so largely undefined. It seems very unwise for anyone to vote for what amounts to a blank check that does not clearly solve any thing, still spends a lot, and yet will leaves 10s of millions of Americans worse off than they were. I recall Repubs being very angry about the ACA being put forth too hastily for them to read and understand all of its nuances, and yet now they are trying to ram through something even more hasitly that seems wawy, way less thought out.

[Hornsby]

Trumps ultimatum to the GOP...pass the Bill or I leave Obamacare in place.

Oh No! People still would have insurance? The Democrats would have an opportunity to fix it in the next couple of years with a good mid term election? NO!!!!!!!!!!!