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[j44ke]

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The Ransomware Superhero of Normal, Illinois — ProPublica

[sine]

Not journalism but illuminating.

We find that Medicare for All could be financed with:

A 32 percent payroll tax
A 25 percent income surtax
A 42 percent value-added tax (VAT)
A mandatory public premium averaging $7,500 per capita – the equivalent of $12,000 per individual not otherwise on public insurance
More than doubling all individual and corporate income tax rates
An 80 percent reduction in non-health federal spending
A 108 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase in the national debt
Impossibly high taxes on high earners, corporations, and the financial sector
A combination of approaches

Choices for Financing Medicare for All: A Preliminary Analysis | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

[jclay]

Not journalism but illuminating.

We find that Medicare for All could be financed with:

A 32 percent payroll tax
A 25 percent income surtax
A 42 percent value-added tax (VAT)
A mandatory public premium averaging $7,500 per capita – the equivalent of $12,000 per individual not otherwise on public insurance
More than doubling all individual and corporate income tax rates
An 80 percent reduction in non-health federal spending
A 108 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase in the national debt
Impossibly high taxes on high earners, corporations, and the financial sector
A combination of approaches

Choices for Financing Medicare for All: A Preliminary Analysis | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Probably worth mentioning that the monies we contribute to HC insurance now, i.e. the deduction that appears on your pay-check and your employer's contribution (for me that was 2 or 3x of "my" contribution) could be used (in part or whole, depending, and the rest going into your pocket), or if not that "your" contribution to that would go to zero and if we were clever with the regulations, the contributions made by your employer on your behalf would have to be rerouted to your pay-check as income!

It's misleading to say that taxes would rise without noting that the sum which we contribute now (which is larger because our current system is lest cost effective) would become (by good regulatory design of the system) paid to the employee; the "effective" tax rate would be reduced for the vast majority of citizens.

[David Tollefson]

...the contributions made by your employer on your behalf would have to be rerouted to your pay-check as income!

It would be utterly deluded to think that corporations would give 100% of that money to the employee. It would become the biggest corporate mass money-grab of all time. And they would lobby heavily (buy the votes) to make sure that all the careful wording of the laws never happened.

[jclay]

It would be utterly deluded to think that corporations would give 100% of that money to the employee. It would become the biggest corporate mass money-grab of all time. And they would lobby heavily (buy the votes) to make sure that all the careful wording of the laws never happened.

It would take a fight but the underlying points are 1) at present we (as a nation) spend more on HC than we would with a national single payer system and 2) the optimum outcome will require careful design of more than simply the HC system. I don't agree that it's impossible to craft legislation that would either force or make it financially attractive (as I believe we do now, via the tax code) to have employers contribute to HC...and I suppose 3) if employers don't want their valued human resources to go to other more enlightened firms then they just might find it necessary to redirect their current somewhat unseen employee contributions to the employees in one form or another (though I'd favor #2 )!

[ides1056]

Opinion | Aaron Sorkin: An Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg - The New York Times

[mmoore]

It would take a fight but the underlying points are 1) at present we (as a nation) spend more on HC than we would with a national single payer system and 2) the optimum outcome will require careful design of more than simply the HC system. I don't agree that it's impossible to craft legislation that would either force or make it financially attractive (as I believe we do now, via the tax code) to have employers contribute to HC...and I suppose 3) if employers don't want their valued human resources to go to other more enlightened firms then they just might find it necessary to redirect their current somewhat unseen employee contributions to the employees in one form or another (though I'd favor #2 )!

from my understanding, in Canada we limit the amount a healthcare professional can make in a year to an amount from what i understand is mid 200k. monies made beyond that are put somewhere else (dontated?) and become a tax reduction for the professional. that and there are mandated costs for the medications/supplies/etc so it really drives pricing down compared to how a private sector with no limits would be run.

The hospitals and healthcare systems are always struggling for funding here, so its not perfect with more and more people needing more and more care... but it seems to work pretty well aside from the wait times for specialists.

[guido]

Build that wall...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...6ef_story.html

But don't let the bad guys go to Home Depot...

[vertical_doug]

It would be utterly deluded to think that corporations would give 100% of that money to the employee. It would become the biggest corporate mass money-grab of all time. And they would lobby heavily (buy the votes) to make sure that all the careful wording of the laws never happened.

Basically, David is right. To make the point as a euphemism, there will be massive slippage.

[ericpmoss]

That's a weak excuse. It's like saying there's no point in speed limits because speeders gonna speed. Put it in the bill that whatever the total compensation was, gets transferred.

[jclay]

Basically, David is right. To make the point as a euphemism, there will be massive slippage.

The Earth is flat.
Man can't fly.
We can't get to the Moon.

Somehow, I think we've got the intellectual capacity to solve the problem.

[jclay]

Can you believe it? I mean, you can't make this crap up. It reminds me of the WWII era film clips of German infants and children waving Nazi flags that their proud parents thrust into their hands; and it makes me want to vomit.

Children were told to ‘build the wall’ at White House Halloween party

Does that represent the sort of intellect you want in the folks who are at the helm of our country, or any country or any thing for that matter? Any lingering vestige of thoughts that Trump and his administration retain even a single molecule of human decency should have been flushed into the sewer by now.

It disturbs me deeply that anyone can, at this point, support such a poisonous individual and administration.

[vertical_doug]

The Earth is flat.
Man can't fly.
We can't get to the Moon.

Somehow, I think we've got the intellectual capacity to solve the problem.

The point is selfish actors will game the system. They always do and always will. The fact ObamaCare did not have a provision allowing for medicare/medicaid negotiate on drug prices.....and now many seniors blame the increases in their drug prices on obamacare. Insiders have a huge advantage here. The public welfare is never the insider.

The Obameter: Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices | PolitiFact

[vertical_doug]

Can you believe it? I mean, you can't make this crap up. It reminds me of the WWII era film clips of German infants and children waving Nazi flags that their proud parents thrust into their hands; and it makes me want to vomit.

Children were told to ‘build the wall’ at White House Halloween party

Does that represent the sort of intellect you want in the folks who are at the helm of our country, or any country or any thing for that matter? Any lingering vestige of thoughts that Trump and his administration retain even a single molecule of human decency should have been flushed into the sewer by now.

It disturbs me deeply that anyone can, at this point, support such a poisonous individual and administration.

How the Hitler Youth Turned a Generation of Kids Into Nazis - HISTORY

Instead of joining the Boy Scouts, the kids can become a Trump Trooper.

[jclay]

The point is selfish actors will game the system. They always do and always will. The fact ObamaCare did not have a provision allowing for medicare/medicaid negotiate on drug prices.....and now many seniors blame the increases in their drug prices on obamacare. Insiders have a huge advantage here. The public welfare is never the insider.

The Obameter: Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices | PolitiFact

I misunderstood your point; and that, then, is one of our battles.

[BBB]

Oh joy...

Climate crisis: 11, scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’ | Environment | The Guardian

[mjbabcock]

From pinkbike regarding an industry guy who went down on a road bike. A crushing read. Maybe we should all read this before bitching at one another.

Industry Veteran Michael Bonney Announces Decision to End His Life - Pinkbike

[guido]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...spinelessness/

[guido]

From pinkbike regarding an industry guy who went down on a road bike. A crushing read. Maybe we should all read this before bitching at one another.

Industry Veteran Michael Bonney Announces Decision to End His Life - Pinkbike

Thanks for posting this. Lots to unpack with that story. He will be missed.

[ericpmoss]

Whose political theater? Remember when "regular voters" intimidated vote counters in Florida in 2000? They were fake, too. Shameless.

RNC pays to jam phone lines