Man Decides To Go W/O Money...

[Petros]

Health care needs to be taken out of the private sector, as does oil. This is the only way to reign in cost and ensure that we are not getting price gouged.

you are quite incorrect about this issue, it has never worked and it never will. taking them out of the private sector will drive costs up and out of control, too much government involvement is what is driving prices up now. Never in history have costs come down with MORE government involvement. Name one government agency that operates with lower overall costs than any private sector operation? It does not happen.

The fastest way to bring the costs down, to take the obscene profits out of both health care and oil, it to INCREASE competition by allow more producers to compete (rather than outlawing them to benefit a few producers). Issuing permits for more refineries, issuing more drilling permits, to increase supply. If the FDA would be reduce regulations that limits competition among health care providers and drug suppliers, lower the requirements to allow more new and better drugs to be sold in the US, get the federal regulations out of local health care and health insurance.

Right now the government works to protect the monopolies of both big oil and big health care, so both can dig deeper into out pockets. By "taking them out of the private sector" you have no cost controls, you have no compatition, quailty and service will suffer since there is no where else we can go. How would creating a government monopoly reduce prices?!?! It will be a big mistake, and the amount of govenment involvement is a big mistake already. It should be my choice as to the kind of fuel I want to buy, and my choice as to my health care, not taken away from me by an indifferent, bloated, ineffiecent govenment monopoly.

[DuB.wEasEl]

Germany 10% GDP, GB @ 9.6, Japan @ 7.5, Canada @ 11%... US 18%.. It is private for profit hospitals and insurance companies that are taking this money. Not the individual. I am married to a heath care provider, she has been in the dental industry for 12 years. She has not seen a single pay raise, but cost have gone up for the individual and insurance contribution has declined 30%. This is a product of unchecked capitalism. Free markets work when there are multiple players in the field, this is not true of big oil or insurance. There is no room for small investors, it is not profitable unless it is on a macro scale.

[Petros]

You make my point exactly; we do not have a free market system in health care or oi. What you describe is a problem with big corporations getting in bed with law makers. Oil and health care is controlled by a few large players in concert with the government protecting their monopolies. Innovation in automobiles, health care and other industries has stopped because of the big players getting laws passed that protect their income. They do not want competition because it is not good for their bottom line.

It is not entirely the corporations to blame, they are just doing what is in their best interests by lobbing congress. The blame is squarely on the shoulder of an inept and greedy congress, they ignor the law and our constitution. They are supposed to enforce the anti-trust laws and break up companies "too big to fail", instead they use tax payers to support them in exchange for union votes and campaign contributions. They are all crooks.

The voters are supposed to be the thing that prevents this, but when too many such as yourself, as indicated by your posts, do not understand what is in our best interests, and make misinformed votes. So the voters ultimately get the government they deserve by allowing the government to grow more and more, and bankrupting many of us, and allow the big corporations to get bigger.

Profits can be made on both small and large scale, but the regulations often prevent small investors and start-ups from existing. Small is always more efficient and cost effective, ALWAYS. But big corps can not compete with it, so they lobby to eliminate their competition.

And tell me, does your wife really want her pay and instruction to come from a government program, does she really think she will be better off as a vassal of the federal government? Telling her how to do her job, and how much she is allowed to make? I should hope not.

[DuB.wEasEl]

All the countries above have at least 60% government paid insurance. They control cost by controlling the profit margin of private industry and subsidies. It is through deregulation and lack of oversight that we find ourselves in the place we are in. Look at what happened when some states privatized the electric industry. I have to disagree that small is always more efficient and cost effective. Small is nearly always more innovative and higher quality, but there is a balancing point when it comes to scale of what you are building. It is the size of the portfolio that makes insurance profitable, not the collection of premiums. The industry would be insolvent if you were to merely rely on premiums alone, that is why so many claims are denied. That is when government becomes important, the industry is necessary and to exist it MUST be subsidized. At this point she does rely on government, the majority of the industry at the moment is state and federal run. The private insurance that once covered employees has evaporated because it is not cost effective. At the moment private insurance companies are dictating what she makes, and like all business they are charging the maximum that the market can bear. The best insurance company would be one that is not for profit and everyone is a shareholder. It is scary, but socializing many industries will be how we survive as a republic. I agree that most regulation now is tipping the scales in the wrong direction, I would like that to change.
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I worked for the DOD for 10 years, 8 as a mold maker and 2 as an inspector. I left because it is broken, not because of the civil servants but because of PVT industry. A civil servant has no notion of cost, they are under no constraint to deliver a quality product, they cost us in pension and health benefits. Government began to go with contractors and outsource the majority of the work to offload this cost. The core group of civil servants became repair specialists because of the crap that pvt industry was sending us. There employees had no investment in the product they were producing, I didn't blame them. Non of the cost associated with repair was added to the overall price of contract work, contract work showed a huge cost savings. Contractors began assembly work. Our field testing went from a 96% success rate to a 60% failure rate of war-shot. There is a place for PVT industry, there is a place for small buisness... But it is not the answer to everything.

[Petros]

The average profit for most industries is only 2 to 4 percent, you would not even see any savings if you took profit out of it. And without competition, you will see prices rise many fold, and a whole new government bearacracy with unionized employees damanding more pay and benefits. Not a way to save costs.

There has NEVER been deregulation in any major industry, WHAT are you talking about?!?!?

[DuB.wEasEl]

"There has NEVER been deregulation in any major industry"... Really? Here is the definition..

"Deregulation is when government reduces its role and allows industry greater freedom in how it operates"

Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act.. All deregulation of the market. Energy, Transportation, Communications all deregulated.. There are many industries selling a competitive market strategy. Correct on the margin, however that is net. After all salary, overhead, dividends, etc... They increase profit at a rate of 2-4% annually.

[keith]

All this talk about investing in gold or silver. No one mentioned LAND, or did I miss it. At least I can grow my own food on it. I already have a good garden, a small orchard and a bed of Asparagus.

Really, no matter what the economy does, your two best investments are a good education and land.