Obama finally called them out

[Big Daddy]

I won't be around for it. But I see a future much like that in the movie Soylent Green. The world will be vastly over populated with no land or other resources to grow food with. The rich will live in penthouses eating canned food and animals grown exclusively for them. The unwashed masses will mill about reproducing.

Scary thought. Maybe the current system would be best. Kind of a population control.

 

[reinbeau]

You're absolutely right. Only problem is that a lot of people can't scrape up 85.00 to go see the local clinic. A lot of 50 year old men can't afford 600.00 for a colonoscopy. A lot of women can't afford to scrape up 500.00 for a mammogram. Yes there are programs like Planned Parenthood that provides the entire spectrum of womens care. They provide it on a sliding scale. Good thing they atre around. Keeps a lot of women off welfare and helps keep Medicaid cost down by providing free birth control.Of course the conservatives try to dump them every chance they get.

Oh, those evil conservatives again. Yea, it's just a conservative problem. It's not a social problem with people being told they can do whatever they want because they've got all these 'rights'. Again, it's that personal responsibility thing that society has decided isn't needed anymore.

No one is suggesting that wellness tests not be covered by insurance, I was careful to not say that because I think it's a huge plus to any health care system. I'd love to know where a colonoscopy costs $600, that's pretty cheap. Mine costs me as a co-pay $250, the bill is $1100. Be that as it may, those tests would be covered under just about any insurance plan. Rationing might cut that off, though, especially for someone like me, who has colon cancer in her family and who has polyps every time I go in for one. So, when I'm 65 or so, I may be deemed 'too old' for the test - after all, colon cancer is so slow growing, I may outlive my life expectancy without it - or I may die of cancer and get off the roles completely. A win-win for so many, right?

So in a Utopia we would all eat healthy and stay in fantastic shape. Sickness would be rare, obesity would be non existent. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Healthy food is more expensive than less healthy food with exceptions like beans and rice. McDonalds sells double cheeseburgers for 1.00. Heck you can't pack a lunch for that much. A peach cost 1.00.

Cheap food isn't cheap when it drives everyone to obesity. I'm not talking about a utopia, I'm talking about people learning and being responsible. It's not cheaper to eat processed foods. It just takes more time to eat well. It means someone going to a grocery store and making mindful decisions about what they'll eat, or what they'll feed their families. Too many don't want to think, though. Personal responsibility yet again rears its ugly head.

So the merry go round just keeps on turning. Fight it all you want. Health care reform is needed.

No one is fighting anything, they're just offering other solutions. Just because we aren't jumping at the chance to vote for Obamacare doesn't mean we don't see the need for change.

 

[Big Daddy]

No one is fighting anything, they're just offering other solutions. Just because we aren't jumping at the chance to vote for Obamacare doesn't mean we don't see the need for change.

Sorry, wasn't blaming it on the conservatives. Just pointing out the way conservatives are always trying to shut down Planned Parenthood claiming it's nothing but an abortion mill.

Therein lies the problem. Other alternatives are not being offered. The only plan the Republicans have put forth is to leave it alone. All we have to do is cut some more taxes for the rich, everything will trickle down and fix itself. Changing Americas eating habits is not a realistic alternative. If it was there would be no fat people. Fat people aren't fat because they enjoy being fat. It's not a lot of fun. Fat people are fat because of genes. Their genes don't allow them to eat bad foods. Unfortunately they usually get raised to like bad foods and spend their life fat. I've been fat my whole life so don't even bother telling me how wrong I am. I guess we could take all the newborns and place them with people that eat well like my sister. That might upset their parents though.

So give us some real solutions. Healthy eating is a definite component. In 50 years it will probably show significant results. Until then we ned some solutions.

By the way my last colonoscopy was 600.00. The place that did it charged 1800.00, but they were a preferred provider and accepted 600.00. My cost was 0. It is a preventive procedure that is covered once a year after age 50. My wife gets free mammograms every 2 years along with a pap smear once a year. Most decent health plans provide those at certain benchmark ages. I will keep my plan once Obamacare takes over. There will be no rationing. I will continue to use the same providers I have now. If it doesn't turn out that way I'll let you know. I'm not afraid to admit when I am wrong.

 

[Wifezilla]

Changing Americas eating habits is not a realistic alternative. If it was there would be no fat people. Fat people aren't fat because they enjoy being fat. It's not a lot of fun. Fat people are fat because of genes. Their genes don't allow them to eat bad foods. Unfortunately they usually get raised to like bad foods and spend their life fat. I've been fat my whole life so don't even bother telling me how wrong I am.

I was fat too. I was close to 300lbs at one point. Now I am 205-210 depending on the day. At 6' tall, I only need to lose about 20 more pounds to hit my ideal weight. I did it by not eating grains, sugars, starches and keeping my carb intake below 50g/day.

I grew up on breakfast cereals, kool aid, white bread and potatoes. If I can change my eating habits, others can too. I cured my hypertension in less than 6 months. Without the dietary change, that would have been something requiring monthly doctors visits and a daily prescription.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Changing Americas eating habits is not a realistic alternative. If it was there would be no fat people. Fat people aren't fat because they enjoy being fat. It's not a lot of fun. Fat people are fat because of genes. Their genes don't allow them to eat bad foods. Unfortunately they usually get raised to like bad foods and spend their life fat. I've been fat my whole life so don't even bother telling me how wrong I am.

I was fat too. I was close to 300lbs at one point. Now I am 205-210 depending on the day. At 6' tall, I only need to lose about 20 more pounds to hit my ideal weight. I did it by not eating grains, sugars, starches and keeping my carb intake below 50g/day.

I grew up on breakfast cereals, kool aid, white bread and potatoes. If I can change my eating habits, others can too. I cured my hypertension in less than 6 months. Without the dietary change, that would have been something requiring monthly doctors visits and a daily prescription.

I want to lose 55 pounds to hit my ideal weight. Would you like to be my menu planner???!!!!

 

[enjoy the ride]

The trouble with all the plans I have heard discussed is that they are the same old ideas that have failed repeated whenever tried.

The brave new world of thinking that taking someone's money in one way or another (taxes, fees, etc) and giving it to someone else has been tried and tried and tried.
It is based on the idea that poverty is an accident- that if someone just had the same as someone more fortunate, they would turn into productive citizens and society would be wonderful.

Now things can happen beyond people's control that are devastating but 99% of the time it is poor, impulsive bad judgement. With plenty of whine and blame.

Think about the fact that the US provides free education for people for at least 13 years and frequently much more. Yet we have a 40% drop out rate. So out comes the chorus of social workers with statments about how the drop outs are just victims of society. Wxcept of course so many immigrants with much less to where-with-all seem, on the whole to be so successful at using our system that alledgedly fails so many children. Our citizens just have no respect for their opportunities. Rather than go to school, drugs and video games are much a easier way to avoid noticing what a failure they are.

Medicaid has at times in the past been very generous in some places- for instance, paying for lots of dental care and eyeglasses. Then the stories about how people "sold" medicaid cards to others who did not qualify to get serviced paid by the state. Then some people took no care of their glasses, etc and the state found itself paying for a new pair every two months, etc. This going on while working people looked on being unable to afford to go to the dentist.

Subsided utility lead to the state paying for basic phone service, while the receipient of welfare bought every extra service that the phone company offered. No food in the house for the kids but call waiting- at least until the phone company turned it off for non-payment.

Subsidized housing is the worst place in the world to live because it is full of people who don't live sensibly and don't demand other do the same.

And each instance of abysmal judgement written off with a "you don't know how hard it is." Yeah right.

So now the Congress is bent on, not making a better system, but putting in place another expensive failure. Anyone who opposes their launch of the Titanic is called reactionary, mean spirited right winger.

 

[Wifezilla]

Would you like to be my menu planner???!!!!

LOL...I give homework

The books I recommend are...

Natural Health and Weight Loss by Barry Groves
Protein Power Life Plan by Mike & Mary Eades
Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

Read any of the three (or all three if you want) and then check back with me for menu planning.

 

[Big Daddy]

Changing Americas eating habits is not a realistic alternative. If it was there would be no fat people. Fat people aren't fat because they enjoy being fat. It's not a lot of fun. Fat people are fat because of genes. Their genes don't allow them to eat bad foods. Unfortunately they usually get raised to like bad foods and spend their life fat. I've been fat my whole life so don't even bother telling me how wrong I am.

I was fat too. I was close to 300lbs at one point. Now I am 205-210 depending on the day. At 6' tall, I only need to lose about 20 more pounds to hit my ideal weight. I did it by not eating grains, sugars, starches and keeping my carb intake below 50g/day.

I grew up on breakfast cereals, kool aid, white bread and potatoes. If I can change my eating habits, others can too. I cured my hypertension in less than 6 months. Without the dietary change, that would have been something requiring monthly doctors visits and a daily prescription.

I went from 300 to 158 when I was 24. I am 51 now and weight 280. Let me know what you weight in 3 years. Congrats on losing the weight. I hope you can keep it off. I believe the stats are 98% of people that lose weight gain it back plus some over the course of 10 years. Old habits are hard to change. I truly do hope you can keep yours off. I know what it's like and I wouldn't wish weight gain on anybody.

 

[sylvie]

Hey Big Daddy, nice new avatar! Are you in there somewhere?

I don't find eating as healthy as I'd like to be all that affordable. I have to fore go somethings to have fresh fruit and vegetables in winter.
If demand for the foods that comprise a healthier diet rises so will the prices for those foods. I jokingly tell people who observe my food choices that I am not an activist, don't want others converting to my lifestyle and raising my prices.

 

[Big Daddy]

So ETR

The question then would be. What is the solution. Perhaps we should send them all to an island somewhere and let whatever happens happen. You're broadbrushing a whole lot of people. I agree that everything you said is true. The education problems run a lot deeper than just lazy kids. Most of the drop outs are students in inner city schools. They have a peer system that scoffs at successful students. The schools are under funded because they are in neighborhoods with low cost housing which equates to low property taxes. Those are the people Obama was talking to. Obama realizes the problems that his race faces. Being black he is able to criticize some of the things that a white person dare not say anything about. Yes the Mexicans do take advantage of the free schooling. Their parents want them to have an education and do better than them. What's wrong with that? When they grow up they can be useful members of our society. Hopefully somewhere along the way they will get citizenship. If I was a Mexican living in the conditions that a lot of Mexicans live in I would be coming to America too.

As for Medicaid fraud. There will always be fraud in any system. Of course you're going to hear about every little bit of fraud in a plan paid for by taxpayer dollars. The media loves a good government based fraud story. I'm sure that whatever they come up with will have billions in waste. After all it is the Fed. No matter what they come up with,it will be riddled with waste. Our system is set up with fraud and waste built in. The first step to controlling how our tax dollars are spent is to reform campaign financing.

So draw up a plan and send it to Obama.