Education

[babe]

Healthcare affects a person throughout their life, and bankrupts many people. Most of the time, college pays for itself over the first 15 years or so. Between those, I would choose healthcare first.

This is not current fact. We are importing well-schooled, and more efficiently-schooled, professionals from India and other places, who drive wages for graduates here down. Our students, after being "given" loans, cannot get jobs with their training that can efficiently pay off those debts.

This is criminal, really. Our government is financing oversupply in every educational line, while bending over for Big Business to supply even cheaper foreign immigrants. Our people are betrayed by all this.

The loan programs bankroll expansion of the university system and promote inefficiencies in practices, and reduce the quality of the product. We have such corrupt politics the common folk are being run into ruin.

 

[babe]

The marketplace has done a fantastic job of providing Americans with quality health care

I know you're being smart. Not that you aren't smart. Nobody says that.

But the fact is, American healthcare is and has long been the greatest engine of technical progress on planet earth. Because of capitalist incentive which persisted despite ever-increasing incursions of government regs. and mandated management overlording.

Without the political contest for converting this once-free market into a great Cartel run by the biggest lobbyist crew, just imagine how much better off we would be.

 

[Zombie]

Healthcare affects a person throughout their life, and bankrupts many people. Most of the time, college pays for itself over the first 15 years or so. Between those, I would choose healthcare first.

Yeah this is along the lines of what I think as well. "Free" healthcare would be of immediate benefit to every person in the country.

 

[One Brow]

This is not current fact. We are importing well-schooled, and more efficiently-schooled, professionals from India and other places, who drive wages for graduates here down. Our students, after being "given" loans, cannot get jobs with their training that can efficiently pay off those debts.

College debt was a problem 35 years ago when I got out of college. The best solution is to borrow minimally in the first place, but the more expensive colleges have a social cachet that many students and parents can not resist.

Sponsoring H-1B visas is a time-intensive, resource-intensive, gamble. Just last year, two different people from my office were required to return home due to visa issues for 6 months or more, and many businesses simply require either citizenship or permanent residency as a condition of hire.

This is criminal, really. Our government is financing oversupply in every educational line, while bending over for Big Business to supply even cheaper foreign immigrants. Our people are betrayed by all this.

When we run out of jobs for people, maybe. Even during the Great Recession, there were jobs to go around in the tech industry.

The loan programs bankroll expansion of the university system and promote inefficiencies in practices, and reduce the quality of the product. We have such corrupt politics the common folk are being run into ruin.

The college I teach for just announced its in-district tuition rate of $113/credit hour next year (there another $8/hour in various fees), so you can do your first 60 or hours (two years) for under $7K. College is highly affordable if you are concerned about debt.

 

[One Brow]

But the fact is, American healthcare is and has long been the greatest engine of technical progress on planet earth. Because of capitalist incentive which persisted despite ever-increasing incursions of government regs. and mandated management overlording.

Sorry, but the large part of the reason for the technological process is the massive government investment in scientific and medical research. If you want to see what medical progress looks like without massive government investment, go to any part of the world where they do have have a doctor trained in a government-supported medical school.

 

[Red]

@dalamon @One Brow @jimmy eat jazz @Red @Zombie

If you could focus on and get one agenda item passed would it be free healthcare or free college education? Why?

Healthcare. Most people marry and have families. You, or any of your family could eventually face insurmountable medical bills. Both my wife and I are enrolled in a Medicare advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage. I retained an employer based health plan for both of us, which is our secondary health insurance. If you're like me, and take a ridiculous number of prescriptions daily, if all I had was the Medicare plan, I'd be in a bind, since I'm on a fixed income.

My scripts alone, monthly, outstrip the high premium I pay to retain my secondary insurance, so it was smart to retain a secondary insurance, which reduces most script co-pays to $0. If we went to a Medicare for all system that eliminated, as Bernie's plan does, all private health insurance plans, I'd be in a bind again. And that's only because of the cost of prescription drugs, not counting any major medical issues.

And there is now a nationwide scarcity of many generic medicines. My doctor tells me 2019 will be the worst year yet for such shortages. If forced to chose a brand name instead, the cost can potentially be prohibitive.

Having two insurance plans does have the advantage of reducing doctor visits, procedures, and hospitalization to $0 co-pays, so we are lucky in that respect.

 

[silesian]

You think that happened with extensive understanding of 1) the stresses that a carriage undergoes in travel, and 2) the already existing engine technology?

Do you think the people making horse buggies had that knowledge?

 

[One Brow]

Do you think the people making horse buggies had that knowledge?

If by "that knowledge", you mean the stresses that a carriage undergoes in travel, then yes. Horse buggies had been built, driven, and repaired for a couple of thousand years by that point. The initial car carriages were not much different, and the early cars were slower than horses.

 

[moevillini]

@dalamon @One Brow @jimmy eat jazz @Red @Zombie

If you could focus on and get one agenda item passed would it be free healthcare or free college education? Why?

so my opinion isn't important to you? gee thanks...

Healthcare affects a person throughout their life, and bankrupts many people. Most of the time, college pays for itself over the first 15 years or so. Between those, I would choose healthcare first.

agree ^

furthermore, generally speaking, a person has far more control over their college costs than their healthcare costs - and college costs will generally more limited, whereas healthcare cost could be astronomical

(or at least college costs would be more predictable, healthcare costs far less so)

 

[silesian]

I was talking more about the internal combustion engine.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

The marketplace has done a fantastic job of providing Americans with quality health care

You believe that we have a market based health care system? Among other things, patients have no idea what they are paying for their services before they receive them. American health care is definitely not market based.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

Yeah this is along the lines of what I think as well. "Free" healthcare would be of immediate benefit to every person in the country.

What do you think would happen to medical innovation if healthcare became "free"? What do you think would happen to quality? What do you think would happen to average wait times?