Current Events > "How are you going to pay for universal healthcare?"

(+) Yeah! (+)

"Now excuse me while I run the deficit up to 1 trillion dollars almost entirely through military spending to continue fighting two wars that we've been in for over 15 years each and bombing 6 more countries."
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*raises military spending*

We have no money!

*raises military soending*
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Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.
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s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

Don't forget canned food.

Thanks to the military spending on R&D, we have canned food in society.
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s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

muh free market
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s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

And the Holocaust (more specifically Josef Mengele) gave us tons of data on what exact conditions will be enough to kill a person given certain parameters, allowing us to make precautions to avoid unintentional death that we wouldn't otherwise have. Doesn't mean it was a positive thing.
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Lot of the military spending is aid to other countries
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It's a little reductionist to ignore the context of that spending. U.S. foreign policy since WW2 has always been forward deployment to keep conflict off our soil.

We subsidize the defense of all of our allies, and with that came a lot of geopolitical leverage in terms of a world order. The middle east aside, there hasn't been large-scale conventional warfare between super powers since. And that's because of a global presence.

Also, the costs are reflective of the fact that we can't exactly outsource a military. We're paying U.S. prices, if that makes sense. Can't exactly buy tech and arms from China or Russia. Can't sell yours either unless you want it reverse engineered.

I don't agree with the practice in its entirety because there definitely are players who stand to benefit from that status quo, but it's easy to criticize in a time of relative peace.

If we didn't spend that money at this point in time, it would leave a massive power vacuum and that seems a little scary and unstable, tbh.
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BlameAnesthesia posted...

It's a little reductionist to ignore the context of that spending. U.S. foreign policy since WW2 has always been forward deployment to keep conflict off our soil.

We subsidize the defense of all of our allies, and with that came a lot of geopolitical leverage in terms of a world order. The middle east aside, there hasn't been large-scale conventional warfare between super powers since. And that's because of a global presence.

Also, the costs are reflective of the fact that we can't exactly outsource a military. We're paying U.S. prices, if that makes sense. Can't exactly buy tech and arms from China or Russia. Can't sell yours either unless you want it reverse engineered.

I don't agree with the practice in its entirety because there definitely are players who stand to benefit from that status quo, but it's easy to criticize in a time of relative peace.

If we didn't spend that money at this point in time, it would leave a massive power vacuum and that seems a little scary and unstable, tbh.

Major 1st World Countries who need it and are in a dangerous position like Japan, sure.

But most of Europe, we can literally take our stuff and let Europe defend itself from Russia and what not.

They'll need to get off their collective butts and put in some real money for defense for once.
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KamenRiderBlade posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

Don't forget canned food.

Thanks to the military spending on R&D, we have canned food in society.

How about something for the 21st century? I'd appreciate the healthcare thing quite a bit.
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s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

Hell, the Cold War put us on the Moon.
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GameGodOfAll posted...

How about something for the 21st century? I'd appreciate the healthcare thing quite a bit.

GPS Technology & Internet is not good enough for you? You want more?
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KamenRiderBlade posted...

GameGodOfAll posted...

How about something for the 21st century? I'd appreciate the healthcare thing quite a bit.

GPS Technology & Internet is not good enough for you? You want more?

Internet was 35 years ago.
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TheSextMachine posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

Hell, the Cold War put us on the Moon.

All of that was before George W. Bush doubled the national debt.
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GameGodOfAll posted...

KamenRiderBlade posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Just a gentle reminder that military spending created plastics, GPS, the internet, nuclear power, and a significant number of additional quality of life improvements. It's not just bombing brown people.

Don't forget canned food.

Thanks to the military spending on R&D, we have canned food in society.

How about something for the 21st century? I'd appreciate the healthcare thing quite a bit.

Military spending does also go to healthcare. For members of the military and their families.
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How about a half way point everyone can agree on we use the US military to seize Mexico's Treasury as well as any other major forms of wealth they may have to pay for universal healthcare in the US it can be there way of compensating us for Sheltering their citizens all these years.
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Yea honestly I don't see why the US military just doesn't invade other countries and take their money and resources.

It's not like anyone can do much about it without risking their own destruction.
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I want to invade other country, steal their healthcare and nothing else.
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really the question is "What are we already paying for our existing healthcare system?"

republicans don't think of tax deductions as payments, but they are. at present we subsidize about half the employer-based healthcare system, which is highly inefficient and costs far too much per person to be sustainable.

how do you pay for UHC? by killing the employer system and stripping away those tax breaks.

which is to say, by killing UNH, Aetna, etc. because without the tax subsidies, and in the face of competition that is free, they'd die. and people who work middle class and upper middle class jobs would have to either pay a LOT more, or accept the lower overall standard of a universal care system, in exchange for the removal of the inane bullshit inherent in working with private insurance.

there'd be significant growing pains. and republicans would take any opportunity voters gave them to break it.
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Darkman124 posted...

really the question is "What are we already paying for our existing healthcare system?"

republicans don't think of tax deductions as payments, but they are. at present we subsidize about half the employer-based healthcare system, which is highly inefficient and costs far too much per person to be sustainable.

how do you pay for UHC? by killing the employer system and stripping away those tax breaks.

which is to say, by killing UNH, Aetna, etc. because without the tax subsidies, and in the face of competition that is free, they'd die. and people who work middle class and upper middle class jobs would have to either pay a LOT more, or accept the lower overall standard of a universal care system, in exchange for the removal of the inane bullshit inherent in working with private insurance.

there'd be significant growing pains. and republicans would take any opportunity voters gave them to break it

And this is why I want UHI (Universal Health Insurance) instead of UHC (Universal Health Care).

You pay for the coverage you can afford and you really get to choose what % level of coverage you have.

The UHI would be like a "Nationalized Health Utility" that you pay into monthly for Insurance purposes.

This gives the UHI ultimate leverage against Big Pharma, Hospitals, etc and prevents them from over charging since we will control 99% of funding against them.

We'll finally be able to put the squeeze on them, re-write all regulations & conditions in the consumers favor.
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GameGodOfAll posted...

I want to invade other country, steal their healthcare and nothing else.

At the least take their doctors and best medical minds and make them work for us.

Like come in the darkness of night and take them from their homes.

Bring them here and set them up in Beverley Hills or something.
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BlameAnesthesia posted...

It's a little reductionist to ignore the context of that spending. U.S. foreign policy since WW2 has always been forward deployment to keep conflict off our soil.

We subsidize the defense of all of our allies, and with that came a lot of geopolitical leverage in terms of a world order. The middle east aside, there hasn't been large-scale conventional warfare between super powers since. And that's because of a global presence.

Also, the costs are reflective of the fact that we can't exactly outsource a military. We're paying U.S. prices, if that makes sense. Can't exactly buy tech and arms from China or Russia. Can't sell yours either unless you want it reverse engineered.

I don't agree with the practice in its entirety because there definitely are players who stand to benefit from that status quo, but it's easy to criticize in a time of relative peace.

If we didn't spend that money at this point in time, it would leave a massive power vacuum and that seems a little scary and unstable, tbh.

Present it however you want, imperialism is still imperislizm.
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