Scott Weiser wrote:

A Usenet persona calling itself Frederick Burroughs wrote:


BCITORGB wrote:


Scott cites:
=============
The average Canadian family pays about 48 percent of its income in
taxes
each year,
=============

And, Scott, exactly how much tax does the average American pay?


My son and I are covered by a group insurance plan provided by my
employer, of which my employer pays 1/3. My wife is covered by her
employee insurance plan, which suddenly increased by 25%. She shopped
around for personal coverage, and inquired about coverage for the
entire family. Every insurance company she asked said they wouldn't
cover me (diabetes). She chose a BIG health insurance company for
herself, but they doubled her premiums when they found out she was
taking lipitor (statin for cholesterol). Our monthly health insurance
payments are now more than our monthly mortgage payment. For us,
health insurance is our single most expensive monthly expense, and
that doesn't count the co-pays and deductibles we must pay before
insurance kicks in. Oh, we live in the good-ol U.S. of A.


Wah.

I can't get health insurance either (for the same reason as you) and had to
give up my company health insurance after the COBRA period expired because I
couldn't afford (nor could I justify) the $385 per month in premiums plus
the $200+ per month in prescription co-pays. So what? Big deal. It's my
life, and my responsibility. If I get sick, either I come up with a way to
pay for it, or I die. My choice. I don't blame the government, nor do I
expect the government to bail me out or take care of me. Doing so is just
socialistic whining. People have to take responsibility for themselves, and
sometimes you die. Suck it up and accept that funding your health care (not
to mention your retirement) is your responsibility, not the government's.

Like I have, you need to figure out how to save for a medical emergency and
not try to foist your inability to budget and save off on everyone else.

Perhaps you could forego that new playboat and SUV, drive a ten-year-old
car, cut back on the beer and cigarette allotment, wear last season's
clothes and quit going to the movies and put that money aside into an
interest-bearing savings account for emergencies. Or, you could get a
catastrophic health care policy with a large (like $10,000) deductible that
costs far less each month and forego the "convienence medicine" premium
inherent in HMO coverage and put the balance of what you're paying now into
a savings account to pay, in cash, for minor medical issues. It's entirely
up to you, but nobody said it was going to be easy.

The good news is that *I* don't have to pay for *your* health care problems
like they do in Canada. That's good, because I see no reason on earth why I
should be required to do so.


You make a whole lot of typically incorrect assumptions. No one in my
family smokes, or drinks in excess of healthy moderation. Our newest
car is 5 years old. My canoe and kayak were bought having recreation
and exercise equally in mind.

As you know, exercise is especially important for diabetics. Along
with hiking up and down the mountains around our home, I paddle. There
are two wonderful rivers just a 10 minute's drive, and paddling is a
quick, enjoyable, effective and addictive form of exercise. Hell, I
don't even know I'm exercising except for slightly sore muscles at the
end of the day. I will also utilize the kayak to fish. If I limit my
fish take to the river free of mercury & pcb pollution, and to the
local ponds, these will be a healthy addition to my diet. (Thanks to
government monitoring for alerting the public to this health concern.)

If I was healthy, and lived alone in the woods, and didn't give a ****
about others, your health care suggestion might be an option worth
consideration. However, family obligations and demanding health
conditions make insurance the prudent choice. There are others besides
myself involved in the calculations.

Also, I'm happy that a small percentage of my local and state taxes go
to support our local hospital, and supply our local emergency medical
volunteers, and help to distribute vaccines and medicines to the
community. Bizarre that any one would object to the socialization of
health care since much of it works and is already based on a
socialized, community-based model.


--
"This president has destroyed the country, the economy,
the relationship with the rest of the world.
He's a monster in the White House. He should resign."

- Hunter S. Thompson, speaking to an antiwar audience in 2003.