2012 U.S. Presidential Election

[Dark Sage]

You're breaking my heart.

Ten years ago, I got hit by a car and broke both my legs. The driver had no insurance, and it caused me and my family a whole lot of trouble because of it. My family health insurance, but we still had to pay extra because this idiot had none.

He was breaking the law, and I got a hassle because of it.

I repeat: If we can be required by law to buy auto insurance, why not health insurance? There should be no reason why people who do buy health insurance should have to pay the price because of uninsured people who don't.

Heck, here's an idea for a health plan that I'm sure the GOP would agree to: Make it optional. But if you chose to reject it, and you get sick or injured, you're on your own. That means that even if you crawl into the emergency room bleeding with both your legs broken, if you have no insurance, too bad.

That would solve a whole lot of problems.

[Gavin Luper]

You're breaking my heart.

Ten years ago, I got hit by a car and broke both my legs. The driver had no insurance, and it caused me and my family a whole lot of trouble because of it. My family health insurance, but we still had to pay extra because this idiot had none.

He was breaking the law, and I got a hassle because of it.

I repeat: If we can be required by law to buy auto insurance, why not health insurance? There should be no reason why people who do buy health insurance should have to pay the price because of uninsured people who don't.

Heck, here's an idea for a health plan that I'm sure the GOP would agree to: Make it optional. But if you chose to reject it, and you get sick or injured, you're on your own. That means that even if you crawl into the emergency room bleeding with both your legs broken, if you have no insurance, too bad.

That would solve a whole lot of problems.

Sorry to hear about what happened to you in the past, mate - that sucks.

Both Jeff and I have offered an answer to that question, though. That is, not all people can afford private health insurance, and health is hardly a luxury that can be done without.

As per the Australian Medicare system, we pay a Medicare levy as part of our taxation system that funds this universal health care for all Australians. It's hardly a contentious issue: I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about paying that levy - the benefits of universal health care far outweigh a small tax, IMHO. And if you have Private Health Insurance, there is a minimum rebate of 30% paid back to you by the Government. That is, for each dollar you contribute to your private health insurance premium, the Government will give you back at least 30 cents.

I think this system is pretty fair and I rarely, if ever, hear complaints about it.

[Asilynne]

Sorry to hear about what happened to you in the past, mate - that sucks.

Both Jeff and I have offered an answer to that question, though. That is, not all people can afford private health insurance, and health is hardly a luxury that can be done without.

As per the Australian Medicare system, we pay a Medicare levy as part of our taxation system that funds this universal health care for all Australians. It's hardly a contentious issue: I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about paying that levy - the benefits of universal health care far outweigh a small tax, IMHO. And if you have Private Health Insurance, there is a minimum rebate of 30% paid back to you by the Government. That is, for each dollar you contribute to your private health insurance premium, the Government will give you back at least 30 cents.

I think this system is pretty fair and I rarely, if ever, hear complaints about it.

If America was proposing that, I'd be all for it, but I don't like being told I have to buy something I can't afford, and if I don't I get fined. If I can't afford the insurance how can I afford the fine?

Fortunately my job is going to give me health insurance after my 90 days so I can finally see a doctor after more than 10 years without lol

[Dark Sage]

Let's change the subject.

I discovered something interesting about the key point of Cain's plan: his 9-9-9 plan, which is a flat tax system.

I got this information from my dad, who, as you know, is a retired professor of political science.

Here are the countries that have a flat tax system:

Bosnia-Herzogovina, Bulgaria, Albania, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Guernsey, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Jersey, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mauritius, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

See a common thread? Most of them are former eastern bloc countries in which communism failed. The flat tax system is the legacy of these failed communist states. The rest of the countries on the list aren't exactly economic powerhouses.

Communist countries had flat tax systems because the communist ideal was that everybody should be comfortable with their place in the economy; since everything was theoretically provided by the government, pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps was frowned upon. You implement a flat tax when you want to keep the poor where they are.

So, Cain wants to increase the size of the federal government by federalizing all tax collection, and also wants to institute a Communist-style tax system.

I'm not sure if that's what he wants... But that's what he'll get if his 9-9-9 plan ever becomes a reality.

[Roy Karrde]

See a common thread? Most of them are former eastern bloc countries in which communism failed. The flat tax system is the legacy of these failed communist states. The rest of the countries on the list aren't exactly economic powerhouses.

Legacy? Here is a quote from Business Weekly

But it has gotten its first real road test in the former Soviet bloc, where at least eight countries, from minuscule Estonia to giant Russia, have enacted flat taxes since the mid-1990s.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...9/b3952079.htm

Want to know what they were doing in the mid 1990s? They were trying to adopt a capitalist system and work on fixing their ailing economy. A flat tax provided a incentive to help do that. Mind you Russia did not even enact it UNTIL 2001.