What does the following bumpersticker mean?

[elshiva]

"You think health care is expensive now. Wait until it's FREE." :wtf:

This car had both an Ehrlich sticker (very conservative Republican ex-gov of MD) and a John Sarbanes sticker (liberal congressman, son of Paul Sarbanes). What does it mean????

[TK421]

1. Sounds like the person is strictly against a universal health care system

but the John Sarbanes sticker you mentioned? not a damn clue.... almost seems contradictory

[elshiva]

5. Thank you. I though it had something to do with that but

why is he against it? Free is too much to pay for health care. It makes no sense at all.
As to the conflicting bumperstickers, maybe it is a couple with one Democrat and one Republican?

[TK421]

10. How DO they live with each other?

:rofl: I'm sure one of them has the urge to put a pillow over the others head while they are sleeping

[SeattleGirl]

2. Either the vehicle belongs to a couple where one is conservative

and the other is a liberal, or the single owner is a schizophrenic? :shrug:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

6. Maybe it's Mitt Romney's car.

:P

[elshiva]

8. LOL!

:rofl:

Why the hell is he driving around Towson, MD? This was actually near a Starbucks! :)

[SeattleGirl]

9. Touche, SA!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :spray:

[idgiehkt]

3. I think they think that income taxes will be raised to pay for it

just guessing.

[elshiva]

7. Thank you for that explanation.

Will income taxes really be raised that much?

[idgiehkt]

13. I don't know how countries who have it do it.

I know that hospitals here are eating tons of charges from E.R. bills that are never paid...if they are writing them off then essentially the gov't is paying for that, so I don't know what the difference is in the long run.

[Hand]

14. Well...

That's how you get universal health care--you pay for it. Example: In Nova Scotia, where I live, the sales and services tax is 14% (6% federal, 8% provincial). Elsewhere in Canada, it's financed by a flat charge on everybody, with adjustments for low income, etc.

That said, it beats hell out of having crappy for-profit HMO coverage or none at all. :hi:

[idgiehkt]

15. amen to that

I have none...well, I have a catastrophic policy so in case I get in a wreck or something, but none other than that. I know that people who have insurance inevitably are paying for those that don't pay their medical bills and then some, so it's some kind of wonky system where the haves carry the have nots and many of the inbetweens get utterly and completely left out of the equation.

I just feel that this country is so righteous and selfish about caring for each other and I don't know where that came from. Our gov't doesn't balk at helping in disasters like the tsunami, but look what happened with Katrina. I don't understand where this 'hating on' came from...my father tried quite hard when I was young to make me resent certain groups of people, like people who are on welfare and paid with food stamps. It never 'took', but I don't understand where that rigidity of mind comes from. Why not have high sales and service taxes in order to pay for all citizens to have access to health care...I just don't understand it.

[elshiva]

16. Yes, I wish health care would stop being a business.

I wish, hope, and pray that people our government and rich people would actually care about supporting the health care of ALL Americans.

[JVS]

4. It means that the person expects universal healthcare to be funded through such massive taxes that..

would be cheaper to just buy insurance.

[Richard Steele]

11. It means someone gets all their ideas from RW talk radio.

I think Rush had those for sale back around '92 or so.

[Skittles]

12. probably sported by an asshole making money off the misery of others

yup

[hyphenate]

17. I'm wondering if the person is acquainted

with the free care programs in other countries. I personally have no knowledge of the British system, but I am with the Canadian one, and there are some problems that do arise. I've heard people from both complaining about some things.

Part of it is waiting. If a person needs a medical procedure, they often end up waiting if it's not considered "urgent." My uncle had to wait for bypass surgery for about 3 months. My other uncle has cancer, and because the particular chemo therapy has not yet been authorized, he has to pay for it himself, at a cost of $500 a pop.

I would also assume that a lot of people with less pressing problems (as well as a lot of hypochondriacs) might be clogging the system when there are people who really need to see a doctor instead. And while I don't know if plastic surgery is covered under free care, perhaps there are a lot of people getting procedures which are not really necessary?

I have Medicare now, but I also have "free care" at the hospital where the clinic is, and I've found that because I'm not a "paying" customer that I don't get appointments sooner with some doctors--in the case of my diabetic doctor, it was 4 months to get a procedure which was fairly urgent--another reason I changed providers.

Of course, it's abysmal here in some states, even with insurance. My SIL has cancer, and while my brother's insurance covers much of the cost, they still need to pay 20%, and it's partly ruining them. In the end with the medical bills they might lose the house because of the cost. Before the original surgeon went into the surgery, she required $2000 up front. My brother works his ass off, and it's not fair to either of them. With only one income right now, and a second mortgage, and all the medical bills, they're trying, but it's very hard.

And while I do think we need to have care available for all, some places (including Canada) are trying to make a multi-tiered system, where if you have insurance from an employer, you get better care than someone "on the dole." Of course, it's pretty much the class system all over again, and the gap between one end of the economic scale will surely widen from the other.

[Tyler Durden]

18. Let me say something on the rather serious subject of schizophrenia....

NO it ISN'T.

SHUT UP AND LET HIM TALK!

Oh I wish BOTH of you would shut up and let some of us GIRLS have a chance.


I pause to drool.......

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

19. I think the idea is that free = cheap = bad

if health care is free, then it will be crap, no help. You get sick, you die, but at least it's nothing out-of-pocket. M.D.'s will all quit, replaced by illegal aliens doing heart surgery for $3 an hour.

Or, if health care is free, then the tax burden will increase tremendously. So the free health care will cost more than the current (so-called) "system" of insurance, VA, and uninsured.

If you don't believe it, just visit Canada, which has health care, and all the major streets are lined with the dead and dying, ignored, being eaten by rats. It's true, absolutely.


Oh, yeah, the bumper stickers. Two people own that car, and they argue a lot. Or, the driver uses free bumper stickers to cover rust spots.

[Connonym]

20. I hate people like that

They've got theirs and fuck the rest of us. That's all it is, pure selfishness and greed. There are currently some ideas floating around WI for universal healthcare and according to an article I read last week they think it could be paid for by an 11% payroll tax increase. Which would suck for companies that currently don't provide insurance but could be a big savings for companies who will no longer have to buy insurance.

Do they REALLY think that all the doctors are going to quit? And go where exactly? Also, it's my understanding from some people I know in other countries (Netherlands and Canada) that the whole concept of having to wait an eternity to get treatment is essentially bullshit. And seriously, have you tried to get an appointment with a specialist in the US? There's already a wait. Last year I waited six weeks to have a consultation with a neurologist. My mom was given a 2-month wait for a cancerous skin lesion, etc.

It's all bullshit scare tactics by the big babies who think they're somehow morally superior because they currently have healthcare coverage. FUCK THAT and fuck them. The right to affordable healthcare is a basic human right.