Anyone else wish Baby Boomers would just fucking retire already?

[mphgrove]

Why oh why cant the usa afford it? Serious question because it amazes me to read about healthcare not beeing equally avaliable and affortable in a first world country.

A few reasons:

We are probably a bit unhealthier than other advanced nations (obesity, lack of exercise) equals higher costs
We always insist on the most and the best, we are Americans
Our hospitals build the fanciest facilities in the richest suburbs to stay competitive with other hospital networks equals super-high construction costs (more so than in other countries)
Our doctors enjoy higher fees and a higher life style than in other nations
We pay full ticket or near full ticket for our drugs here; other countries allow their governments to negotiate down the drug prices  and the drug companies go along with it rather than lose the business
We use a lot of drugs, we are Americans
Our insurance companies take an administrative cut that goes to shareholders in dividends, more so than in other countries
We have more newly arrived immigrants and poor people whom we subsidize than many other nations

I used to be against a single payer solution, but the above reasons are so complex that I am beginning to conclude it is our only way out. "Market solutions" are a mirage that will go nowhere. I liked the comment above that the doctors don't know the prices of anything any more than the patients do.

[Vince G, CSN MFT]

Especially the women?

 I'm a late Gen X'er or early Millenial depending on the birth years used.

I understand some of these schleps can't afford to retire, but I've noticed the vast majority of them have now reached ages at which they're incompetent, worthless, or whatever other adjective you prefer. It seems many are damn senile or are so worn down mentally that they don't have a clue what's going on, not to mention that most have gone down physically. I've heard all that shit about 80 year olds still sharp as whips but I find those to be exceptions. I believe it as fact that people simply regress in the 60s or at worst start plain sucking at most of what they do. Not to mention the females amongst them become professional bitchers and moaners. I find this common in healthcare and education.

Some Boomers are now taking up space, even when they have enough to retire, because they "don't know what to do with themselves". And we're not talking about such artistically or creatively inclined people who we actually need around still and actually had some special life mission.

My view: if you have enough resources to retire but need a stupid workplace to figure out what to do with yourself, you suck!

Are you plain stupid or something???  At least they are working for a living instead of begging....not only that, Social Security doesn't pay squat and with medical bills, they have no choice.  Unless you plan to pay for their long term care, shut your ass up you goof.

[Thin Lizzy]

That was my comment, and here's the problem with single payer: healthcare services (doctors, hospitals, medical equipment etc.) are limited whereas the demand for healthcare is essentially unlimited. You can always find a reason to go to the doctor.

So, The government can promise you health coverage but they can't promise you healthcare. Exclaiming  "healthcare for all"  sounds good and makes you feel good but in the end it's just a platitude.

Here's how it plays out in the real world. How long would the wait times be in Canada if they couldn't use the United States as a pressure valve?

Long Canadian wait times send patients south for surgery | Video

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Long+Canadian+wait+times+send+patients+south+surgery+Video/9702357/story.html

[OLKE_TEXAS]

That was my comment, and here's the problem with single payer: healthcare services (doctors, hospitals, medical equipment etc.) are limited whereas the demand for healthcare is essentially unlimited. You can always find a reason to go to the doctor.

So, The government can promise you health coverage but they can't promise you healthcare. Exclaiming  "healthcare for all"  sounds good and makes you feel good but in the end it's just a platitude.

Here's how it plays out in the real world. How long would the wait times be in Canada if they couldn't use the United States as a pressure valve?

Long Canadian wait times send patients south for surgery | Video

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Long+Canadian+wait+times+send+patients+south+surgery+Video/9702357/story.html

Bro single payer works just fine all over europe. I pay 170 dollar a month for absolutely full cover. Just like everybody else in my country. Top of the bill healthcare for everyone, anytime, anywhere. Not a single person can be excluded because the law does not allow that. It is not possible to be not insured. You cant pay 170 dollar a month? No problem its freenin that case.

[OLKE_TEXAS]

A few reasons:

We are probably a bit unhealthier than other advanced nations (obesity, lack of exercise) equals higher costs
We always insist on the most and the best, we are Americans
Our hospitals build the fanciest facilities in the richest suburbs to stay competitive with other hospital networks equals super-high construction costs (more so than in other countries)
Our doctors enjoy higher fees and a higher life style than in other nations
We pay full ticket or near full ticket for our drugs here; other countries allow their governments to negotiate down the drug prices  and the drug companies go along with it rather than lose the business
We use a lot of drugs, we are Americans
Our insurance companies take an administrative cut that goes to shareholders in dividends, more so than in other countries
We have more newly arrived immigrants and poor people whom we subsidize than many other nations

I used to be against a single payer solution, but the above reasons are so complex that I am beginning to conclude it is our only way out. "Market solutions" are a mirage that will go nowhere. I liked the comment above that the doctors don't know the prices of anything any more than the patients do.

Thanx brah great insights. Why wont they negotiate drug prices? Man this is gettin weirder by the minute!

[Thin Lizzy]

Bro single payer works just fine all over europe. I pay 170 dollar a month for absolutely full cover. Just like everybody else in my country. Top of the bill healthcare for everyone, anytime, anywhere. Not a single person can be excluded because the law does not allow that. It is not possible to be not insured. You cant pay 170 dollar a month? No problem its freenin that case.

We heard this about the Canadian system over and over, that it was the greatest thing since sliced bread:


Healthcare wait times hit 20 weeks in 2016: report
CTVNews.ca staff
Published Wednesday, November 23, 2016 5:30AM EST
Last Updated Wednesday, November 23, 2016 10:03PM EST
A survey by the Fraser Institute found a median wait of 20 weeks for “medically necessary” treatments and procedures in 2016 – the longest-recorded wait time since the think tank began tracking wait times.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/health/healthcare-wait-times-hit-20-weeks-in-2016-report-1.3171718



We also heard this about the old Soviet system too. Right up until the time it collapsed.

[mphgrove]

Thanx brah great insights. Why wont they negotiate drug prices? Man this is gettin weirder by the minute!

For persons under 65, the insurance companies "kind of" negotiate down drug prices. For persons over 65 (covered by the federal Medicare program, the government is PROHIBITED by law from negotiating down drug prices (to avoid the semblance of socialism I guess). Trump has questioned this but has not proposed anything specific yet.

The flip side of our high costs/your lower costs is the following: the United States is subsidizing world wide health care advances at the present time to a large extent. The money flowing so freely to our medical research centers, our doctors, and our pharmaceutical companies is a big part of the reason that the vast majority of these advances are occurring here in the U.S. This "subsidization" of health care around the world I guess could be another reason to added to my list above, or at least a related variable.

[ratherbebig]

whatever.

when are you guys gonna cover the important stuff like steroids?

[mphgrove]

whatever.

when are you guys gonna cover the important stuff like steroids?

I was absorbed with Kai Greene's posing trunks, then I got distracted.

[mphgrove]

http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=632903.0;attach=732138

[BBSSchlemiel]

Are you plain stupid or something???  At least they are working for a living instead of begging....not only that, Social Security doesn't pay squat and with medical bills, they have no choice.  Unless you plan to pay for their long term care, shut your ass up you goof.

In case you didn't realize from reading my post, I am speaking of incompetent people who suck at their jobs but whom employers can't get rid of because of "age discrimination".

[denarii]

A few reasons:

We are probably a bit unhealthier than other advanced nations (obesity, lack of exercise) equals higher costs
We always insist on the most and the best, we are Americans
Our hospitals build the fanciest facilities in the richest suburbs to stay competitive with other hospital networks equals super-high construction costs (more so than in other countries)
Our doctors enjoy higher fees and a higher life style than in other nations
We pay full ticket or near full ticket for our drugs here; other countries allow their governments to negotiate down the drug prices  and the drug companies go along with it rather than lose the business
We use a lot of drugs, we are Americans
Our insurance companies take an administrative cut that goes to shareholders in dividends, more so than in other countries
We have more newly arrived immigrants and poor people whom we subsidize than many other nations

I used to be against a single payer solution, but the above reasons are so complex that I am beginning to conclude it is our only way out. "Market solutions" are a mirage that will go nowhere. I liked the comment above that the doctors don't know the prices of anything any more than the patients do.

you are going to pay a 50 year old melvin g's heart transplant for being a fat ass then?

[mphgrove]

you are going to pay a 50 year old melvin g's heart transplant for being a fat ass then?

I guess so. I think the way single payer would work is like Medicare. We would all pay into a fund every month (based on earnings? Flat rate? Don't know). So he would pay in along the way also. But he might take out a lot more than he paid in, depending on his condition and medical needs. Like Medicare.

[Primemuscle]

Especially the women?

 I'm a late Gen X'er or early Millenial depending on the birth years used.

I understand some of these schleps can't afford to retire, but I've noticed the vast majority of them have now reached ages at which they're incompetent, worthless, or whatever other adjective you prefer. It seems many are damn senile or are so worn down mentally that they don't have a clue what's going on, not to mention that most have gone down physically. I've heard all that shit about 80 year olds still sharp as whips but I find those to be exceptions. I believe it as fact that people simply regress in the 60s or at worst start plain sucking at most of what they do. Not to mention the females amongst them become professional bitchers and moaners. I find this common in healthcare and education.

Some Boomers are now taking up space, even when they have enough to retire, because they "don't know what to do with themselves". And we're not talking about such artistically or creatively inclined people who we actually need around still and actually had some special life mission.

My view: if you have enough resources to retire but need a stupid workplace to figure out what to do with yourself, you suck!

Do you need someone to retire so you can find work?

FYI, I retired 7 years ago.

[Thin Lizzy]

I guess so. I think the way single payer would work is like Medicare. We would all pay into a fund every month (based on earnings? Flat rate? Don't know). So he would pay in along the way also. But he might take out a lot more than he paid in, depending on his condition and medical needs. Like Medicare.

So, it's a system in which fit people subsidize the obese. Getbig doesn't approve.

[BBSSchlemiel]

Do you need someone to retire so you can find work?

FYI, I retired 7 years ago.

Nope. I'm employed.

[denarii]

Why does OP work with such losers?

[BBSSchlemiel]

Why does OP work with such losers?

In case you didn't notice, Boomers are still working in many fields!

[NelsonMuntz]

Do you need someone to retire so you can find work?

FYI, I retired 7 years ago.

what did you used to do?

[Thin Lizzy]

Baby boomers have to be the most unfit generation in the history of this country. Seems like every other one needs a winnie walker to get around, and these aren't extremely old people were talking 65 to 70.

This is what the late great Jack Lalanne was doing at that age.

[Hulkotron]

Sorry about your mom, but employer based insurance was a government intervention that was supposed to be temporary but became permanent. It had the effect of tethering  people to their jobs and still does. It's one of the reasons why the healthcare system is so messed up and can't be fixed.

x2

[SilverSpoon]

Honestly? If you want to see baby boomer inaction, selfishness, generational greed and an overall attitude of not giving a shit, take a drive from Jersey City to Newark. Most of the infrastructure was built in the 30s and was left to rust by a full generation of not-give-a-shitters.

Dirty little secret is that when most of the bridges around the NYC area were built, the bridge and tunnel authorities were to collect a toll fee ONLY UNTIL the bonds that were issued to pay for them were fully paid off. Well, bridge and tunnel fees now account for a large chunk of city revenues that are mostly used to pay exorbitant baby boomer pensions.

Baby boomers have become a cancer.

They were supposed to be evaporating authorities.

Now they have become a dumping ground for every politician's brother/sister/cousin/niece/nephew, etc.

Legacy costs are going to destroy states with public unions.

[SilverSpoon]

100k a year? Retire at 55, full 10pk pension, for a teacher or cop? Are serious, how is this possible when were these wages and pensions issued and why are they not beeing adjusted?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/05/how_much_is_the_median_cop_salary_in_your_town.html

Proof.

[denarii]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/05/how_much_is_the_median_cop_salary_in_your_town.html

Proof.

thats why cities and towns are going bankrupt. then they default on the pension liabs

[Primemuscle]

what did you used to do?

Mostly work....well about 40 or so hours a week except for the occasional sabbatical. Otherwise, travel, workout, swim, get tan, dance, eat, drink, sleep, fuck, play pinochle, hangout with friends, have fun with my wife and kids....you know....the usual. You?