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View Poll Results: Donald Trump's first 100 days have been a success.
Agree 45 11.00%
Not sure 22 5.38%
Disagree 342 83.62%
Voters: 409. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 01-20-2017, 08:42 AM   #1
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Default American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

I could be wrong, but the other thread, all of it's two months, had more posts than the last American politics thread had in 4+ years. But here we are, today is the day we welcome our orange overlord into power. Things I'm most hoping for from a Trump administration:

1. Someone buying Twitter and banning him
2. Some kind of Melania sex tape scandal from the past
3. Air Force One being made out of solid gold.
4. A Trump golf course at the White House
5. Impeachment hearings
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:03 PM   #2
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Trump really has no clue about health care.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:08 PM   #3
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How is Obamacare working for you?
You don't actually care about this answer, but I'll humor you.

It's working fantastically. As a woman of childbearing age, working in a salon with lots of other women, we were all being punished when one of our crew got pregnant. In the three years pre-ACA, our premiums had skyrocketed 60% due to said pregnancy.

With the ACA, my premiums dropped about 40% right off the bat, and have slowly risen to a rate still about 20% lower than they were the year before the ACA went into effect. I also save well over $100 a year since my birth control is covered under my premiums. I have had easier access to my doctors and any testing that I've needed.

My parents who previously could not afford insurance because my dad owns his own business, were finally able to afford healthcare. Friends of mine were finally able to access the mental health treatment they'd previously paid heavily out of pocket for.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:08 PM   #4
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Maybe we will never find out? I liked the idea of deregulation and shopping for insurance across state lines. A patient centric system makes sense to me. I would like to shop for health insurance like I shop for car insurance. Competition decreases cost.
Actually the only thing that reduces insurance costs are a wider pool of insurers. The more people you have in an insurance policy the cheaper it gets.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:13 PM   #5
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I grew up in Canada and understand the mixed economy (like Iceland) and how the healthcare system works. Im not against that type of system. The problem Canadians and Icelanders don't understand is the difference in population size between you guys and the USA. There are probably 100 Iceland countries worth of people who do not work or pay taxes and would benefit from this type of Healthcare in the USA.
I spent 20yrs in Canada, my father was a hard working electrician, a small business owner who immigrated to Canada for a better life for his kids. The fact is that outside of the USA, every modern 1st world country is at this point single payer, with a small amount of private care mixed in. This is the most successful of a difficult system that no one has perfected as of yet.

I'm a member of the conservative party in Iceland, was a PC in Alberta for most of my youth, and consider myself a rational person when it comes to spending and ultimately how that money is used and benefits society.

This suggestion, and idea that has been implanted in the US for the last 50 years is that any helping hand to people in need is worse than if we let them just fail or fade away, because how else could they learn to take care of themselves.

Rightly or wrongly, the Nordic nations are touted as the best capitalist mix with socialist policies, with their very strong social safety net. Yet if you know anyone who lives out here or look at the numbers, our unemployment is some of the lowest in the world. We are hard working, we gladly pay in to a system that helps those who are in need, knowing that they will and society will be better off if they are propped up and not left behind.

The USA has seen devastating levels of the middle class being reduced and the smallest percentage of people in the US gaining almost all the gains in the last 30 years, so Democrats and Republicans are all in this together. The problem is, as in most nations money has corrupted the will of the people, and this is the biggest fight we all have to undertake.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:14 PM   #6
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TFF keeps saying his rates went up by whatever-percent because of the ACA, and therefore it's awful. And then proceeds to ignore statistics suggesting costs have risen more slowly than before across the country and that more people are covered than ever before.

Last year I was unemployed. According to me, Canada's unemployment rate was 100% last year. I don't care what StatsCan or anyone else says.
Rates went up 49% last year in all of Texas unless you make less than $15,000/year single or $30,000 married. Basically the statistics look good because of people that don't work automatically qualify for healthcare. The interesting thing about that is people that were on government assistance already had "free" health care to an extent. An emergency room doesn't turn down someone that doesn't have insurance or cant pay. Trump isn't lying when he says Obamacare will implode. There are some states that are losing every insurance company that accepts Obamacare so these people who don't work lose anyway. Its a lose lose here. I have faith things will change but not before it gets worse now unfortunately.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:18 PM   #7
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I'm really curious to find out why Comey was visiting the White House today. I'm hoping he was there to arrest Trump and his cronies for treason, but that's probably just wishful thinking. I'm betting he was summoned there so Trump could fire him in person.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:18 PM   #8
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I grew up in Canada and understand the mixed economy (like Iceland) and how the healthcare system works. Im not against that type of system. The problem Canadians and Icelanders don't understand is the difference in population size between you guys and the USA. There are probably 100 Iceland countries worth of people who do not work or pay taxes and would benefit from this type of Healthcare in the USA. There are prob another 100 Iceland countries worth of people that may quit working because of increased offered social care handouts. That leaves the rest to pay the bill. Now look what happened to Venezuela. When taxes increased on the rich, the rich picked up and moved somewhere else because they are rich and they can. That left the middle class paying for everyone. I have friends with families in Venezuela that have told me they have not had toilet paper since 2015.

Im not sure where the current healthcare system in the USA is going but I can tell you for sure its terrible right now down here. Obamacare is nothing to be proud of and is only going to hang over the democrats heads until it is finally fixed.
A good start would be to tax the hell out of the things that make people unhealthy. If the US put a $3.00 healthcare tax on the cheap $5.00 pack of cigarettes they could raise over $100 million a day! Put a 10% healthcare tax on the cheap alcohol and raise even more. It's absolutely crazy a country like the USA can't provide simple healthcare for everyone.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:21 PM   #9
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I spent 20yrs in Canada, my father was a hard working electrician, a small business owner who immigrated to Canada for a better life for his kids. The fact is that outside of the USA, every modern 1st world country is at this point single payer, with a small amount of private care mixed in. This is the most successful of a difficult system that no one has perfected as of yet.

I'm a member of the conservative party in Iceland, was a PC in Alberta for most of my youth, and consider myself a rational person when it comes to spending and ultimately how that money is used and benefits society.

This suggestion, and idea that has been implanted in the US for the last 50 years is that any helping hand to people in need is worse than if we let them just fail or fade away, because how else could they learn to take care of themselves.

Rightly or wrongly, the Nordic nations are touted as the best capitalist mix with socialist policies, with their very strong social safety net. Yet if you know anyone who lives out here or look at the numbers, our unemployment is some of the lowest in the world. We are hard working, we gladly pay in to a system that helps those who are in need, knowing that they will and society will be better off if they are propped up and not left behind.

The USA has seen devastating levels of the middle class being reduced and the smallest percentage of people in the US gaining almost all the gains in the last 30 years, so Democrats and Republicans are all in this together. The problem is, as in most nations money has corrupted the will of the people, and this is the biggest fight we all have to undertake.
Agree with most of this.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:21 PM   #10
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Its terrible for both Republicans and Democrats for these reasons;

My rates went up 49%. Coverage decreased and deductibles increased. Most people I know make over $15,000 so do not get covered for free healthcare. Some make 30-50k per year and they cannot afford the premium hikes. They will need to pay the $4500 Obamacare tax

As for the day I am happy that the Keystone Pipeline was approved. I am sure all you Calgarians are happy that has finally been passed as it will increase jobs in Alberta. I have really liked the progress of this administration minus this AHCA Bill.
Most everyone making between 15k and 50k a year get Obamacare for somewhere between 360 a year (for someone making $20k/year) up to about $1000 a year for people making $50k/year. And most in that group will have their deductibles capped at less than $1000.

Unless you can show some proof as to what you are saying, that statement is false.

That is the one income group that really came out of Obamacare well, it is the group in the $50k-$100k brackets who weren't helped much by Obamacare., and possibly hurt if they liked having catastrophic only plans.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:22 PM   #11
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My question would be what did Texas' rates do in the years before this large increase. Some states had larger increases because rates had gone down or were level for longer than expected. So a large increase looks bad, but if the increase of 5 years is the same as the industry as a whole then it doesn't look great, but it wouldn't concern me.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:23 PM   #12
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My question would be what did Texas' rates do in the years before this large increase. Some states had larger increases because rates had gone down or were level for longer than expected. So a large increase looks bad, but if the increase of 5 years is the same as the industry as a whole then it doesn't look great, but it wouldn't concern me.
Increase from 2015 to 2016 was $120 dollars for a family of 4 per month. 2014 to 2015 was no increase if I remember right.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:28 PM   #13
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Most everyone making between 15k and 50k a year get Obamacare for somewhere between 360 a year (for someone making $20k/year) up to about $1000 a year for people making $50k/year. And most in that group will have their deductibles capped at less than $1000.

Unless you can show some proof as to what you are saying, that statement is false.

That is the one income group that really came out of Obamacare well, it is the group in the $50k-$100k brackets who weren't helped much by Obamacare., and possibly hurt if they liked having catastrophic only plans.
Well Ive been waiting to hear where this was going and now that it looks like we are stuck I am going to do some shopping on Monday. BCBS Texas wanted $1690/month for a family of 4. $20,280/year for a family that has never had a claim! Who can afford that?
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:36 PM   #14
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Well Ive been waiting to hear where this was going and now that it looks like we are stuck I am going to do some shopping on Monday. BCBS Texas wanted $1690/month for a family of 4. $20,280/year for a family that has never had a claim! Who can afford that?
If a nationwide, single payer system (as the ACA was originally envisioned) would reduce your premiums by 40% (as an example), would you still remain philosophically opposed to government mandated 'socialized' medicine?
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:43 PM   #15
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I think the documentary Hot Coffee that is about the McDonalds coffee burn lawsuit, is pretty much a perfect example of how our legal systems (not just in the US) are being turned more towards corporate interest and away from what we all would agree, partisanship aside, against our own interest.

Texas, like many of my Bernie friends, many of my Trump friends on FB are so angry and tired with the corporate, powerful interest that rules our nations. We are letting our media, our facebook bubbles dictate how we view the world; and its time we stopped being such children and had adult debates.

Remember when we had Buckley vs Vidal, now we have Bill O'reilly and whomever the left champions..
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:43 PM   #16
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If a nationwide, single payer system (as the ACA was originally envisioned) would reduce your premiums by 40% (as an example), would you still remain philosophically opposed to government mandated 'socialized' medicine?
When did I say I was philosophically against socialized medicine? The only thing Im opposed to is Obamacare and 49% increases!
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:44 PM   #17
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From Dan Rather's Facebook page...

Spoiler!
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:47 PM   #18
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Actually the only thing that reduces insurance costs are a wider pool of insurers. The more people you have in an insurance policy the cheaper it gets.
And Trump can make it more difficult for insurance companies and more difficult for the ACA. Already has in fact, with the relaxing of enforcement of the individual mandate.

Less people paying for insurance = more expensive insurance.

Competition reducing prices is a nice idea, and works for industries where things are sold for many times the cost to make.

But the ACA mandates that insurance companies must spend most of what they collect in premiums on actual medical care! Health insurance profit margins are small (industry average of 3.3%), so it's not like companies can just dig into their profits to be more competitive, or cut a bunch of administrative fat, at least not in a way big enough to not do a big increase when costs demand it.

(Who wants to bet that the failed bill would have gotten rid of the requirement to spend most of the premiums on health care?)

That's the thing, one can complain about a 49% increase, but why is the ACA the cause? The insurance companies are just charging the cost of care. What's the flaw in the ACA that's causing that? Seems to me it's the amount charged by hospitals and drug companies and all the rest.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:51 PM   #19
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Well Ive been waiting to hear where this was going and now that it looks like we are stuck I am going to do some shopping on Monday. BCBS Texas wanted $1690/month for a family of 4. $20,280/year for a family that has never had a claim! Who can afford that?
I would guess you are making substantially more than $50k/year if that is what your premiums would be after subsidies. $1690/month though is what health coverage costs. If you don't agree with it being government funded, you have to accept that $1690 (tax deductible) per month is part of your budget, don't you? That has nothing to do with Obamacare, unless you'd prefer to be able to pay a couple hundred a month for coverage that doesn't kick in until after you've paid $50k and just hope nothing goes wrong with anyone.
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Old 03-24-2017, 06:51 PM   #20
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When did I say I was philosophically against socialized medicine? The only thing Im opposed to is Obamacare and 49% increases!
You did mention that you took issue with subsidizing the cost of insurance for the 'lazy deadbeats' and low income earners.
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