U.S. Debt discussion

[IntenseFan]

Originally Posted by troutman

You make a good point, but I think it is hard to value what NASA produces in simple balance sheet terms.

It's not just hard. It's impossible. Pushing the bounds of human knowledge is not quantifiable by any means.

But an insolvent government like the US Federal Government has to make the hard decisions. If only 500 of the 18,000 NASA employees are working on what the government considers "essential", some of them (and indeed a lot of them) probably shouldn't be there collecting salary, benefits and probably pensions.

That is cold and insensitve I agree. It's also reality. Things are never going to get better in the US if these hard decisions aren't made.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

The hold up in getting things fixed for us is completely a paritsan Congressional issue as well. If these idiots don't do their job and the Post Office shuts down for any length of time, I would imagine the world's second largest group of employees will have a distinct impact on the next elections.

Yes, and all the hundreds of thousands of folks in related occupations (as you already know).

The DMA website is pretty interesting. Last Saturday I had 3 mailings that had to go, all in walking sequence. In addition to those, I had a local magazine as an EDDM piece.

I spent more time rearranging than delivering.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Yes, and all the hundreds of thousands of folks in related occupations (as you already know).

The DMA website is pretty interesting. Last Saturday I had 3 mailings that had to go, all in walking sequence. In addition to those, I had a local magazine as an EDDM piece.

I spent more time rearranging than delivering.

I still can't believe you guys deliver mail on Saturdays.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by IntenseFan

It's not just hard. It's impossible. Pushing the bounds of human knowledge is not quantifiable by any means.

But an insolvent government like the US Federal Government has to make the hard decisions. If only 500 of the 18,000 NASA employees are working on what the government considers "essential", some of them (and indeed a lot of them) probably shouldn't be there collecting salary, benefits and probably pensions.

That is cold and insensitve I agree. It's also reality. Things are never going to get better in the US if these hard decisions aren't made.

Just because their job doesn't involve someone dying or something going catastrophically wrong if it doesn't get done, doesn't mean it isn't worth doing.

By your logic, they should just cancel the entire space program until some extra money comes along, which is just a way of saying forever.

[IntenseFan]

^ I didn't say cancel it forever, but yes that rest is mostly my logic. And I agreed above it was harsh. But ultimately more compassionate I would argue than continuing to spend billions on something, or rather having to borrow it and saddle future generations with something that cannot be afforded now.

My point is what does the government have to fund and what is extra? Extras are killing the US system.

[missdpuck]

Duff, under our new "regime" Saturday is the heaviest day of the week. They back up all the mail to avoid OT during the week, saying they don't have the hours. Saturday starts a new week, so then they supposedly have the hours.

Considering the uptick in the number of parcels, there have been Saturdays where I could barely fit everything in my truck.

I deliver in curbside box suburbia, and often the boxes are blocked by cars due to guests and residents being home. So, I have to practically walk some streets, but..."It doesn't take any longer..."

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Good grief. I must have one hell of a health plan. $140K in medical bills in 2012 and I paid $3500 appx. out of pocket.

As I've said before in these discussions in the past. I feel pretty lucky to be where I'm at.

Given that, I should probably get back to work!

Hey sooooopervisor....

I have Blue Cross and was told ACA would raise my rates, as it would those of other so-called "Cadillac" health plans.

One of my coworkers wants out by January. He is a veteran and is going to switch his insurance to Tricare. He has MailHandlers and his saving will be pretty darn big.

Also, my mother's husband is a retired EAS. He has Mail Handlers. My mother had her hip replaced, and between that and Medicare , oop was a big "zero".

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by IntenseFan

^ I didn't say cancel it forever, but yes that rest is mostly my logic. And I agreed above it was harsh. But ultimately more compassionate I would argue than continuing to spend billions on something, or rather having to borrow it and saddle future generations with something that cannot be afforded now.

My point is what does the government have to fund and what is extra? Extras are killing the US system.

Why is it not compassionate to kill NASA? You are killing science, not social programs.

Sure some people lose their jobs, but that really will be a factor in almost every cut. I am sure people who work for NASA would find work elsewhere, we are not talking about scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

I still can't believe you guys deliver mail on Saturdays.

Congress won't let us stop.

[IntenseFan]

^ More relatively compassionate, is what I am saying. Say when compared to cutting medicare or social security.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Hey sooooopervisor....

I have Blue Cross and was told ACA would raise my rates, as it would those of other so-called "Cadillac" health plans.

One of my coworkers wants out by January. He is a veteran and is going to switch his insurance to Tricare. He has MailHandlers and his saving will be pretty darn big.

I have BCBS as well and haven't heard a whisper about rate increases. Hmmmm.

[missdpuck]

Dis, my friend is a rabid Republican and follows only his side of things.

I'm an Independent I guess. I haven't heard anything aside from the sources he has shown me.

[troutman]

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Shutdown_Blues

In the year of our Lord 2010, the voters of the United States elected the worst Congress in the history of the Republic. There have been Congresses more dilatory. There have been Congresses more irresponsible, though not many of them. There have been lazier Congresses, more vicious Congresses, and Congresses less capable of seeing forests for trees. But there has never been in a single Congress -- or, more precisely, in a single House of the Congress -- a more lethal combination of political ambition, political stupidity, and political vainglory than exists in this one, which has arranged to shut down the federal government because it disapproves of a law passed by a previous Congress, signed by the president, and upheld by the Supreme Court, a law that does nothing more than extend the possibility of health insurance to the millions of Americans who do not presently have it, a law based on a proposal from a conservative think-tank and taken out on the test track in Massachusetts by a Republican governor who also happens to have been the party's 2012 nominee for president of the United States. That is why the government of the United States is, in large measure, closed this morning.

We have elected an ungovernable collection of snake-handlers, Bible-bangers, ignorami, bagmen and outright frauds, a collection so ungovernable that it insists the nation be ungovernable, too. We have elected people to govern us who do not believe in government.

[missdpuck]

I like that ignorami stuff.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

G
2) the US has a higher burden of costly chronic disease than almost every other country

Ironically enough this may precisely be because of the private system.

Patients are scared to go to the doctor because of what they fear the cost will be. Then only do so when it has evolved from treatable to chronic and causing them severe discomfort.

[missdpuck]

What kind of dental do you guys have up there? Sorry if that's an obvious question.

Down here we're pretty screwed no matter what.

[Rathji]

Dental, prescription medication, and most 'alternative' types of medicine like physio, chiro, etc is covered by private insurance in Canada. That does differ between provinces though. For example, in Alberta, we used to have a yearly amount of chiro that we could use, but that changed a few years back.

I pay about $100 a month for my family through my employer for this insurance, which is about average, I would guess.

[CaramonLS]

Most dental coverage is around 80% for basic services (cleaning), 70-75% for crowns, etc and 50% for Ortho. For me premiums are 100% paid by my employer - other places would probably be around $100 a month for Dental, perscriptions, etc.

[missdpuck]

Interesting about the meds. A few years ago I paid1.10 for meds that would have cost over 300 bucks without my insurance.

My health insurance has little coverage, except for the cleanings.

There are some so-called insurance plans here which are really dental discount programs that don't discount very much.

A co-worker of mine used to work at the PO in NJ which had a completely separate dental plan . It was 25 bucks a month and the coverage was pretty amazing- similar to your 70-75% for crowns. Apparently the companies can only offer that in certain regions.

[Rathji]

That is pretty typical for prescriptions up here as well. You might have 80%, 90% or 100% coverage depending on how good your plan is.