One area where the US medical system leads the world by a pretty large margin is innovation: best doctors, best schools and best funding (is there any surprise the first and from what I've heard, best covid vaccines came from the US?). On a long enough timeline, the improvements to Quality of Life from Innovation massively outstrip the improvements of quality of life from equity. The rest of the developed world has the luxury of thumbing our noses at the US system while also able to enjoy the fruits of that system. I wonder how much more equitable they can make their system before they start knee-capping innovation?
I also dont think you can even began to fix the US medical system (or any of their other major faults as a nation) until you get money out of politics, because any piece of legislation that tries to fix it will only end up working to the benefit of pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers and to hell with everyone else.
Biontech is a German company not American, Pfizer is the manufacturer. The mRNA tech was originally developed by a Hungarian scientist working a PEN State who got demoted because her work wasn’t winning grants and was almost lost. It was then only developed to create stem cells which were only a requirement because of the outrage over the collection of stem cells from aborted fetuses. I don’t think the mRNA story is one of American exceptionalism.
Last edited by GGG; 03-14-2021 at 11:40 AM.
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Biontech is a German company not American, Pfizer is the manufacturer. The mRNA tech was originally developed by a Hungarian scientist working a PEN State who got demoted because her work wasn’t winning grants and was almost lost. It was then only developed to create stem cells which were only a requirement because of the outrage over the collection of stem cells from aborted fetuses. I don’t think the mRNA story is one of American exceptionalism.
Not to mention the lipid nanoparticle delivery system for the mRNA vaccines (which is essentially what makes the whole thing viable), was primarily developed in Vancouver. Pfizer/BioNTech and CureVac directly license the LNP system from UBC-based Acuitas, and Moderna's LNP is most likely based on technology from Arbutus Biopharma, which is also based in Vancouver (I say likely because they've been involved in a patent dispute for the last several years after having a licensing agreement prior).
One area where the US medical system leads the world by a pretty large margin is innovation: best doctors, best schools and best funding (is there any surprise the first and from what I've heard, best covid vaccines came from the US?). On a long enough timeline, the improvements to Quality of Life from Innovation massively outstrip the improvements of quality of life from equity. The rest of the developed world has the luxury of thumbing our noses at the US system while also able to enjoy the fruits of that system. I wonder how much more equitable they can make their system before they start knee-capping innovation?
I also dont think you can even began to fix the US medical system (or any of their other major faults as a nation) until you get money out of politics, because any piece of legislation that tries to fix it will only end up working to the benefit of pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers and to hell with everyone else.
There's nothing to suggest that moving to a public system or partial public system would stifle innovation. At the end of the day, the U.S. is still going to be able to outbid other countries for the best and brightest minds.
This quite succinctly sums up why I'll never move down south, and will strongly dissuade my kids from as well
He lost me at 2:25
% of Wage Lost for Canadians (to all taxes + insurance premiums) is 11%? I’m gonna need to see the math on that, cause I don’t know a single person who is employed that is that low.
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There's nothing to suggest that moving to a public system or partial public system would stifle innovation. At the end of the day, the U.S. is still going to be able to outbid other countries for the best and brightest minds.
The theory would be, I imagine, that if you have a public system then you have the decision makers about what's legal and what isn't suddenly holding the purse strings, more or less directly. That will incentivize them to drive costs down, which is good. However, it will incentivize driving down the cost of drugs and treatments, which in turn decreases the profitability of developing new drugs and treatments, which means there will be less investment in developing those new drugs and treatments. If the moment your new wonder drug hits the market, you have to sell it for cheap or allow your competitors to make knock-off versions to compete with yours, there's no good reason to spend ten billion dollars coming up with it in the first place.
It makes sense, it's just something you have to figure out a way around.
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% of Wage Lost for Canadians (to all taxes + insurance premiums) is 11%? I’m gonna need to see the math on that, cause I don’t know a single person who is employed that is that low.
Yeah... he flubbed on that one. The 11% comes from the OECD report here: https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/...y-payments.pdf
But the OECD was ONLY ONLY ONLY measuring forced payments that are NOT taxes. The major example he was using was US Health premiums. Similarly, at my job, I have to pay - no choice - I have to pay my share of my dental insurance. I was reading the web page he cited for that number and there are some pretty strange ones. In Sweden you have to pay the Church of Sweden for burying someone. It's the law. In Denmark you have to prove you have insurance that covers workplace injury. In Canada we have very few - I willing to bet the OECD included EI and CPP although some people consider them as taxes.
That 11% does NOT include taxes. It is "mandatory payments we have to make outside of taxes". And if you think 11% actually seems high, the OECD included other benefits in determining total income. So since my employer pays the other half of my dental insurance, that other half is included in my income for OECD purposes.
As usual Bill Maher manages to make good points and at the same time be wrong on so many levels. He talks about how amazing China is at building infrastructure, sure but they do it while not giving a single #### about environmental concerns. If the U.S. did even one project using the same lack of regulation Maher would be stamping his feet like a crazy person.
Also notice how he glosses over China's atrocious human rights record.
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As much as I hate China there is no comparison. You are comparing a country with no laws with on that does. Rule of Law is non-existanct in China. Chinese people think they're prosperous now but what happens when eventually they hit the same wall we all have, the wall of, for the first time, your kid's generation isn't better than off then you.
That's when #### will hit the fan and it'll be ugly. Revolution for sure.
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How do you compete with that? You don't. Nothing is off the table for the Chinese government, they even tried to blame the U.S. military for Covid. Gotta give them credit that one on a some level.
On a personal level I had a long term business partnership with a guy that was born in China (still a great friend) I learned so much from him. He was so focused and never got bogged down in personal issues or petty things. There was no getting personally offended with him didn't exist. The entire mindset of Chinese culture is so different than in the west.
As much as I hate China there is no comparison. You are comparing a country with no laws with on that does. Rule of Law is non-existanct in China. Chinese people think they're prosperous now but what happens when eventually they hit the same wall we all have, the wall of, for the first time, your kid's generation isn't better than off then you.
That's when #### will hit the fan and it'll be ugly. Revolution for sure.
For 2000 years the main Chinese political and personal philosophy has been veneration of its elders and conforming, they aint revolting against anything
How do you compete with that? You don't. Nothing is off the table for the Chinese government, they even tried to blame the U.S. military for Covid. Gotta give them credit that one on a some level.
On a personal level I had a long term business partnership with a guy that was born in China (still a great friend) I learned so much from him. He was so focused and never got bogged down in personal issues or petty things. There was no getting personally offended with him didn't exist. The entire mindset of Chinese culture is so different than in the west.
tldr; I turned Chinese in a certain way.
It's just work hard and get ahead, no hurt feelings. Chinese, or Asians in general, just assimilate. I mean he probably has a made up English first name right?
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% of Wage Lost for Canadians (to all taxes + insurance premiums) is 11%? I’m gonna need to see the math on that, cause I don’t know a single person who is employed that is that low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DevilsAdvocate
Yeah... he flubbed on that one. The 11% comes from the OECD report here: https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/...y-payments.pdf
But the OECD was ONLY ONLY ONLY measuring forced payments that are NOT taxes. The major example he was using was US Health premiums. Similarly, at my job, I have to pay - no choice - I have to pay my share of my dental insurance. I was reading the web page he cited for that number and there are some pretty strange ones. In Sweden you have to pay the Church of Sweden for burying someone. It's the law. In Denmark you have to prove you have insurance that covers workplace injury. In Canada we have very few - I willing to bet the OECD included EI and CPP although some people consider them as taxes.
That 11% does NOT include taxes. It is "mandatory payments we have to make outside of taxes". And if you think 11% actually seems high, the OECD included other benefits in determining total income. So since my employer pays the other half of my dental insurance, that other half is included in my income for OECD purposes.
That was the way I thought he was saying what he was saying, but thanks for confirming it! People think the US has it so good on taxes, until they live here and get nickeled and dimed. My wife believed the tax narrative until she lived in Canada and then moved back to the US. She then understood. It ain't taxes keeping us from moving back to Canada, its the damn climate!
It's just work hard and get ahead, no hurt feelings. Chinese, or Asians in general, just assimilate. I mean he probably has a made up English first name right?
For 2000 years the main Chinese political and personal philosophy has been veneration of its elders and conforming, they aint revolting against anything
Chinese society tends to be acquiescent... until it explodes.
Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)
Deaths: 20-50 million
Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901)
Deaths: 100k
Chinese Communist Revolution (1945-1949)
Deaths: 40-80 million
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