Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan3 who wrote (90862)	9/29/2007 10:01:24 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 306849

The ones that made it to 62 would bury the system even more.

To: Dan3 who wrote (90862)	9/29/2007 10:09:49 AM
From: 10K a day	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

>> Re: It takes a very minor change to fix the 75-year Social Security funding problem.<< OT: Talking with several doctors in the last few days. (I work in a California community of 100K w/ 2 large medical groups) The medical groups have decided to stop taking new Workers Comp patients because they used to "skim" the dollars from lab tests, MRI's ect. BUT Workers comp has forced them to "compete" for these dollars and it's just not worth it to them. Doctors were spending "Hours" on the phone trying to get approval for 50-100 dollar treatments. (How many times can you give away free Soma Samples) ..... 30-40 percent of medical costs are going to insurance administration and insur co's are micro managing the system in to the toilet. I see no end in site. There will be some unintended consequences when you suddenly turn hundreds of (WORK COMP) patients away who could otherwise pay 3 times the going rate for "Medi-Cal" ie. Medicaid. Hawaii had a law in the late 1980's that all employers had to supply medical insurance for their workers. It is my opinion that private insurance should be abolished and something similar to a "Medicare" 3 percent "overhead" cost structure implemented. Medicare is actually WAY ahead of the game but their "appeal" process is still of NO VALUE and a corporate give away to QUASI GOVT shell corporations.

To: Dan3 who wrote (90862)	9/29/2007 4:01:46 PM
From: ChanceIs	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

>>>Just like that, no more social security or medicare crisis.<<< Getting slightly OT here - but its not trading hours.... This is one thing I can't understand about "Homeland Security" and everything associated with it. Surely the 9/11 attacks were horrible. Each of those 5,00 lives lost was precious. But what about smoking deaths??? Google "annual lung cancer deaths" and you will find reams of data. Here's one: The findings indicated that, during 1997--2001, cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke resulted in approximately 438,000 premature deaths in the United States, 5.5 million YPLL, and $92 billion in productivity losses annually. Implementation of comprehensive tobacco-control programs as recommended by CDC can reduce smoking prevalence and related mortality and health-care costs (1). I think keeping terrorism under control is very important. In life we must always make hard decisions, and that involves applying dollars where we get the maximum marginal utility. Bottom line - I guess I could accept spending all of that $$$$ in Iraq if we had first wiped out smoking, drunk driving, etc. The odds of personal injury from them are much greater than being in a building when a plane hits it. As for social security. If you or I tried to run a Ponzi scheme like that, we would be behind bars for life. When the government does it, its just dandy.