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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SilentZ who wrote (370705)	2/12/2008 11:17:34 PM
From: brushwud	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572645

A friend of mine passed up a root canal this year because he had to buy Christmas presents for his kids... he's stuck in a ton of pain. It's not a choice anyone should have to make. We should be willing to pay to make sure people don't run into situations like that, or worse. I noticed a bartender wincing in pain from a toothache once, and we discussed the problem and how to solve it. He figured he could get the tooth pulled the next day but it would probably cost $100 he didn't have. So I left him a $102 tip. The next time I went there he had a big smile and he never forgot.

To: SilentZ who wrote (370705)	2/12/2008 11:39:21 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572645

I agree and I'm all for it. What sickens me is the idea that somehow we as a people don't owe it to the least of our citizens to give them a helping hand. Warren Buffet said it best: When it comes to the benefits of living in this society, the rich get the outsized rewards; it is just that they should pay back a higher percentage of those gains into the system that makes it all possible. A progressive tax structure ensures a thriving middle class, which is critical to a thriving Democracy. Concentrate the wealth in the hands of a few and you are a hop and a skip away from an oligarchy or dictatorship. We need to realize that our Democracy is still just a long-running experiment. We need to continually tinker with it and fine tune it and never let our guard down. Democracy isn't guaranteed, even in America.

To: SilentZ who wrote (370705)	2/13/2008 12:14:39 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572645

A friend of mine passed up a root canal this year because he had to buy Christmas presents for his kids... he's stuck in a ton of pain. It's not a choice anyone should have to make. That was not smart. He's endangering his health big time for XMAS presents. Not a good trade off.

To: SilentZ who wrote (370705)	2/13/2008 12:01:05 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572645

We can each pay a bit more. I'm happy to. I see too many people around me going without healthcare, or keeping jobs they don't want to stay in just because they can't afford to lose their insurance. Life isn't a picnic, bud and never has been for anybody. The presence or absence of capitalism, socialism, communism, or national health care doesn't change that. They can make you poor though. A friend of mine passed up a root canal this year because he had to buy Christmas presents for his kids... he's stuck in a ton of pain. It's not a choice anyone should have to make. Why would you trust a bartender to mix your drinks who is so dumb he would do this? This is seriously risky and quite possibly life threatening. This is like the clown we used to have on SI who spent money that would have bought health insurance for his family on a kitchen remodel his wife simply couldn't live without. I wouldn't be surprised if he's now in foreclosure. There have always been fools and always will be. If some dork is stupid enough to do 120 on his cycle and rams a telephone pole, is it my responsibility to save him from his stupidity?