The funny thing is -- Moore's not a liberal!

As far as actual policy positions, he's to the right of center. Just because he picks on some corporations and politicians doesn't mean he's to the extreme other end.

Hey, I didn't write the article, I just swiped it.

I especially liked: "all previously discovered hominid skulls had brain cases so large that they would prohibit the narrow thinking necessary to cling to the Marxist-Socialist theory of politics."

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
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Check your facts dude. He wants a 70% tax rate and socialized medicine. That's not right of anything.

huh...check some gov. in Asia and eastern europe...you can definitely find left to that...

btw...Canada has socialized medecine...is it a socialist country?

"Canada has socialized medecine...is it a socialist country?"

If you have to pay for someone elses medical care because the government forces you to, then yes, that sounds like socialism to me.

Damn, I am really trying to stay out of the political threads.

....... ooooh, back to watching the Lance Chron. on OLN - new episode finally!

Man, Tyler deserves the win, I would like to see him on the podium this year, and a win next year

under regular medical insurance, don't you already pay for others' medical care? or, if you're accident prone like me, don't others pay for your medical care? if welfare to the poor is a form of socialism, then aren't tax breaks and subsidies for corporations a form of socialism, too? what about the extent to which we subsidize farmers? one could argue that subsidizing corporations benefits society by (say) encouraging research, but welfare to the poor (if done right) benefits society by reducing crime.

I don't hope Tyler wins next year, I hope he wins this one!

Would the corollary be, "If you have to pay for someone else's Escalade purchase because the government forces you to, then yes, that sounds like socialism to me." ?

Because -- rich Republicans that buy Escalades get a tax break that I pay for out of my taxes.

Actually, paying for someone else's medical care (that can't afford it) doesn't strike me as socialist at all. I strikes me as the neighborly thing to do in the richest country in the world. Maybe instead of an Escalade bought with a tax subsidy, those rich people might be satisfied with a Honda like I have, and give some money to people that can't afford medical care.

That's not liberal thinking -- it's called "giving a shit about somebody other than yourself." Something the Bush/Cheney dictatorship wants nothing to do with.

Is there a nice, easy definition of what a socialist country is?? Canada is definitely more left leaning / socialist than the US, but can be considered well to the right of many other countries, say Sweden.

Done right, socialised medicine is a good thing as everyone is guaranteed at least a basic level of heathcare. In the US, one of the significant risks you face is that you don't have any guarantees that your company's health plan will still be around when you retire. That, and the significant gaps between who is qualified for Medicaid and those who work for companies with decent benefits.

I'm not saying that Canada's system is done right though. Plenty of problems with the administration of those systems. (I say that based on non-specific, half recollected newspaper articles over the years).

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

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2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

but you have the CHOICE about paying for it now. If you don't want it, just don't sign up for your company's plan or pay for your own insurance.

I dunno, it's kind of a Hobson's choice. if I don't pay for insurance at all, I get screwed when I need to go to the hospital (and having been admitted for 3 accidents, I expect that there will be more unless I sell the bikes). were I to sign up for private health insurance, I would still be subsidized for others, and/or subsidizing others. ditto on my company's plan; someone is subsidizing my medical care. some of those people make less money than I do, some make more. all things considered, I'd rather pay into the pool, and know that I'm covered if I need it. some people are going to get a free lunch at some expense to me, but not at ruinous expense to me. no one lives on an island, completely independent of anyone else.

The entity that is normally subsidizing your health insurance is your company. They usually pick up a chunk of your healthcare insurance bill. Depending on your company's benefits this could be huge or it could be next to nothing.

The paying into the pool is you gambling that the money that you pay into your health insurance is going to be less than the money that you get paid out (or pay to the doctors/hospitals)

Elwood, I think the "article" is very funny and my permanent address is left-of-center. Thanks for the giggles.

Russ

"...rich Republicans....get a tax break that I pay for out of my taxes.'" Now that's an interesting leap. Letting people keep more of their money takes money out of your pocket...how?

"...those rich people might...give some money to people..." They do it all the time. It's called charity. And charity is much more efficient and effective than government taking your money, taking their cut, and inefficiently distributing the remainder.

"giving a shit about somebody other than yourself." Sorry, you can't make anyone do give a shit. The best governement can do here is take the fruits of labor by threat of force. They call it taxes now. But it used to be called slavery.

I think my point was, even if I'm getting a less than what I put in, that is OK with me if I can afford it. that's charity for you.

I think it was pretty flippin' funny, and I am not what you would call conservative. It has to go with the photo to make it really have the full effect.

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Andy Tetmeyer (I work at HED)