My post wasn't about whether or not socialized medicine was a good idea. It was about how you are attacking something that may cost more, if it's voted into place and poorly designed, while ignoring that the tax money you're paying right now is going right into the coffers of the richest few in America. Priorities man, priorities. Besides, as bad as socialized medicine may be, it would probably be better than the HMOs we have today and cheaper than the tax breaks we give the rich.

P.s. Damn, the house is burning down and I forgot to take out the trash! ;)

what does the red star next to your name signify? please be specific. ie "web designer" instead of simply "administrator."

It means cfg is a commie! :D

omgwtfbyobbq -

Or a Red State Republican ;) .

CarloSW2

PCB! I'm one too, but I made matt take away my star, which means I'm a covert operative, I guess.

MWAHAHA.

fair enough
 

fair enough! my priorities are in order by the way. the ability to get timely urgent care far outweighs taxes and whose pockets are getting filled or unfilled. had HMOs in the past(PPO only choice now) and although it wasn't great, never had difficulty getting care. also, taxation is not the answer to balancing our economy. out of control salaries are not the gov't's concern. it is capitalism afterall. if you had a novel invention, became part of the richest few, would you consider it fair to be taxed extra. what if you had an ill friend or relative that needed mega bucks to get proper care? did you know the top 1% pay the majority(60% latest #s i think) of taxes. they already pay extra even with the tax breaks. i used to be jealous of the rich as well until... upon further review. and no, my family is not upperclass--we are single,low income family of five.

The government has NEVER done anything cheaper, faster or better, unless it has to do with the military- then they're way faster and better, but way way more expensive.
"Urgent care" is already provided, whether you can pay or not.

I really can't speak for Europe as a whole (that's a very complex system :p)... But the analogy, intuitively, sounds pretty close. I never thought of the mainstream religion point. I wonder if there would be more problems (and what they would be) if that were not the case...

Being a non citizen in any country is a big deal... I wouldn't say all bets are off, but certainly you're not on a level playing field.

C'mon; being a fence-jumper HERE is better than being a fence-jumper anywhere else... especially if you're in California, where there are informal "refuge cities" where your illegal status isn't an issue with the authorities. Get busted for anything less than a felony, it's a local beef and La Migra never needs to know. As I've said before, Guatemalans jumping Mexico's southern border never had it so good. Unless they can get north of Tijuana.
The situation has gotten so extreme in SoCal that teachers have to instruct in English and Spanish, and it slows down or entirely derails the education process.
Treb- fill in the stats for me, please... California spends more than just about any other state "per capita", but graduates kids who score lower than kids of almost every other state. I don't remember the exact numbers, so I dare not quote them lest I lose more credibility.
We are a great country; more opportunity and freedom than just about anywhere, but how high will taxes go before we realize we cannot absorb the entire world's emigration situation? Yeah, I know the government is hideously wasteful, but it's incurable. No gov't will ever voluntarily "slim down". Every program in every branch is suicidally gluttonous; like yeast in grape juice, it will gorge until there's nothing left, then die in it's own waste. I love my country, but I despise our leaders. We vote by evaluating our candidates' platform, but are consistently disappointed by their incumbent behavior.
Schwarzzenegar- forgive the spelling- promised to cut California's spending, and did- for about two months. Granted, we're in much better shape than if Gray Davis hadn't caught the axe, but we're still spending like drunken sailors on leave.

You answer my question about invisible pink unicorns first, prove they don't exist.