My guess is that most of the politicians that preach against doctor-assisted-suicide don't have much experience with this type of ending. I have no close experience myself, but close enough to tell me that it's bad.
I have 2 qualms. First, without proper controls it may be used prematurely or unnecessarily for greed.
And there you touch upon the key element - physician-assisted suicide only works if everyone involved is ethically beyond reproach.
How many people do you, personally, know that would never, under any circumstances, do something unethical? Note that "any circumstances" includes bribes, threats, pussy, whatever convince someone that "just this once it'll be okay"....
You wouldn't change the way you live if you knew your expiration date? I certainly would. My wife and I try to save as much as we can because we have to assume that we will live to 80 or 90. If I took a blood test that said I was dead by 55, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars that I'd spend doing something else.
SO, you'd basically leave your wife in the lurch?
Hell, if I knew I was going to die soon, I'd start making meth or something, to make sure my wife had a comfortable widowhood (is that a word?)....
I was a marrow donor back in 2008. I never met my recipient as he passed away due to non-transplant-related causes after eight months (slipped in the shower? hit by a car? heart attack?), but I've wondered what it would have been like. Did you ever meet or talk to yours?
No, I've never met or spoken with my donor. I have no idea who he/she is, and will not intrude upon his/her privacy. If I ever hear that he/she would be receptive to contact, I would be delighted to meet him/her.
PS. "Slipped in the shower?" Oddly enough, I managed to do that about that time in my recovery. Didn't damage anything but my dignity, but scared the crap out of me at the time, since I was alone in the house for the first time since my transplant....
No, my insurance is not a "cadillac plan", it's the middle-of-the-road plan offered by my employer.
It's that last sentence that makes your post irrelevant.
That would be true if I was commenting on the ACA.
I wasn't. I was commenting on the people talking about the incredible hassles they, apparently routinely, have when dealing with their insurance companies when high-price medical procedures are called for.
My experience with the marrow transplant and two previous rounds of chemo didn't include any of that.
When interest rates are low, it's a good time to do infrastructure projects.
When the Job market is weak, it's a great time to do infrastructure
So when the Job market is weak, and interest rates are incredibly low, why isn't it a good time for infrastructure changes?
Please remember that government economics should be looking long term and take advantage of the economic cycles and event with that in mind.
You seem to be working on the assumption that the deficit spending that we've been indulging in for the last 56 years (it's been that long since the national debt decreased) is "infrastructure projects".
It's not. It's just "pay the routine bills".
Federal deficit spending isn't comparable to you buying a house with a mortgage, it's more comparable to you buying your groceries on a credit card and only making minimum payments on the card every month.
In America we spend 25% of our income to buy health insurance. This gives us the key to the golden door of treatment, but are expected to pay 90% of the actual expense of treatment out of pocket due to deductibles/uncovered amounts/location of treatment/etc. If we actually develop a real ailment that would require insurance coverage to pay, our insurance companies fight tooth and nail to take back our golden key.
Had a bone marrow transplant last year. I'm still being treated for same. So far, insurance has paid everything without a quibble, and my total out-of-pocket has been a few thousand dollars.
Note that this followed several bouts of chemotherapy that were also paid without a quibble.
No, my insurance is not a "cadillac plan", it's the middle-of-the-road plan offered by my employer.
Look what happened to the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Hmm, looking at what happened to them, I find that about 7800 of them have been arrested over the last two years in a total of 122 cities.
That's an average of about 32 OWS protesters per city per year. Or a bit less than one per city per week.
New York City seems to have the record for most OWS protesters arrested at about 1800, but that's probably because NYC had the biggest protests (and the most fascist Mayor, but that's another article).
Do note that fewer than 10,000 OWS protesters have been sent to jail in two years, in >420 separate actions. Not quite a sign of totalitarianism - the "Free Speech Zone" thing is much worse, in and of itself....
The NSA also spies on foreign officials and citizens, too -- surprise!
The only "surprise" in the above is the word "too". The NSA is SUPPOSED to spy on foreigners. That's what it was created for, and that's what its legal mandate both requires and allows...
Alas, the "too" is a bit of a problem, since the NSA is (theoretically) forbidden to spy on US citizens on US soil....
My family owns Apple shares and I think it's wrong.
Just curious. Do YOU pay more taxes than you're legally obligated to?
If not, why not?
You've just stated that you "think it's wrong" that Apple pays no more taxes than they're legally liable for. Which would make YOU wrong for not paying extra taxes.
For example, say you earned $30,000 in Somewhereakstan and the income tax rate is 10%, that means you will pay $3,000 in taxes to Somewhereakstan, leaving you with $27,000. You would then pay the taxes on that $27,000; since the US marginal tax rate is 15%, you would be paying $3604 in taxes to the US government*.
So, you pay a total of $6604 in taxes in your example, which is an effective 22% tax rate on $30k per year. Yeah, that's fair....
But here in the real-world, powerful corporations collude, buy monopolies, crush any smaller competitors--and generally do everything to ensure that there is no real competition
Here in the real-world, powerful corporations get limited legal liability from the government, buy monopolies from the government, and generally do anything to make sure the government doesn't allow any competition.
Note that there are some things that SHOULD be run by government. Which is not synonymous with "the government should hire a corporation to do this".
Agree to delay the individual mandate, in exchange for a repeal of the debt-ceiling laws.
From US Government Agencies? You certainly do!
Just like *I* have no reasonable expectation of privacy from the GCHQ, the German spy agency, the Russian one, or any other foreign government's espionage apparat.
Or do you really believe that foreigners in foreign countries are bound by YOUR laws?
I wonder if the govt shutdown helped create some of the problems.
Hmm, they've been developing the software for the last two or three years, and the shutdown began the day the site went live, it's extremely unlikely that the one impacted the other.
Or are you suggesting that Obama decided to treat Healthcare.gov like the WW2 memorial, and deliberately sabotage it? Hint: making your biggest achievement as President look bad is NOT a way to build a legacy....
The open enrollment ends on march 31st 2014. There is plenty of time to get insurance.
That's nice.
Alas, the tax penalties aren't assessed as of the end of open enrollment, but a of Jan 1, 2014. You'll reduce your tax penalty by getting insurance late, but you won't eliminate it.
My company only gives me 2 weeks to enroll. Everyone here seems to do just fine
And how many options does your company offer?
Note that if the offering doesn't meet the ACA standards, it doesn't count toward "properly insured".
Which means that NOT going through the exchange (for those without employer-provided insurance) might result in you paying the tax penalty even if you have insurance....
Seems to me that I read that people using the Exchange need sign up for an approved insurance policy by Dec. 15, if they want to have it go into effect Jan 1.
Which suggests very strongly that if they take that two months, then a lot of people are going to be looking forward to penalties come tax-time next year.
1) How the fuck do you propose to run a government WITHOUT spying?
A government without something along the lines of the NSA could easily exist. Remember that freedom is more important than safety, and the government clearly can't be trusted to provide oversight for itself.
Noone is suggesting a givernment that doesn't spy. Most of us aren't even suggesting that the NSA not spy.
It WOULD be nice if it stuck to its mandate of FOREIGN Signals Intelligence Gathering, rather than extending "foreign" to mean "not employed by the NSA".
This means that websites in other European countries that recognize the authority of the ECHR will not be need to worry about this unless there is a similar national law in place.
It also means that other European countries that recognize th authority of the ECHR have now been given the go-ahead to pass such laws without fear of interference by the ECHR.
Slashdot Mirror
Agree one hundred percent!
And there you touch upon the key element - physician-assisted suicide only works if everyone involved is ethically beyond reproach.
How many people do you, personally, know that would never, under any circumstances, do something unethical? Note that "any circumstances" includes bribes, threats, pussy, whatever convince someone that "just this once it'll be okay"....
SO, you'd basically leave your wife in the lurch?
Hell, if I knew I was going to die soon, I'd start making meth or something, to make sure my wife had a comfortable widowhood (is that a word?)....
No, I've never met or spoken with my donor. I have no idea who he/she is, and will not intrude upon his/her privacy. If I ever hear that he/she would be receptive to contact, I would be delighted to meet him/her.
PS. "Slipped in the shower?" Oddly enough, I managed to do that about that time in my recovery. Didn't damage anything but my dignity, but scared the crap out of me at the time, since I was alone in the house for the first time since my transplant....
That would be true if I was commenting on the ACA.
I wasn't. I was commenting on the people talking about the incredible hassles they, apparently routinely, have when dealing with their insurance companies when high-price medical procedures are called for.
My experience with the marrow transplant and two previous rounds of chemo didn't include any of that.
So, if it sounds implausible, but can be reproduced every single time, the result is BAD?
You seem to be working on the assumption that the deficit spending that we've been indulging in for the last 56 years (it's been that long since the national debt decreased) is "infrastructure projects".
It's not. It's just "pay the routine bills".
Federal deficit spending isn't comparable to you buying a house with a mortgage, it's more comparable to you buying your groceries on a credit card and only making minimum payments on the card every month.
Had a bone marrow transplant last year. I'm still being treated for same. So far, insurance has paid everything without a quibble, and my total out-of-pocket has been a few thousand dollars.
Note that this followed several bouts of chemotherapy that were also paid without a quibble.
No, my insurance is not a "cadillac plan", it's the middle-of-the-road plan offered by my employer.
If they grew up on a farm, you betcha!
Which would make China Germany's number one trading partner. It says nothing at all about who China's number one trade partner is....
Hmm, looking at what happened to them, I find that about 7800 of them have been arrested over the last two years in a total of 122 cities.
That's an average of about 32 OWS protesters per city per year. Or a bit less than one per city per week.
New York City seems to have the record for most OWS protesters arrested at about 1800, but that's probably because NYC had the biggest protests (and the most fascist Mayor, but that's another article).
Do note that fewer than 10,000 OWS protesters have been sent to jail in two years, in >420 separate actions. Not quite a sign of totalitarianism - the "Free Speech Zone" thing is much worse, in and of itself....
Seriously??
I have NEVER been asked for ID when buying something using a credit card, which I do on average once a day for the last 30+ years....
The only "surprise" in the above is the word "too". The NSA is SUPPOSED to spy on foreigners. That's what it was created for, and that's what its legal mandate both requires and allows...
Alas, the "too" is a bit of a problem, since the NSA is (theoretically) forbidden to spy on US citizens on US soil....
Just curious. Do YOU pay more taxes than you're legally obligated to?
If not, why not?
You've just stated that you "think it's wrong" that Apple pays no more taxes than they're legally liable for. Which would make YOU wrong for not paying extra taxes.
So, you pay a total of $6604 in taxes in your example, which is an effective 22% tax rate on $30k per year. Yeah, that's fair....
Here in the real-world, powerful corporations get limited legal liability from the government, buy monopolies from the government, and generally do anything to make sure the government doesn't allow any competition.
Note that there are some things that SHOULD be run by government. Which is not synonymous with "the government should hire a corporation to do this".
From US Government Agencies? You certainly do!
Just like *I* have no reasonable expectation of privacy from the GCHQ, the German spy agency, the Russian one, or any other foreign government's espionage apparat.
Or do you really believe that foreigners in foreign countries are bound by YOUR laws?
After all, Obama has already delayed the Employer Mandate part of the ACA by executive fiat.
Hmm, they've been developing the software for the last two or three years, and the shutdown began the day the site went live, it's extremely unlikely that the one impacted the other.
Or are you suggesting that Obama decided to treat Healthcare.gov like the WW2 memorial, and deliberately sabotage it? Hint: making your biggest achievement as President look bad is NOT a way to build a legacy....
That's nice.
Alas, the tax penalties aren't assessed as of the end of open enrollment, but a of Jan 1, 2014. You'll reduce your tax penalty by getting insurance late, but you won't eliminate it.
And how many options does your company offer?
Note that if the offering doesn't meet the ACA standards, it doesn't count toward "properly insured".
Which means that NOT going through the exchange (for those without employer-provided insurance) might result in you paying the tax penalty even if you have insurance....
Seems to me that I read that people using the Exchange need sign up for an approved insurance policy by Dec. 15, if they want to have it go into effect Jan 1.
Which suggests very strongly that if they take that two months, then a lot of people are going to be looking forward to penalties come tax-time next year.
Noone is suggesting a givernment that doesn't spy. Most of us aren't even suggesting that the NSA not spy.
It WOULD be nice if it stuck to its mandate of FOREIGN Signals Intelligence Gathering, rather than extending "foreign" to mean "not employed by the NSA".
In Chicago???
Hell will freeze over first. Twice (once when you find an honest Republican, again when he wins an election in Chicago).
It also means that other European countries that recognize th authority of the ECHR have now been given the go-ahead to pass such laws without fear of interference by the ECHR.