Single payer would bankrupt the country if we left the system as it is today, which is ludicrous.
Show of hands: Who here thinks charging someone $2k for 10 minutes in an MRI sounds fair ?
How about $20k / hour for a surgery ?
$30k for a ride on life-flight ?
$150k for a thirty day hospital stay ?
$200k for a round of chemo ?
These numbers aren't made up folks. They are quite real. Can you afford it as they are today ?
The fix is simple: As part of the plan to go single payer, you first have to regulate how much the healthcare industry ( all of it ) is allowed to charge for their services or products.
Once that happens, and the prices come down to something realistic, the rest is easy.
Right now, the only option for affordable healthcare is to go anywhere but the US for it.
I'm not an EE type, but I can't help but wonder how this works with any reliability behind it.
Power is inherently noisy. Especially at my house if I'm to believe what the UPS tells me. It's unshielded, thus will pick up everything and its brother and cause problems with the HF bands. I'm sure you've heard the effect when turning on a light-switch with an active speaker running. ( pop ) How the hell do you get the signal across the transformers along the path ?
Maybe it comes with some goofy ( of course it's going to be proprietary, but they'll rent you one ) router or switch that just plugs into an unfiltered receptacle ?
( Still doesn't explain how that signal is going to get past the transformer )
* * * For your crimes of deceiving customers and making a profit of $1.21 Billion dollars, we hereby fine you for $10 Million dollars and your promise to never do it again. You must, of course, pinky swear it and agree to undergo sensitivity training:|
* * *
Until he shows me otherwise, I have zero faith in the new head of the FCC. We can certainly hope it plays out like the Tom Wheeler era but, as we all know, lightning rarely strikes the same place twice.
if keyloggers are present on your system by default.
By extension, it should be simple to include a built in hardware keylogger into the guts of any keyboard. Simply type in a key sequence to bring up the log file.
I used to have a usb dongle that did this, don't see why it couldn't be wired directly into the keyboard itself. No way to find it without tearing apart the keyboard and knowing what to look for.
There are those who don't use mainstream Social Media because we aren't seeking approval from the masses on our opinions of any given thing.
Us old farts who were adults before the internet, smartphones and instant gratification became the norm, could give two shits if folks like / hate a post we make.
We just make it. If you agree with it, great. If not, just as great. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it.
What the younger generations need to realize is most folks don't care what you had for lunch. What your kids did in school today or what level your character is in whatever MMORPG is popular these days.
Take all that out of the equation and most social media would go away.
While some rare insightful information can occasionally be found there, it has effectively become a place to brag about insignificant accomplishments and / or the life you want others to think you live.
If you come across one of these, steal the camera.
The host won't dare ask where their illegal spy camera overlooking the bed is.
We had some illegal cameras we found in one of our buildings that we simply took down. No one ever asked about them ( and they were pricey cameras ) because doing so would be admitting putting them up illegally in the first place.
I figure if they tried to block or meddle with VPN service, they would get hit with a tidal wave of lawsuits from the army of telecommuters who rely on that service to perform their jobs securely.
Given the current think-state of the US government over the past few decades, would you really want these idiots to rewrite the constitution ?
These are the very same idiots who WROTE the Patriot Act. The same idiots who like to exempt themselves from the laws they create.
The same idiots who think it's perfectly fine to spy on everyone ( else ) for any reason and hide all of their illegal bullshit behind a veil of secrecy.
You want these folks to rewrite the only fucking thing that currently protects any hint of a right at all ?
A non issue since fewer and fewer could give a shit about anything NFL.
Between stupid business models designed to maximize profits at the expense of the fans and the whole turning it into a political statement for some, the NFL could die tomorrow and I doubt anyone would even shed a tear.
" so citizens can afford a home and basic necessities "
Even in the non-crazy housing areas, that's going to be one hell of a basic income to afford housing.
Even renting an apartment would easily exceed UBI numbers.
They're either going to have to crank up the amounts they plan to hand out, or address the fact that owning a home is no longer a reality for a vast number of people.
Show of hands, who here can afford a median home where they live on a single salary, maintain all of the bills that go with it, put enough away for retirement, and still have enough left over to actually have a life ?
If you can, you're doing far better than the majority.
I believe the AT&T flavor of this is going to run somewhere in the 30ghz band ?
I -think- DirecTv works in the 18ghz band and anyone who has ever tried to watch the damn thing during a rainstorm can see where my next question is going . . . . .
I am curious how well this technology is going to work when the weather decides not to play nice. ( Rain, fog, snow, etc )
Larger cash transactions will most certainly attract greater scrutiny. You're likely to be on multiple cameras during or en-route to / from the transaction. Your cell phone, when GPS is running, ( your knowledge or not ) is accurate to six digits past the decimal point. License plate scanners will know where you were at any given time if you drive.
This list can go on and on and on.
Point is, we can minimize it to the best of our ability, but what we do these days is far from anonymous.
Bitcoin and all the crypto-currencies will skyrocket in value, right up to the point where the governments get serious about it and bring in the regulation hammers. It is at that point those investing in such things will learn what the term " risk " truly means.
Slashdot Mirror
by George Carlin.
The Seven words you can never say on television.
Which fits, sadly, since our government has become one long never ending stream of stand up comedy :|
Single payer would bankrupt the country if we left the system as it is today, which is ludicrous.
Show of hands: Who here thinks charging someone $2k for 10 minutes in an MRI sounds fair ?
How about $20k / hour for a surgery ?
$30k for a ride on life-flight ?
$150k for a thirty day hospital stay ?
$200k for a round of chemo ?
These numbers aren't made up folks. They are quite real. Can you afford it as they are today ?
The fix is simple: As part of the plan to go single payer, you first have to regulate how much the healthcare industry ( all of it ) is allowed to charge for their services or products.
Once that happens, and the prices come down to something realistic, the rest is easy.
Right now, the only option for affordable healthcare is to go anywhere but the US for it.
I'm not an EE type, but I can't help but wonder how this works with any reliability behind it.
Power is inherently noisy. Especially at my house if I'm to believe what the UPS tells me.
It's unshielded, thus will pick up everything and its brother and cause problems with the HF bands.
I'm sure you've heard the effect when turning on a light-switch with an active speaker running. ( pop )
How the hell do you get the signal across the transformers along the path ?
Maybe it comes with some goofy ( of course it's going to be proprietary, but they'll rent you one ) router or
switch that just plugs into an unfiltered receptacle ?
( Still doesn't explain how that signal is going to get past the transformer )
are rarely comparable to the infraction.
* * * :|
For your crimes of deceiving customers and making a profit of $1.21 Billion dollars, we hereby fine you for $10 Million dollars and your promise to never do it again. You must, of course, pinky swear it and agree to undergo sensitivity training
* * *
Until he shows me otherwise, I have zero faith in the new head of the FCC. We can certainly hope it plays out like the Tom Wheeler era but, as we all know, lightning rarely strikes the same place twice.
if keyloggers are present on your system by default.
By extension, it should be simple to include a built in hardware keylogger into the guts of any keyboard. Simply type in a key sequence to bring up the log file.
I used to have a usb dongle that did this, don't see why it couldn't be wired directly into the keyboard itself. No way to find it without tearing apart the keyboard and knowing what to look for.
I would say mostly right.
There are those who don't use mainstream Social Media because we aren't seeking approval from the masses on our opinions of any given thing.
Us old farts who were adults before the internet, smartphones and instant gratification became the norm, could give two shits if folks like / hate a post we make.
We just make it. If you agree with it, great. If not, just as great. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it.
What the younger generations need to realize is most folks don't care what you had for lunch. What your kids did in school today or what level your character is in whatever MMORPG is popular these days.
Take all that out of the equation and most social media would go away.
While some rare insightful information can occasionally be found there, it has effectively become a place to brag about insignificant accomplishments and / or the life you want others to think you live.
Social Media will destroy you if:
1) You let it
2) Your self esteem requires it
I seriously believe that even if they gave away a product for FREE on Black Friday, I would not bother fighting the crowds for it.
I don't have to have an item quite that badly to deal with that sh*t.
I can wait.
It's just stuff.
driverless cars actually become a thing, this will become a non-issue.
It will go from minimum-wage to no wage.
Though I suppose they'll still need someone to actually move package from delivery vehicle to home.
Unless they're gonna install a vehicle mounted trebuchet.
I'm the wierd American who prefers quality over cost. I refuse to deal with Black Friday bullshit and just stay away from it.
I'll happily pay MORE for an item if the quality warrants it.
I refuse to even consider anything by APK, not because of who they are but, because of how often they spam their work on here.
There is a point where advertising becomes counter-productive and I just start ignoring it or take steps to eradicate it.
If you come across one of these, steal the camera.
The host won't dare ask where their illegal spy camera overlooking the bed is.
We had some illegal cameras we found in one of our buildings that we simply took down. No one ever asked about them ( and they were pricey cameras ) because doing so would be admitting putting them up illegally in the first place.
I figure if they tried to block or meddle with VPN service, they would get hit with a tidal wave of lawsuits from the army of telecommuters who rely on that service to perform their jobs securely.
dropping a safe on this man from a great height would do the US a lot more good than harm.
Assuming the safe could even penetrate his aura of self righteousness . . .
Do we even make a safe that big ?
Stop and think about that idea for a moment.
Given the current think-state of the US government over the past few decades, would you really want these idiots to rewrite the constitution ?
These are the very same idiots who WROTE the Patriot Act. The same idiots who like to exempt themselves from the laws they create.
The same idiots who think it's perfectly fine to spy on everyone ( else ) for any reason and hide all of their illegal bullshit behind a veil of secrecy.
You want these folks to rewrite the only fucking thing that currently protects any hint of a right at all ?
Are you insane ?
A non issue since fewer and fewer could give a shit about anything NFL.
Between stupid business models designed to maximize profits at the expense of the fans and the whole turning it into a political statement for some, the NFL could die tomorrow and I doubt anyone would even shed a tear.
This is due to the definition of " extremist content " changing depending on who is currently in charge and where in the world you may reside.
An ever shifting target is nigh impossible to hit.
" so citizens can afford a home and basic necessities "
Even in the non-crazy housing areas, that's going to be one hell of a basic income to afford housing.
Even renting an apartment would easily exceed UBI numbers.
They're either going to have to crank up the amounts they plan to hand out, or address the fact that owning a home is no longer a reality for a vast number of people.
Show of hands, who here can afford a median home where they live on a single salary, maintain all of the bills that go with it, put enough away for retirement, and still have enough left over to actually have a life ?
If you can, you're doing far better than the majority.
Future government can always use one of Comcast's own plays against it if they go all stupid with their internet plans:
" Thats's a nice Monopoly you got there. . . would be a shame if something happened to it. "
Show of hands . . . .
Who here believes ANY COUNTRY is going to adhere to a " terminator " ban ?
I'm pretty sure none of them will. . . . . they just won't be as blatant about it :D
I believe the AT&T flavor of this is going to run somewhere in the 30ghz band ?
I -think- DirecTv works in the 18ghz band and anyone who has ever tried to watch the damn thing
during a rainstorm can see where my next question is going . . . . .
I am curious how well this technology is going to work when the weather decides not to play nice.
( Rain, fog, snow, etc )
Can one of you radio types enlighten me ?
Once upon a time I had multiple magazine subscriptions. Some cost upwards of $15 / month each.
As time went by, I noticed there were more ads in my magazine than there was actual content.
At which point I cancelled my subscriptions. Can't see any reason to pay a monthly fee for what amounted to nothing but advertising. :|
the same way I treat the full screen notices that demand I disable my ad-blocker.
I simply shut down the tab and move on.
If the story or information is worthy enough, it will be found on someone elses site.
Cash may not be as anonymous as you think.
Larger cash transactions will most certainly attract greater scrutiny.
You're likely to be on multiple cameras during or en-route to / from the transaction.
Your cell phone, when GPS is running, ( your knowledge or not ) is accurate to six digits past the decimal point.
License plate scanners will know where you were at any given time if you drive.
This list can go on and on and on.
Point is, we can minimize it to the best of our ability, but what we do these days is far from anonymous.
Bitcoin and all the crypto-currencies will skyrocket in value, right up to the point where the governments get serious about it and bring in the regulation hammers. It is at that point those investing in such things will learn what the term " risk " truly means.
Both Google and Facebook are FAR too useful to the US Government for keeping track of all things people.
There is no way they're going to give up those platforms.
haha correction, Yellow Sea :|
That would be one hell of a trajectory if they shot it over NK and back down to the SCS. Though I suppose a cruise missile would do the trick.