Obama's Endless Healthcare Timewaster

Some people can manage that, Lin - this is a bit off topic, but is pertinent, I think.

During the last days of our honeymoon in New Orleans, very early January, 1964 (you might note, before the emergence of the Bankamericard) Bill and I found these really wonderful street scenes of the French Quarter on a rainy day, and in the precise colors of our brand new living room awaiting us back at home. The problem was, the cost was about the same as our yet unpaid hotel bill, and the end of our Honeymoon Cash.

I was ready to let them go, but he bought them and told me not to worry. The next morning we went to the lobby to check out. When the desk clerk handed him the bill, he pulled out his checkbook. The clerk promptly told him that the hotel did not accept checks, at which point he said that was OK, picked up our bags, and turned to leave the hotel. The clerk called to him, somewhat alarmed, and he smiled and very calmly told her that she wouldn't accept his check, and he didn't have the cash, so what else was there for him to do?

the clerk demurred, accepted the (perfectly good) check, and we went on our way.

Have I ever mentioned that he was an insurance agent?

Ann

Ann -I've also never been homeless. There are plenty of homeless people here. Where's the housing overhaul? Maybe we should all have our homes collectivized and live in public housing.

alj wrote:

he smiled and very calmly told her that she wouldn't accept his check, and he didn't have the cash, so what else was there for him to do?

the clerk demurred, accepted the (perfectly good) check, and we went on our way.

He was lucky, actually. Another clerk would have called security and had you both arrested for theft of services.

Not then. It was a different world.

Ann

Quote :

He was lucky, actually. Another clerk would have called security and had you both arrested for theft of services.

Yeah, that's what normally happens when people write a check to pay for something, all right.

lin wrote:

Yeah, that's what normally happens when people write a check to pay for something, all right.

He said they didn't accept checks. A lot of businesses don't, especially from out-of-towners. It's incumbent on a customer to know what the merchant will accept before using their services.

They said it after the fact, didn't they? A little late. It's actually, both logically and legally for the merchant to tell the customer what they will accept. If they only want Solvenian pushniks, they should say so up front.

In fact there are a lot of ways to handle a situation like that. And them getting arrested is by no means a reality.

Sorry. Look who I'm talking about reality to.

LC, How old were you in 1963? Different culture. Different rules.

Besides, my ex could be very intimidating - part of why he's my ex.

Ann

lin wrote:

Sorry. Look who I'm talking about reality to.

My reality is that I usually see a NO CHECKS ACCEPTED sign and a sticker showing specific cards accepted. AmEx and Discover are often excluded. If I only have my Discover card or checkbook on me, I don't go there. Clearly you go to much less transparent places and it works for you.

Ann, I was a kid in the 60's and don't remember much about it except really cool clothes. lol

Well, if they'd seen that, they probably would have done different, wouldn't they?
Your assumption on that, and where I go or what I do are equally founded in your own dodgy mind.

Correct, I have no idea what the customs are at the dives you frequent.

But seem to have a pretty good hallucination of my living in shacks and frequenting dives.
The same sort of half-assed perceptual flaws that make me refer to the futility of discussing consensual reality with you.

:::scrabbling for the ten-cent word dictionary:::

Won't help

3/13/2010

Lin..

What you say is true about hospital bills
and cash, I have two friends here who are Dr. nuts
they always have to have their body checked from
bottom to top, I say " Nuts," anyway when they took
a heart test they were told $400- , if they paid cash
it was $200- I think the prices are inflated ! When I go
to the Dr., I never take tests unless I remind him I
haven't had a heart test in a year, then he writes me
an order for that test thank God the insurance Co. pays
it because it costs $400- or more.....

Cheers...Joe

Some doctors charge a patient more if they don't have Insurance.

The prize for this thread's post, in my opinion, should go to Abe. THANK YOU, ABE!

Only when you experienced being broke, being hungry, without means to pay for services, can you understand. Only when you've been rich can you understand the mentality of the rich. That mentality that says, “If you weren’t so lazy you’d get a job.”
Only when you experienced a “different” health care system can you make a comparison to what is better, or worse.

Then there’s the attitude that if America does it, it must be right, it must be the best, or the best way. If we want to change we can’t copy some other system, it wouldn’t be American. It’s got to be our idea. Re-invent the wheel; go through the trial and error process. Condemn any system that doesn’t conform to our thinking in order to maintain the status quo. Keep those poor bastards in their place. Give them housing on the other side of the tracks where they belong. We can’t give them the same benefits we enjoy, that would make them more equal. Perish the thought.

Abe,

Rush Limbagh and Glen Beck think that way. It would be so nice if Health care passed. America could become a civilized nation.
We could learn a bit from others--I think.

I like your thinking.

Abe F. March wrote:

We can’t give them the same benefits we enjoy, that would make them more equal. Perish the thought.

Who is "we" and "them," and why should the latter be "given" benefits?

What other countries do is irrelevant to me. You can't take a block of something out without considering the context. Countries where everyone has benefits have them because half the population is taxed to give to the other, non-producing half. Although here, the highest wage earners ARE taxed the most to support the non-producing.

LC wrote:

Abe F. March wrote:

We can’t give them the same benefits we enjoy, that would make them more equal. Perish the thought.

Who is "we" and "them," and why should the latter be "given" benefits?

What other countries do is irrelevant to me. You can't take a block of something out without considering the context. Countries where everyone has benefits have them because half the population is taxed to give to the other, non-producing half. Although here, the highest wage earners ARE taxed the most to support the non-producing.

My sarcastic remark that you chose to quote is as seen through the eyes of many who are rich.

Everyone who earn a paycheck is taxed, whether it be in America or Europe. How the tax is used, varies. Higher wage earners are taxed the most because they earn the most.
Based on your comments, if someone is layed off from work with no means of support, he should be ignored. Doesn't matter that he/she is non-producing because they were made a non-producer.
Your logic is illogical.

Abe F. March wrote:

Based on your comments, if someone is layed off from work with no means of support, he should be ignored. Doesn't matter that he/she is non-producing because they were made a non-producer.
Your logic is illogical.

No, your interpretation is just wrong.

While it is technically true that those who earn the most are taxed the most, it is also true that those who earn the most can afford to pay tax attorneys to find the most loopholes, and often end up paying the least tax of anybody.

Ann

And I'm sure some do. If it were the norm, though, the hordes of non-producers in our society would have already died off.

I'll stick with what I know and believe to be true. You can construe it anyway you please.

Abe F. March wrote:

I'll stick with what I know and believe to be true. You can construe it anyway you please.

Most people do, Abe. It's that old saying, "My mind is made up; please don't confuse me with facts."

Our perceptions are based on our concepts of reality. No matter how much we provide reasonable responses. there will be those who choose to remain blind.

Ann