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#31
03-19-2006, 10:40 PM
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I was wondering what you were doing up this (early for you) late! 
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1992 Midnight Black LS-L - Sold 3/3/06 1991 Toyota MR2 - Sold 11/27/07 1992 BMW 325i - Tokicko Suspension 
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#32
03-19-2006, 11:07 PM
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Oil companies have recorded record profits every quarter since 2002. The stock in Haliburton has split, and tripled in value. The guy who bought the World Trade Center in early 2001 is getting brand new buildings built without going in debt one penny. They've got the ball rolling on banning abortions. Top wealth in the country got a HUGE tax cut. Wiretapping is now legal without a warrant. They can search the insides of my socks at airports now. They taught us what WMD means. They changed the term inheritance tax to death tax. They changed the term creationism to intelligent design. They color coded terror. Hmmmm... There's quite a few. They've been quite successful...... Just not for the people they work for. hmmmm .. more like "against" the people they work for.
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Robert Is Bush in jail yet? (Looks frantically at watch, then back up) How about now? Now? Come onnnnnn...... Someone freeze me until January, this wait is killing me. Update: 09 January, and still not in jail! Wassup?? 1992 Teal LS-L - 160k (Now new and improved with perfect paint!)
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#33
03-20-2006, 09:59 AM
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The Difference
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Why don't you give us a little example of the tax burden of a Canadian and an American? Say an average wage earner of maybe $50K or $60K annual gross income. Lee FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
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SVXx2 92 SVX LS-L Silver 92 SVX LS-L Burgundy (structurally challenged with 2792 miles) 96 SVX LSi Red 92 SVX LS Pearl (Parts) 01 F150 4X4 Red (+6 with other members of the family) FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
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#34
03-20-2006, 10:16 AM
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She's from Germany, but they also have VERY high taxes, if i'm not mistaken
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1992 Midnight Black LS-L - Sold 3/3/06 1991 Toyota MR2 - Sold 11/27/07 1992 BMW 325i - Tokicko Suspension
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#35
03-20-2006, 10:57 AM
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As for the "little example" you want, it wouldn't be at all an accurate representation unless you also threw in the "benefits" that citizens of those two countries get for their tax dollars. To illustrate - a US citizen making $50k who has no health insurance and a Canadian who has universal health insurance. Give each of them a heart attack or cancer or some other catastrophic illness, and guess which one might lose their house and savings?
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#36
03-20-2006, 11:04 AM
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Give it a Try
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Lee
__________________
SVXx2 92 SVX LS-L Silver 92 SVX LS-L Burgundy (structurally challenged with 2792 miles) 96 SVX LSi Red 92 SVX LS Pearl (Parts) 01 F150 4X4 Red (+6 with other members of the family) FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
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#37
03-20-2006, 11:05 AM
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And you're right... taxes here in Germany are unbelievably high, and I wouldn't advise moving here if you're looking for a retirement tax haven  Switzerland was a very nice balance between taxes and benefits. I'd highly recommend anyone getting a job in Switzerland for a few years and see how a country should be run. Heck, the Swiss form of democracy is actually much purer than the US style. Government is much more decentralised and the bureaucrasy isn't the typical European quagmire. 
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#38
03-20-2006, 11:20 AM
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Anyone who thinks they can make such an easy comparison has obviously never really thought about it. I always laugh when I see such so-called "analysis" in the media, since they never reflect reality.
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#39
03-20-2006, 11:42 AM
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__________________
Robert Is Bush in jail yet? (Looks frantically at watch, then back up) How about now? Now? Come onnnnnn...... Someone freeze me until January, this wait is killing me. Update: 09 January, and still not in jail! Wassup?? 1992 Teal LS-L - 160k (Now new and improved with perfect paint!)
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#40
03-20-2006, 11:53 AM
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Percentages of Uninsured Americans at Various Income Levels Source: Department of Health and Human Services http://aspe.hhs.gov/pic/hilites/2005_01.htm#3 
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#41
03-20-2006, 12:51 PM
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bipa, why dont you come over here to milwuakee's 4th ward and ask them if they would like some insurance.
phil
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~Phil Teal 1992 Subaru SVX Turbo - Sold in May 2011 to peace-frog.
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#42
03-20-2006, 02:09 PM
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More joining high-risk health pool People rejected by private insurers find they have few other choices By GUY BOULTON gboulton@journalsentinel.com Leslie Kitzman, who sells health insurance for AIS Group in Menomonee Falls, sees it everyday. Someone calls for a quote and is asked if he or she has any health problems. The answer often isn't the right one. As many as one out of three of those callers, she estimates, have health problems that basically prevent them from getting insurance in the private market. "I could tell you story after story of my own best friends who can't get individual insurance," Kitzman said. The only place they can turn is the state Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan, or HIRSP. The plan, a so-called high-risk pool, was created to provide insurance for people whose pre-existing medical conditions effectively lock them out of the private market. More people apparently find themselves in that predicament: The state plan has more than doubled in size in the past five years. The Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan now covers almost 19,000 people - up from fewer than 9,000 on June 30, 2000, according to a report by the Legislative Audit Bureau released last week. "It's really a vital part of the overall market and the safety net in Wisconsin," said Mark Moody, who oversees the Division of Health Care Financing for the Department of Health and Family Services. Moody estimates that Wisconsin has the third- or fourth-largest plan of its kind in the country. Determining how many people are uninsured because of existing health problems is difficult. A recent background paper by the National Health Policy Forum, an affiliate of George Washington University, estimated that perhaps 1 million or more people could be regarded as "uninsurable." Many denied coverage Millions more know that if they lost their jobs, they may not be able to find insurance, the background paper notes. It's a valid worry. "There's not a private insurer out there who will take you if you have diabetes or cancer or a history of heart disease," said Kitzman of AIS Group. There is not good data on the number of people denied coverage in the individual market. The General Accounting Office reportedly estimated that people with severe chronic health problems were rejected about 30% of the time. People with a history of mental health problems faced the greatest obstacles: They were rejected 52% of the time. When someone gets health insurance through a large employer, he or she is in a pool of hundreds or even tens of thousands of employees and their families. The healthy people subsidize the unhealthy people. That's how insurance works. Insurers also know that someone with certain health problems is going to have higher medical bills - and, in the individual market, insurers can take steps to limit their risk. They can charge higher rates or not cover a pre-existing health problem. They also can refuse to insure him or her. The problem generally affects people whose employers don't offer health insurance, who are self-employed or who have retired early. "It's your self-employed people for whom it's a huge issue," said Kathy Pfeil, who lives in the Lisbon area. The Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan charges a minimum of 140% of the estimated rate that someone who is healthy would pay for insurance. The plan, which had revenue of $116 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, is funded through premiums and a fee imposed on health insurance companies. In the 2004 fiscal year, insurers paid $35.4 million to help fund the plan. The plan's growth, though, has increased the cost to health insurers who subsidize the program. Some exempt It also is levied on only a segment of the market. Companies that self-insure are exempt from the fee. And nearly all employers with more than 500 employers - and many with as few as several hundred - self-insure. "That is an issue out there - not just for Wisconsin but also for other states," said Diann Allsen, audit director of the Legislative Audit Bureau. Even with the subsidies, the insurance can be costly. The premiums vary by age, sex and location. A boy or girl under the age of 18 who lives in Milwaukee, for instance, would pay $1,776 a year. But a man between the ages of 60 and 64 would pay $12,084 a year for insurance with the lowest deductible. Deductibles and co-insurance, including those for prescription drugs, can add more than $3,000 a year to the cost. Rates are high in all states, said Mark Merlis, a health policy consultant who wrote the background paper for the National Health Policy Forum. And Wisconsin is one of the few that offers subsidies to people with low incomes. About 22% of the people who get insurance through Wisconsin's high-risk pool received some subsidy on premiums or out-of-pocket expenses, according to the report by the Legislative Audit Bureau. The subsidies - limited to people with annual incomes of less than $25,000 - totaled $4.7 million in the 2004 fiscal year. Wisconsin's plan, which doesn't get money from the state, has steadily improved its finances since raising rates, increasing the fee paid by insurers and lowering what it paid hospitals, doctors and other health care providers several years ago. It ended the 2004 fiscal year with total assets of $16.9 million, up from $9.5 million in the previous fiscal year. That included unrestricted assets, basically the money that can be used to run the program, of $6.8 million, up from a deficit in the 2003 fiscal year.
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#43
03-20-2006, 02:44 PM
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What would help HIRSP is if it was available to any Wisconsin citizen by choice. Then healthy people could go on it and share the burden of us sick people. Why would they go on it? The coverage is better than ANY conventional health plan out there. I can see any doctor, no prior authorization or referrals needed, and best of all, one statement per month showing what was billed, what was paid and what is my portion. It is an excellent health care solution. The problem is it makes no money and can't build huge granite buildings and buy naming rights at sports complexes If Wisconsin would allow businesses to stop being required to provide health coverage, and make HIRSP open to anyone who wanted it, it would be a great model for the country. The insurance companies would have to compete with real individual plans in order to keep any customers. People would retire earlier. At one of my customer's places (a large employer with about 20,000 employees) the Union estimates that 12% of the workforce would retire immediatly if they could get reasonable health benefits elsewhere, but stay working longer simply to keep their health insurance. That would open up the job market, create worker demand, lowering unemployment, raising the median income, etc. Socialized medicine like Canada has is not an option, It creates a dependency on the government and lowers quality of care. I want real choices for myself, not what some company's HR team decides is best for me. I'm friends with about a dozen Canadians who live close to the border and cross into the US for anything other than a headache and just pay for it out of their own pocket. Doug
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1992 LS Touring (6/91) - Currently undergoing a five speed swap Black over Claret with spoiler; 235,000 miles; Mods: 2002 Legacy 5 speed, ACT Pressure Plate, Excedy Clutch, Short Throw Shifter, Aussie Powerchip 1992 LS Touring (6/91) Black over Claret with 2.5" setback spoiler; 202,000 miles; Mods: B&M Cooler 1994 LSi (4/93) Bordeaux Pearl; 198,000 miles; Mods: Weight reduction. 1969 Mustang GT Convertible 1970 Mustang Convertible 2000 Ford Excursion Sola lingua bona est lingua mortua. My Locker
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#44
03-20-2006, 02:45 PM
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__________________
1992 LS Touring (6/91) - Currently undergoing a five speed swap Black over Claret with spoiler; 235,000 miles; Mods: 2002 Legacy 5 speed, ACT Pressure Plate, Excedy Clutch, Short Throw Shifter, Aussie Powerchip 1992 LS Touring (6/91) Black over Claret with 2.5" setback spoiler; 202,000 miles; Mods: B&M Cooler 1994 LSi (4/93) Bordeaux Pearl; 198,000 miles; Mods: Weight reduction. 1969 Mustang GT Convertible 1970 Mustang Convertible 2000 Ford Excursion Sola lingua bona est lingua mortua. My Locker
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#45
03-20-2006, 03:42 PM
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__________________
Robert Is Bush in jail yet? (Looks frantically at watch, then back up) How about now? Now? Come onnnnnn...... Someone freeze me until January, this wait is killing me. Update: 09 January, and still not in jail! Wassup?? 1992 Teal LS-L - 160k (Now new and improved with perfect paint!)
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