Big Gulp, Meet Big Brother

[Yossarian]

Otherwise, we are just blaming health care companies for doing what they are actually designed to do, just as we blame Bain Capital for costing people jobs, when they are just doing what they are designed to do, which is to make profits for stockholders, not to create jobs. (I never thought I'd be in the position of defending Bain Capital OR health care companies, but it is a very similar situation, and blaming them for being good at what they are actually designed to do is not right).

What might BE right would be figuring out a way to have a health care system where providing the best quality care would be incentivized to the company, so THAT would be the best way for them to profit, rather than what we have now, which is them denying as much care as they possibly can to increase profits.

Your analogy is flawed, Bain is not a consumer company. Every consumer business weighs costs, price and service/quality levels. Companies can try to cut costs to maximize profit by denying service or features or quality parts, whether it's Apple, Accenture, IBM or United Healthcare, but they still have to try to produce a good product or they are out of business. As long as consumers have choices then the companies have the incentives you mention (note: it's called capitalism).

If you don't like capitalism and consumer choice, maybe consider the old mutual insurance company system where the policy holders were the owners. Any profit gets paid back to the policy holders, but it is still run like a business.

[LDAHL]

There just shouldn't be a profit in playing god.

Right. We should leave the god-playing to politics.

[Alan]

Right. We should leave the god-playing to politics.

Isn't that the real issue?

Rather than government being a servant to the people, it has assumed the role of our master, with the consent of a frighteningly large percentage of the governed.

Hopefully, a larger percentage will resist.

[peggy]

Isn't that the real issue?

Rather than government being a servant to the people, it has assumed the role of our master, with the consent of a frighteningly large percentage of the governed.

Hopefully, a larger percentage will resist.

OH please! I'd rather have universal health care than the Profit making god-doing insurance companies we have now! And please don't forget, republicans aren't the ONLY Americans. The MAJORITY of us Americans WANT SS and Medicare, and unemployment insurance, and teachers and firemen and police, and good roads and safe food and water, and all those other things our 'evil' government does for us. Just because YOU DON'T WANT IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT WANTED!

[ApatheticNoMore]

By government playing god you mean Obama's drone program right? What is Romney's opinion on it?

Isn't that the real issue?

Rather than government being a servant to the people, it has assumed the role of our master, with the consent of a frighteningly large percentage of the governed.

Hopefully, a larger percentage will resist.

I have no idea what resistence in any real sense would look like. Still hoping for a Ron Paul win? Do we have word from Romney that he opposes the drone killings, the NDAA, etc.? Real resistence movements to real tyranny are RADICAL, people dragging their selves to the polls (between big gulps ), and voting in elections that are riggable and even if not rigged bought and paid for, isn't it. Though there might be an occasional good candidate at the lower levels.

[creaker]

Isn't that the real issue?

Rather than government being a servant to the people, it has assumed the role of our master, with the consent of a frighteningly large percentage of the governed.

Hopefully, a larger percentage will resist.

Well, corporations are people - and the government seems to be serving them very well. And any that aren't being served well are more likely just facing opposing corporate interests.

[Alan]

OH please! I'd rather have universal health care than the Profit making god-doing insurance companies we have now! And please don't forget, republicans aren't the ONLY Americans. The MAJORITY of us Americans WANT SS and Medicare, and unemployment insurance, and teachers and firemen and police, and good roads and safe food and water, and all those other things our 'evil' government does for us. Just because YOU DON'T WANT IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT WANTED!

Peggy, histrionics aside, how much outside control do you want over your life? Just enough to provide essential services, or more than enough to keep you at someone else's mercy?
Also, if you choose 'more than enough' do you want to choose which areas you abdicate responsibility for or will you settle for the 'carte blanche' variety?

I prefer limiting the control outside forces have over me. You may feel differently?

[Alan]

Well, corporations are people - and the government seems to be serving them very well. And any that aren't being served well are more likely just facing opposing corporate interests.

Let's say that corporations, or other associations of individuals, had never existed until now, when a group of forward thinking people decided to form an association and have it represent their interests. Like a Union, if you will.
Under civil law, should that association be treated differently than the sum of it's members?

[creaker]

Let's say that corporations, or other associations of individuals, had never existed until now, when a group of forward thinking people decided to form an association and have it represent their interests. Like a Union, if you will.
Under civil law, should that association be treated differently than the sum of it's members?

The real question is whether people or associations or corporations should be treated differently based on the sum of its money? Poor corporations have no more pull in government than poor unions, associations, or people.

[Alan]

The real question is whether people or associations or corporations should be treated differently based on the sum of its money? Poor corporations have no more pull in government than poor unions, associations, or people.

I would suggest that as a fault of government, not in the relative well being of the association. Which takes me back to my earlier point.