People used to tell me the problem with Medicare For All or a similar socialized healthcare system was that the government would control what care you could and could not receive.
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People used to tell me the problem with Medicare For All or a similar socialized healthcare system was that the government would control what care you could and could not receive.
And I responded with: "They already do that. Your private health insurance and doctors aren't safe. There's nothing stopping the government from revoking or banning your medical care. If they can ban abortion, they can ban anything."
And they said: "Pshaw, as if."
And obviously, here we are.
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People used to tell me the problem with Medicare For All or a similar socialized healthcare system was that the government would control what care you could and could not receive.
And I responded with: "They already do that. Your private health insurance and doctors aren't safe. There's nothing stopping the government from revoking or banning your medical care. If they can ban abortion, they can ban anything."
And they said: "Pshaw, as if."
And obviously, here we are.
If I seem combative or hyperbolic sometimes, it's because I got tired of arguing with Good Liberals who don't actually understand how things work and don't usually care either.
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If I seem combative or hyperbolic sometimes, it's because I got tired of arguing with Good Liberals who don't actually understand how things work and don't usually care either.
Healthcare arguments were often the worst because they would be like, "But I like my gold pressed latinum ultra tier exclusive health insurance. It's your own fault you're poor, mneh."
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Healthcare arguments were often the worst because they would be like, "But I like my gold pressed latinum ultra tier exclusive health insurance. It's your own fault you're poor, mneh."
@gwynnion The argument my parents would always make was, "But the government is so inefficient!" I worked for a Fortune 500 company for 7 years. Those bureaucrats are like, "Hold my beer!"
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@gwynnion The argument my parents would always make was, "But the government is so inefficient!" I worked for a Fortune 500 company for 7 years. Those bureaucrats are like, "Hold my beer!"
@faithisleaping Also, as even the "DOGE" guys discovered rather quickly, there is minimal government waste in these programs and most of that comes from unnecessary means testing designed to harass people out of using those services.
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@faithisleaping Also, as even the "DOGE" guys discovered rather quickly, there is minimal government waste in these programs and most of that comes from unnecessary means testing designed to harass people out of using those services.
@gwynnion Yup! There's waste and inefficiency in any large system, to be sure, but the conservative claim that it's all waste is just a lie. Most public servants really do care about doing their jobs well and trying to get people what they need.
What the republicans really mean when they say "waste" is people. They just think certain people are a waste and want them to go away.
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@gwynnion Yup! There's waste and inefficiency in any large system, to be sure, but the conservative claim that it's all waste is just a lie. Most public servants really do care about doing their jobs well and trying to get people what they need.
What the republicans really mean when they say "waste" is people. They just think certain people are a waste and want them to go away.
@faithisleaping Given how much liberals love means testing and the "appalling" prospect of someone using, e.g., food stamps to buy their child a treat to make them feel better, I assume they feel similarly.
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@faithisleaping Given how much liberals love means testing and the "appalling" prospect of someone using, e.g., food stamps to buy their child a treat to make them feel better, I assume they feel similarly.
@gwynnion Yeah. The difference is that they want to feel good about themselves when they pay their taxes and want the illusion that those people will be fine when they walk by them on the street so they at least like that those programs exist.
To me, this is actually a fascinating difference. Liberals want to feel good about themselves for paying their taxes and voting liberal. They don't want to actually DO anything, but they want to believe that their politics and their tax money makes it okay.
Conservatives, on the other hand, really value their ability to look down on those people. They do actually like the little feel-good they get from pitying someone and doing a little something (which is never nearly enough.) They like the feeling of superiority and power and "good personness" that it gives them. They think their goodness as people and the little, tiny things they do should be enough to fix the world and they shouldn't have to actually pay for any of it.
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@gwynnion Yeah. The difference is that they want to feel good about themselves when they pay their taxes and want the illusion that those people will be fine when they walk by them on the street so they at least like that those programs exist.
To me, this is actually a fascinating difference. Liberals want to feel good about themselves for paying their taxes and voting liberal. They don't want to actually DO anything, but they want to believe that their politics and their tax money makes it okay.
Conservatives, on the other hand, really value their ability to look down on those people. They do actually like the little feel-good they get from pitying someone and doing a little something (which is never nearly enough.) They like the feeling of superiority and power and "good personness" that it gives them. They think their goodness as people and the little, tiny things they do should be enough to fix the world and they shouldn't have to actually pay for any of it.
@faithisleaping They both ultimately believe that there is a social hierarchy in which they are entitled to judge (and therefore punish) the people beneath them for their perceived lack of work ethic or whatever.
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@faithisleaping They both ultimately believe that there is a social hierarchy in which they are entitled to judge (and therefore punish) the people beneath them for their perceived lack of work ethic or whatever.
@faithisleaping This mentality extends to the idea that there is a "normal" type of person, who looks like them and thinks the way they do, that should be held as the standard for others to follow.
Liberals are sometimes willing to indulge difference with largesse up to the point they think it threatens their sense of normality.
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@faithisleaping This mentality extends to the idea that there is a "normal" type of person, who looks like them and thinks the way they do, that should be held as the standard for others to follow.
Liberals are sometimes willing to indulge difference with largesse up to the point they think it threatens their sense of normality.
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Healthcare arguments were often the worst because they would be like, "But I like my gold pressed latinum ultra tier exclusive health insurance. It's your own fault you're poor, mneh."
@gwynnion "if people have poor medical care it's because they simply don't have the lobes to negotiate a good deal"
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People used to tell me the problem with Medicare For All or a similar socialized healthcare system was that the government would control what care you could and could not receive.
And I responded with: "They already do that. Your private health insurance and doctors aren't safe. There's nothing stopping the government from revoking or banning your medical care. If they can ban abortion, they can ban anything."
And they said: "Pshaw, as if."
And obviously, here we are.
@gwynnion There are systems in-between state systems and private systems.
And as long as there is a democracy, your vote decides what's included (to a certain degree). And you can buy additional private healthcare if something is lacking.
Look at the Netherlands, Switzerland or Germany.
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