Rather harsh in light of those in your bracket before Reagan paid a great deal more than what you pay now.

Oh, there was a 'published rate' of 70% on ordinary income for sure, but you know damn well nary a soul came anywhere close to paying that.  Those potentially subject to such a rate paid themselves in dividends (a la John Edwards) or found other ways to be sure they didn't have 'income' subject to that rate by engaging in all sorts of tax-shelter shenanigans & shell games.  Only fools let that much of their money get taken, and there were damn few fools with that kind of money.

True, but the same is done today even at a much lower rate. 

There is a point at which you're throwing good money after bad & it's no longer worth it.  I'm sure that point varies from person to person, and creativity in avoiding taxes will never go away entirely (until & unless all income from all sources is treated the same & taxed at a low rate) but you can be damn sure there's a helluva lot less of it @ a 28% tax rate that @ a 70% tax rate.

To be honest, I certainly don't care how much things cost if my health is at stake.

And I am all for a public health care system (but totally against a welfare system; I see those two as different animals).

Here in Ireland we have essentially the following system:

1. We pay taxes.

2. We pay social security.

3. Some tax-subsidised social-security-financed government agency builds hospitals and provides financial coverage for essentially all needed medical products. However, making use of these offers requires waiting lists and sitting in waiting rooms for hours at a time.

4. Private companies, churches etc. also build hospitals and offer services, some of which are also paid for by the above agency.

5. Private companies sell health insurance. This insurance ADDS to the agency-supplied services, allows one to stay in private rooms or private hospitals, skip waiting lists and get appointments that don't require sitting in the waiting room for hours.

6. Depending on the contract those insurance companies also pay for a percentage (typically 50-70%) of dental costs. Otherwise those costs are paid by the patients (unless one makes use of public dental clinics and waits for hours on arrival).

7. I have (and pay for) 100% coverage in private rooms in public and private hospitals (with few exceptions) and 70% coverage of dental costs. This is typical if you are in a company plan or privately arranged for a similar plan.

This system seems to me a good combination of a public health care system and a private system. Everyone can afford everything needed, but it's more luxurious for those who are willing to pay more.

 

What are you talking about?  Are you an accountant, Stevendedalus? I find it rather obnoxious for someone know-nothing on the issue talking about this kind of crap. I have a big 5 accounting firm on my taxes and I'm looking at a million plus going to the government for this past year.

Sure, there are still games going on but the FACT is that today, the highest income earners now pay far more of a % of the tax bill than they did before Reagan. 

Could you stop drinking the cool-aid for just a half minute and actually educate yourself on this stuff? 

You might care how much it costs if it's merely a matter of convenience.

We're not talking about the cost of life saving procedures here. We're talking about caring what Doctor A charges versus Doctor B.

If insurance companies paid for our cars, we'd all drive Porsches and the like because we wouldn't care how much they cost.  If we had to pay even a % of the cost, we might decide that a Accord would do the job just as well.

Yes, but when it comes to healthcare, I do not make the decisions for myself.

While I might know which car I should buy (and if I choose the wrong one it doesn't matter) I cannot, I don't have the required knowledge, make an informed decision about whether a given illness can be cured with pill A, pill B, or an operation. I also never choose such treatment for fun. It's not a question of convenience.

The reason insurance companies or the government shouldn't buy our cars for us is that we would all want to drive porsches. That is correct. But I cannot imagine that anybody would, say, undergo a heart transplant for fun.

 

Yes, I agree. But while it is probably good for society to get people to drive cheaper cars, it is probably not a good idea to let idiots choose whether they want the treatment doctors recommend or the treatment that costs them ten bucks less.

 

 

Lol, I just had to point out that you used kool-aid in a sentence relating to serious financial issues Brad.

People might get a lot  more informed about things if they were aware of the costs.

Right now, people don't get involved in finding out the costs of things of even what their doctor charges.

And doctors have an incentive presently to choose the most expensive procedure that will get covered regardless of whether it's the most effective or not.

I don't think anyone who isn't a doctor will ever be informed enough about medical products and services.

 

I know what my doctors charge. They sent me bills. And what the insurance company pays directly I get to see anyway since they sent me copies for my files.

 

Doctors have an incentive to charge what the major insurance companies (there are only few of them) are willing to pay because otherwise doctors will find themselves outside the insurance system and won't have many patients/customers.

Organised patients, i.e. patients represented by insurance companies that are fewer in number and better informed about the products than the patients themselves wield monopsony power.

 

It's obvious your spiking the cool-aid. You're rigging the game by citing this because you know damn well by dramatically reducing the marginal rate--the dems had a dirty hand in this as well--the entire parameters changed" in lieu of everyone incrementally paying taxes, however miniscule or gigantic, the Reagan-Bradley thugs exempted many as though benevolent so the top guns could come out smelling like a rose, though they walked away with billions in tax savings. Yes indeed the law of relativity dictates: what once was a generous tax preference at 40% capital gain, we now cry over 15%, that you pay the same rate as Bill Gates must drown you in Kool-aid.

Right, I can just imagine you driving round in your Porsche checking on doctor fees. Do you get your prescriptions at Walmart? Or are we only talking only about the pressing procedure of the lowlife?  

Are you off your meds, Richard?  It's Kool-Aid.