Canada , if civil war breaks out down here...

America is far from being a Hell Hole and most of us realize that.
However, we're not blind to her faults and we have the freedom to voice our displeasure.
If everybody just went along with whatever the "powers that be" decide is best for us we wouldn't be America. I don't know any other country in which I'd rather live.
We have the right of free speech, you have the right to disagree...or ignore us altogether.

 

Those screws are drilled torqued. Medical report will read like a machinist performed the service...these are the screws...and it didn't cost you a dime. Thats a $20K surgery no doubt.

 

I paid to get an MRI ($940) back in June just to speed things along. They told me it was up to a 3 month wait going through the system, was less than a week booking one myself. May 19th is when the pain was so bad I had to stop working, by Sep 17th I was under the knife. I'm hoping to get back in the truck sometime in January after physio is finished.

 

Certainly not oblivious to the issues our country has, just grow weary of those that postulate that there are much better places to live. Born here, grew up here, wore a green uniform to defend her so I feel I'M entitled to express my opinion about those that run her down.

 

I wore the uniform too and I probably spend as much time as anybody running my mouth about what's wrong with America.
I've lived and worked in other countries. In some of them if you criticized the government too loudly you'd just disappear. It's good to be in America.
Loud mouths and stubbornly opinionated people are everywhere. I give them the attention they deserve...which isn't much.
Somebody said..."the loudest guy in the room is the weakest guy in the room"...I believe that to be true.

 

Remember the first line of the constitution - "we the people, in order to form a more perfect union . . ."

There is no Perfect Society - things have to change based on the circumstances we find ourselves in and the circumstances we create. You'd be hard pressed to find find someone who says we should return to serfdom, but at the time abolishing it was antithetical.

I would also argue we already have socialized medicine. Instead of the government controlling it, my company does. Between them and the health insuramce companies we have very little control over the market.

 

You misunderstand my position about America. First thank you for your service. I also wore a green uniform during Vietnam. I am grateful to be an American and respect its flag and what it stands for. That said I also despise the way it's run by politicians & corporations. But let's not go down that rabbit hole. My comment was about the ridiculous cost of health care in this country and how it disrespects veterans and the elderly that built this nation. Yes I fly the flag at my ranch. Good day.

 

What kind of tax rates do you folks down south see? I swear the government takes about 1/3 of my income just in taxes.

 

Federal, state, property taxes plus my health insurance premiums (not counting dental, vision materials, or the deductible) and I'm looking at an effective overall tax rate of 28%.

If companies paid their employees what they spent providing health care, and if we left the tax rate/deductions where they are we coupd provide greater health coverage AND have enough left over to "save" social security (see the Hoover Institute paper shortly after Bush II unveiled his 2007 health care overhaul plan).

 

What about fairy-tale taxes? We get charged big $$$$ for this "carbon tax" that's charged on anything oil & gas or energy related.