The USPS is an independent agency. It receives NO taxpayer money. If you're all about free-market and you don't like the postal service, there are other options available. UPS and FedEx for example. Why don't you use those? Now if you don't use them because they are more expensive, then you would be receiving a government benefit (lower cost shipping) without even paying taxes! Doesn't that go against your whole ideology that everything should be free market and only the strong survive?

Very interesting read, thanks for the link. It describes both the good and bad with universal health care, although in my opinion the good far outweighs the bad. It's really pathetic how people in the US can work hard all their life AND pay for health insurance, only to have the companies deny their claim and the family goes bankrupt or worse. I really don't understand why people are so afraid of universal health care, although if I had to guess, I would say it's largely due to the powerful drug companies which make billions of dollars in profit (similar to oil companies in many sad ways). The article even notes that Japan has few lawyers compared to the US, and that is actually very important. These powerful pharmaceuticals hire over-paid lawyers that can manipulate the laws for them. This is well documented. In the end, it's really the poor and middle class that pay dearly.

Oh my, why did I wait 2 days before coming here again...
Starting with a 4-side triangle, and ending with... huuuh, political debates.

Well, actually, both cases are very different.
Ireland was strongly depending on financial incomes (especially thanks to a very soft tax system, the lowest in all the European Union), so, during 2008, when the crisis raised, they were in front line.

Greece is a very specific case... actually, when a new government was elected in 2008 ~ 2009 (can't remember which date exactly), they found out the whole country had a 'much bigger debt' than expected...

Thats is something that has to do with culture, I guess.
Bernhardt, your question is just.... hardly imaginable.
Why do you want absolutely healthcare to be run by private companies ? I mean, it is something made by everybody for everybody.
It does not mean that all operations / surgery / whatever shall be financed through community of citizens, and taxes, but at least an elementary part of it.
I don't understand how it can be an infamy for the system that the government itself works on it, makes it applicable, and takes care of it straight.

Oh, I can tell you about that!

It's because the American public education system teaches blind conformity, and not to question authority.

They basically train children to be cattle, as opposed to teaching marketable or transferable skills or knowledge, or empowering people to actually take care of themselves.

Which, you could argue, if you want to learn, you need to teach yourself, and work up the motivation to take care of yourself, to which I must ask you then: Why do we even need a public education system?

I look at my educational career, and I've yet to do anything that I couldn't have done before graduating from high school, let alone college.

I look back, and ask myself why I didn't just drop out of high school halfway, and start my own business, as opposed to continuing to put up with the crap that the educational system has always thrown my way.

It's a damn sad thing when our educational system keeps us from fending for ourselves...

It's our educational system that could really use a reform, if not a total overhaul.

Of course. They could start by giving the teachers the right to physically discipline any student that is disrespectful. The disciplines of "detention", "suspension", and "expulsion" should be eradicated and replaced with disciplinary measures that immediately punish, which will enable the students to make an association with their incorrect behaviors. When a student is punished on Saturday morning for something they did on Monday afternoon, there is no way the student is going to associate the punishment with the bad behavior. The punishment is so far removed from the bad behavior that it loses its efficacy.

Maybe that worked back in the good ole days, but if you try something like that now, you'll probably get shot a new belly button.

*shrug*

Well, that's true; there are also plenty of laws and measures in place that keep parents from disciplining their own children.

Some kids basically learn that they can get away with practically anything, while the kids who follow the rules are the ones who often get "beaten over the back" (figuratively) for it.

I guess the teachers should carry machine guns and place proximity mines around their desks.

please, feel free to provide examples.

Example: Bully picks on kid. Kid fights back. Kid gets detention/suspension/expulsion. Nothing happens to the bully who sparked up the conflict in the first place. Stuff like that. Didn't you go to school when you were younger?

Mo' like, armed guards, and surveillance cameras.

Do you have any concrete examples? If so, please provide references, not hearsay. We all went to school Bernhardt. Many of us actually enjoyed it too. Not to say that we didn't have trials here and there (yes, I went to public school), but from my recollections whenever a fight happened both students were taken to the principle and the school investigated what happened and appropriate action was taken. I don't know of a single case where a bully got away with anything while the victim was suspended or kicked-out. Consequently, you said you did not enjoy school, and felt you learned very little. I'm curious what classes you took? Did you take upper-level math, science, English, etc? I always took the most difficult classes I could take, and when I entered college I had something of the order of 15 credits. I was never bored in high school and actually really enjoyed it. It was a nice, quiet, time in my life. Of course everyone has different experiences, but my point is that I made sure to learn. I do not think that not everyone should go to a university, but I do think that everyone should finish high school and get some training beyond that as well.

Based on what I've read, a large number of politicians that voted on it weren't familiar with it, and its content was almost treated as if it was a secret.  Take this now famous quote from Pelosi as an example:

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/10/vid … -is-in-it/

This legislation was about as non transparent as it could have been, and it was passed through Congress without bipartisanship through a reconciliation process instead of a proper vote.  It should be obvious that it STILL wouldn't have support from both parties.

As I mentioned above, the health care bill that was signed into law didn't get a real vote in both the House and the Senate.  Fast forward to today, and more than half of the States (a majority) are suing the Federal government for the bill being unconstitutional.

which, oddly enough, was not the fault of the Democrats at all.

oh look, Heritage Foundation.

Sure, let's distort reality.  It wasn't the Republicans' fault either.

Heritage is pretty good at distortion.

Who was it who kept at a tug of war with attempted bipartisanship, and ultimately implemented ideas from previous republican health plans?
And who was forcing everyone in the party to vote lockstep or be branded a traitor to America?

edit: to clarify my position...

*The health care bill as created by the Democrats gave in shamelessly to corporate interests and will be, in the long run, just another sidestep away from ultimately getting America a meaningful, sustainable public health care system.

*But the constitutionality of it is a weak-ass battle that's getting swatted down most places and it does not engender strong negative sentiments in any but the most disappointed progressives and the most uninformed conservatives. Saying "more than half of the States" is so ignorant of the actual political realities of these lawsuits as to be intellectually dishonest.

*The bill itself, in it's varied forms, was reviewed time and time again by politicians, media and public alike, but any actual discussion about it's true merits or failures was drowned out by drummed-up controversy and spin that served to block any actual debate. Much of this can be considered the fault of the Republican part, particularly it's most conservative members.

*The behavior of the more powerful Republican congressmen (and women) in regards to the bill was honestly disgusting, spreading out FUD and pressuring party members to turn away from bipartisanship whenever it was offered. They made no serious attempt to engage in the actual health care debate after it became clear how much more convenient it was to fight the battle via media messaging.

*Seriously, link people other than the Heritage Foundation.

I posted that link ONLY for the video of Pelosi, take note that was all I referred to about it.  Democrats and Republicans are both rich in liars, and I don't trust either of them completely.  But seriously, the Democrats have no reason to expect not to be fought over such a ridiculously huge piece of legislation that didn't get their vote.  Every time I read about a liberal complaining about the Tea Party's influence in Congress, I want to point out that those people were elected in by the public and they are making good on their campaign promises.

I don't have to be an extreme right winger to come to the conclusion that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, regardless of how I feel about government-run health care.  It is not specifically enumerated as a Federal responsibility, and justifying it with the Commerce clause is as much a BS call as anything in the history of American politics.  The claim is that anybody that doesn't buy insurance is SO GUARANTEED to have to get emergency care later on, not paying for it and requiring it to be covered by the taxpayers or the health industry, that their lack of buying the insurance constitutes commercial activity.  That is a major reason I disagree with the bill, because this invalid assumption is their key justification in forcing all of America (except for the thousands of entities that have been exempted so far) to pay for health insurance when it was never a requirement before.