HULK SMASHED
Two in a row?
howdy, mer.
We locked in at 5 point something for 15 years. We were never among the cool kids.
=
The Pope smokes dope.
Hey wt.
These stories are grim.
Jeebus fookin' Christ on a cracker!
Welcome to Bush's "Ownership Society".
I think the feudal land barrons had more ethics.
WT,
Your photoshop skills are at about "the Generals" level. Kudos.
"Being self-employed, they had no health insurance."
how does one logically and necessarily lead to the other? They can afford an extra 2k a month for their mortgage, but can't afford health insurance?
It sucks that they are in this bind, but it seems as though their woes were preventable.
=
Well thank jeebus we fixed up the bankruptcy code just in time to make sure that these people are truly and permanently fucked.
Attaturk,
multi grazie! I was especially proud of Cardinal "Fang".
Morning, housing enthusiasts.
In a bit of tragic irony, traumatic brain injury, the signature would of the Iraqi Occupation
oops, would=wound
Cardinal Biggles was a no-brainer.
non manufacturing, non service industies are on the way out, didn't you get the memo ?? financial services (pushing money around) now accounts for 20% of the nations gdp
love live jpmorganchase, they didn't even need smedley
"You know, I was living the American dream," Anthony Stewart says. "I had savings, stocks, was living in a nice home in a very nice community, and I always paid my bills.
"Now, I'm wiped out."
Thanks, Chimpy, for destroying another family.
If we could get it, and that's a big if considering my history with breast cancer, private health insurance for Mr. QL and myself would around $1500/month. I suspect for a family with young children it would be even higher.
We were very careful over the years, and Mr. QL at 61 is retired. We can afford having me retire as well, except for the health insurance. So I'm toiling away, while Mr. QL waits for me to vest. Sucks.
Yeah, Atrios, but they are the little people so it doesn't really matter.
financial services (pushing money around) now accounts for 20% of the nations gdp
that explains NYC's housing market.
Well, when Steelcase laid off thousands of employees 3 - 4 years back (yes, since Bush has been in office) - before all of the talk of the housing bubble bursting - I could see it coming.
My sister lost a lovely home. When you go from close to a six digit income to nothing, and you can't find a job because you're a specialist in a special payroll computer system, you lose everything.
The saddest part was that she and my dad had just refinished her basement with glass blocks and cool lighting and like that so that she could have a special area in her home set up to do Reiki massage. When blood, sweat, and tears are involved, it's even more difficult.
Cardinal Biggles was a no-brainer.
watertiger
Oh, that was just perfect, Watertiger. Thanks.
Now sit in the Comfy Chair while I get out the Soft Pillows.
This post is mostly about the need for national health insurance.
Sadly, in Bush's America only he gets away with "not anticipating" something.
That's a terrible story, but perhaps having another child when you have no health insurance and are in a precarious financial situation wasn't a terribly good idea.
health insurance? what's that?
Now sit in the Comfy Chair while I get out the Soft Pillows.
Oooh, thank you!
[/old woman]
Okay, my bad back and I are going to the office for a bit.
Later non-litigators.
I think it's also worth noting that the Resmuglicans killed the opportunity to bring healthcare coverage to all Americans, which would have saved this family's home and dignity.
A modest middle class family losing their home because they couldn't afford health insurance or the medical bills that ensued when they didn't have it is just plainly morally wrong.
It's their own fault for not being born rich.
That's a terrible story, but perhaps having another child when you have no health insurance and are in a precarious financial situation wasn't a terribly good idea.
Mike D
I wonder how many of the "Greatest Generation" had health insurance.
That's a terrible story, but perhaps having another child when you have no health insurance and are in a precarious financial situation wasn't a terribly good idea.
Mike D
But before I go, as I was saying...
Sadly, in Bush's America only he gets away with "not anticipating" something.
Attaturk
Later non-litigators.
Ach. The life of a litigator.
Multiply this story by hundreds of thousands in the coming months as fewer and fewer people have health insurance.
Will it take the destruction of so many families to finally get folks to understand why a single payor system is both desireable and necessary?
The other really bad thing about my sister losing her house:
She never recovered from it. She still cries about it, and it has completely eroded her self esteem because she considers herself a failure.
And, of course, she is still without health insurance.
"Being self-employed, they had no health insurance."
how does one logically and necessarily lead to the other? They can afford an extra 2k a month for their mortgage, but can't afford health insurance?
I thought the same thing. seems as if they took a gamble and lost
Will it take the destruction of so many families to finally get folks to understand why a single payor system is both desireable and necessary?
"AACK! Government too big! Government too big! LALALALA, I can't heeeeeear you!"
[/Typical Republican]
Oh, and good morning, rational people.
Warning: I am grumpy because I am not at the New Mexico fair with all those wonderful Atriots.
Bushboy & the Goopers know that we can't afford national healthcare.
Doncha' know there's a waronterror going on and on and on and on......
Predatory lenders are scum; the lowest of the low. I would have blown off the hospital, offered to pay them $100 a month forever, but that's just me.
Seventeen grand. How many yacht payments is that?
I guess that "We Are a Christian Nation" thing only goes so far.
I got my mortgage at 7 1/4 about 10 years ago. I've never been tempted to refi, because the total loan amount is relatively small and the closing costs of a refi would eat up the payment savings for at least 5 years.
Unless I wanted to cash out equity, which I don't. My house has tripled in 'value' since I bought it, but it's not any kind of worthwhile value increase to me. If I were to sell the house, I would have to pay at least the sale price to get decent living quarters somewhere else.
Bushboy & the Chin want to nuke Iran
Thinking, "Better do it while we can!"
at obscene cost
Iraq's been lost
But we'll do Iran on the "economy" plan!!!
That's a terrible story, but perhaps having another child when you have no health insurance and are in a precarious financial situation wasn't a terribly good idea.
Mike D
If it wasn't another child, there could have just as easily been a serious accident or illness to another family member that could have easily been even more finanically devastating.
The point is that these people didn't have health insurance when they needed it because they couldn't afford it, and when medical bills and creditors were threatening to take what little they had, they got snookered into signing a predatory lending agreement. That's what's put them in this situation - it's really not another kid.
I shouldn't go on with the anecdotes, but my God, this administration has had such a negative effect on so many people. I know another woman, who was let go from my Company in 2002 when they had one of their bazillion rounds of Black Fridays. She had been working for years - good insurance, all of that. Well, she and her husband couldn't get good jobs for quite some time. They had one son. When the husband finally got a decent job, they had another child (who is now about a year old). Well, anyway, she had this mole on her face that started to grow after she lost her job. Now that they have insurance, she just had it checked out. It's malignant melanoma. Problem is, it's in her lymph nodes - so it's spread. And that's not a good thing with melanoma. The poor girl has lost 60 pounds and looks like a hollow shell of the woman I once knew.
They waited because they had no insurance, but they waited too long.
I guess that "We Are a Christian Nation" thing only goes so far.
That's now becoming code for "We can fuck you in God's Name."
how does one logically and necessarily lead to the other? They can afford an extra 2k a month for their mortgage, but can't afford health insurance?
Actually, they can't. If they could, this wouldn't be a story.
To wax political in the midst of this sad, but all too typical story; it was not mentioned who Anthony and Kerry selected for President in 2000 and 2004. I have a fleeting suspicion that they voted Bush-Cheney against their own interests and now have some buyer's remourse.
Fixed rate? Sure it's fixed for the first two years.
Then you can refinance again, when the rates go down.
afternoon moonbats 
As to the greatest generation and health insurance, if you want the kind of medicine they had back in the 1940's at 1940's prices, you can still get it.
I am not sure what to think about national health insurance. Its an issue where we won't get information without spin. I think I'm kind of for it but having some experience in my own family with doctors wanting to do open heart surgery on my 85 year old mother who has Alzheimers makes me wary.
The family in this story had so many other financial problems. They were living way beyond their means. I'd like to know who they voted for because a lot of times, these are just the people who see themselves as entrepreneurial Rush Limbaugh/love GW Republicans until they get in big trouble and then someone is supposed to help them get back to living "the American dream" of spending beyond your means.
they got snookered into signing a predatory lending agreement. That's what's put them in this situation - it's really not another kid.
Stinky |
Exactly right, Stinky. And those predatory lending practices got the green light approval after Alan Greenspan suggested that such "creative" mortgage instruments were the way to go.
I wonder how many of the "Greatest Generation" had health insurance.
Prior to insurance policies being common people negotiated with their doctors about the price of services. Now you're handed a bill based on how much the insurance companies will pay not your ability to pay and you're expected to pony up the money.
I'm so sorry about your sister, Vicki. It must be devastating to lose your house.
One of my best friends has cancer in the liver. Her husband had been laid off and was out of work for a couple years, but *lucklily*(if you can call anything about getting cancer lucky) he had just gotten a new job with health insurance before she was diagnosed. If not, I shudder to think what would have happened.
I guess that "We Are a Christian Nation" thing only goes so far.
Uncle Smokes
Jesus expects people to be rich (how else are they going to help build megachurches?), and if people aren't, they obviously just don't love Jesus enough, which means they're going to Hell anyway, so why bother with people Jesus doesn't see fit to reward in this life or in His heavenly kingdom?
[/wingnut Jesus Freak]
Saying that America is a democracy is like saying that by entering a Las Vegas casino you can become a millionaire.
The truth is that the political system is in the hands of the corporatocracy. They own and operate it.
If and when a decent person get's into a position of power, it's a function of dumb luck (or they had their own resources).
And people wonder why their favorite group (white Americans, native-born Americans, Christians, educated women etc.) don't reproduce in sufficient numbers to keep the brown hordes at bay.
"AACK! Government too big! Government too big! LALALALA, I can't heeeeeear you!"
[/Typical Republican]
watertiger
Perhaps they really meant that goverment was too big in the wrong areas. Universal healthcare would make goverment too big in the butt--you know, that sturdy, yet cushiony thing we sit on that keeps us from falling over. They have no problem with government being too big in the head--that thing which eats everything in sight and spews out horridly bad ideas.
Republicans: Fat Heads and Bony Butts, and heading straight down to the floor.
At this point, frankly, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to support socialized health insurance. Period.
Donald Trump: "I started out with a lousy eight million, and look where I am today."
That's now becoming code for "We can fuck you in God's Name."
Supreme Commander Thor
"If you are doing business with a religious son-of-a-bitch, get it in writing. His word isn't worth shit--not with the good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal."
-- William S. Burroughs, "Words of Advice to Young People"
At this point, frankly, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to support socialized health insurance. Period.
Moe Szyslak, employed
Well, if my mother is any indication, socialized health insurance for the elderly (Medicare) works just fine.
At this point, frankly, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to support socialized health insurance. Period.
36% worship Bush. I'd say those people wouldn't support socialized health insurance even if you told them the alternitive was the death of their family members.
That Pope Ratz, a political shill...
Pope Said to Be Upset Muslims Offended
By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer
1 hour ago
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI is "extremely upset" that Muslims have been offended by some of his words in a recent speech in Germany, the Vatican said Saturday.
The new Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the pope's position on Islam is unmistakably in line with Vatican teaching that the church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God."
Thus, the pope is "extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions," Bertone said in a statement.
You know, Pope, you should know better than anyone that if you don't want to anger someone, don't fucking say something stupid.
At this point, frankly, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to support socialized health insurance. Period.
Moe Szyslak, employed
Double true.
First time poster from Plum P country here. I never really understood the reason why so many people in the States, when universal healthcare is mentionned go round and round screaming "But, but it's anti-american!" Or use the ever-useful Donald Sutherland's body snatcher finger pointing and utter "Commie!" at the top of their lungs.
I mean, what's so wrong about being able to go to the hospital, and not exit poorer than when you came in?
Warning: I am grumpy because I am not at the New Mexico fair with all those wonderful Atriots.
Diane C. Barking-Mad |
me too. [stamps foot]
I also thought prepayment penalties were illegal, but maybe I'm thinking of a state law?
Donald Trump: "I started out with a lousy eight million, and look where I am today."
Yeah, how's that TV thing workin' for ya?
Okay, I'm off to the farmers market. Best colors of the year are going on right now.
Laters. Hopefully, I can post a picture of that incredible cock hanging out at my best friend's house.
What is most frustrating is that the Goopers prove over and over and over that they are clearly the enemies of the people, and then the people elect Goopers to the Congress and the WH because the Goopers spend more money on ads lying about their opposition and scaring the bejesus out of voters.
Methinks it is not a prescription for a successful country.
Their original mortgage was $3,000/month. Lets be clear: this is a luxury home that these people are living in. No, I'm not for government programs that take money from someone else to keep them in that house.
That's a terrible story, but perhaps having another child when you have no health insurance and are in a precarious financial situation wasn't a terribly good idea.
Mike D
Why, that smacks of family planning! Planning parenthood! We can't have that!
I would have blown off the hospital, offered to pay them $100 a month forever
Probably wouldn't stop them from eventually suing anyway, getting a judgment, recording an abstract on the house, followed by bank levies and wage garnishments to the tune of 25% of gross...
The bankruptcy bill has made a lot of collectors much bolder...
If you live in a family where the main breadwinner is self-employed, another family member needs to find a way to work 12 hours a week at Walmart or Star Market to get the minimum health insurance deal.
That's about the only way to make it work without taking on enormous risk in this crazy system.
Thus, the pope is "extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions," Bertone said in a statement.
Pope Macaca!
Welcome Deltones! You in Quebec?
Their original mortgage was $3,000/month. Lets be clear: this is a luxury home that these people are living in. No, I'm not for government programs that take money from someone else to keep them in that house.
Karla
Um, where are you from? I hate to tell you this, but there are many places in this country where a $3,000-a-month mortgage isn't buying you "luxury."
I guess we've got the opposite of concern trolls on this thread. "Don't give a damn about their fellow man" trolls.
Can anyone can think of a pithier phrase to describe them?
I mean, what's so wrong about being able to go to the hospital, and not exit poorer than when you came in?
Well, I just received the first part of my bill for my surgery last week.
For the first time in the history of my employment, I have an out of pocket deductible for hospital procedures, etc. I suppose I'm still pretty lucky that it's only a few hundred bucks, and that I'm healthy, and that my insurance payment is only about $ 100 every two weeks.
But gosh, in previous years, we were better cared for. I gave birth - no out of pocket expenses. I broke both ankles and was in the hospital for five days, with surgery - and I didn't pay a farkin' dime - not even for the ambu-cab to take me home and two and from doctor's appointments, or for the medical bed they delivered to my house, the wheelchair...all that.
Like I say, I know I'm one of the fortunate ones, but it still isn't what it was.
Probably wouldn't stop them from eventually suing anyway, getting a judgment, recording an abstract on the house, followed by bank levies and wage garnishments to the tune of 25% of gross...
Not to mention that hospitals have the ability to convert their recievables into income by selling them off to aggressive collection companies.
Thus, the pope is "extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions," Bertone said in a statement.
Pope Macaca!
watertiger
Time to hold an "ethnic mass" for the cameras...
I don't know why people are so harsh on these people. Yeah, they did stupid stuff - they're aware of that - but we all do stupid stuff. Sometimes those decisions snowball and sometimes they don't.
And whatever stupids they did, they're victims of a system where people often can't get health insurance and where predatory lenders are allowed to operate.
I'm not denying these people agency - they made choices they shouldn't have - but that doesn't mean there aren't serious problems with the system.
Lets be clear: this is a luxury home that these people are living in.
Whatever. Who are you to judge? You don't know their circumstances. The way I read it, they made an unwise decision wrt to how to handle expenses, but should they be punished for that decision? I think not. I think they should be educated on making better choices.
The Boston Globe has been doing a series of stories about how emboldened and outrageous bill collectors have become.
In many instances they bill people with the same names as someone else, who actually ran up the charges but can't be found.
They then hound the namesake to pay the bills (plus interest of course), even to the point of dragging them into court!!!
Welcome to the Gooper dystopia.
Health Insurance: Well, we want to blame the evil insurance companies and their bought and paid for politicians don't we?
How about we look at the delivery systems that limit health care? Why can't we build enough medical schools so that there isn't a chronic shortage of doctors? Wouldn't it be something if doctors had to actually compete for business by offering their services at a discount?
When I had my surgery on my eye the operating room they used (should say HE used) was booked from six AM to 12 PM. They did surgeries every twenty-five minutes or so. Figure about 15-20 surgeries at a couple of grand a pop. Why should this doctor be receiving more in a morning of surgery than I make (as a teacher) in a year?
Questions without answers. The healthcare delivery system is still controlled and manipulated to make certain that those at the top make the most money possible for the least amount of work.
Fuck 'em.
Since when did Wal-mart start offering health insurance to someone working 12 hrs a week?
More to the point: Dude's self-employed. His credit score drops on that basis alone. Can't get the absolute lowest interest rate on his mortgage to begin with. So they probably were getting jacked by the initial mortgate.
Their original mortgage was $3,000/month. Lets be clear: this is a luxury home that these people are living in. No, I'm not for government programs that take money from someone else to keep them in that house.
Karla
Karla, in the NY Metro area, $3000/month pays the mortgage on a modest 2-3 bedroom home on a 60x100 plot. If you're lucky.
Atrios, I love you, man. You're compassionate, which is a trait that far too many people lack these days.
And I'm always accused, even by my best friend, of being too understanding of people's situations. Of course, I laugh under my breath, because she's supporting a lazy husband who has a bitter disposition and won't work. His $ 600 a month pot habit is draining her finances, and she makes quite a bit of money. Yet she stays with him. It's kind of ironic when people start telling you how you should react to someone when they can't see the Mack Truck obstructing the view right in front of them.
"Being self-employed, they had no health insurance."
how does one logically and necessarily lead to the other? They can afford an extra 2k a month for their mortgage, but can't afford health insurance?
I thought the same thing. seems as if they took a gamble and lost
Ditto that. In spite of a tragic situation, these folks frankly aren't compelling poster children; a single income family in a new subdivision with a 3K mortgage and savings has to have at least a catastrophic insurance plan on board, if only for their kids.
However, I'll bet they're entirely typical. You're going to see a bunch of other relatively comfortable families hit the fan in the next five years because they didn't get their priorities right when doing their monthly budgeting.
More to the point: Dude's self-employed. His credit score drops on that basis alone. Can't get the absolute lowest interest rate on his mortgage to begin with. So they probably were getting jacked by the initial mortgate.
smittyw, now 38
And yet, we celebrate the risk-takers. Most of whom fail, which is what makes it a risk.
And no bankruptcy to fall back on, courtesy of the Democrats as well as the Republicans.
ql, it helps to know that you also are distressed by not being Albuquerque.
I'm not denying these people agency - they made choices they shouldn't have - but that doesn't mean there aren't serious problems with the system.
Atrios
In a land dominated by aggressive financial interests, why is how to handle money not taught in school?
I know the cynical answer involves lucrative fleecing of sheep, but I'm serious. Wouldn't raising generations who were smart with money be in the national interest?
Learning from your parents often does not work. My parents were lousy with money, and I've carried on the tradition.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a $3,000-a-month mortgage won't buy you a trailer.
I'm not denying these people agency - they made choices they shouldn't have - but that doesn't mean there aren't serious problems with the system.
Atrios
Yes, having that third child was outrageous of them. Absolutely unreasonable. On that basis alone they should be thrown out on the street and their property divided amongst the Godly.
Eh?
Yeah, they did stupid stuff
Yeah. Had a kid and tried to pay their bills. Idiots.
Why should this doctor be receiving more in a morning of surgery than I make (as a teacher) in a year?
Nurses must be underpaid though, 'cause a lot of them are appearing in porn flicks.
how does one logically and necessarily lead to the other? They can afford an extra 2k a month for their mortgage, but can't afford health insurance?
Again, people speaking from ignorance. Have you priced health insurance on the individual market? It's more expensive than the payroll deduction on your pay stub. A lot more. Twice, three times as much. Maybe you should do that first before shooting your mouth off.
OT: Jowell joins condemnation of 'stick-thin' catwalk models
Pressure intensified on the organisers of London fashion week yesterday as the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, warned of the dangers of girls starving themselves to emulate waif-like supermodels.
Amid growing calls from politicians and activists for London to follow the ground-breaking restrictions imposed by the organisers of last week's Madrid fashion week - where "unhealthily thin" models were prevented from appearing - Ms Jowell intervened in a personal capacity to raise what she described as an issue of "major concern".
Pope Macaca.
Bizarre Holy?
Smitty,
"Well, if you can't afford the housing in [fill in overheated real estate market location here], then you shouldn't live there."
[/idiot]
how does one logically and necessarily lead to the other? They can afford an extra 2k a month for their mortgage, but can't afford health insurance?
Somebody hasn't priced health insurance recently.... A family of five, including a plan that covers pregnancy and delivery's gonna run in the neighbourhood of $1500-2000/month. And that'll be with a deductible of around $5000.
Unless someone's lucky enough to be in New Mexico or Hawaii....
Hey Dr., you're supposed to be in Albergueque. Whacha doing here?
And, probably that $3,000 a month mortgage is less than rent would be for a family of five.
Bizarre Holy?
Oh, touche!!!
"Well, if you can't afford the housing in [fill in overheated real estate market location here], then you shouldn't live there."
I'm sure that's coming next.
Red staters just don't get it. Real estate actually costs a lot more where they don't live.
Nurses must be underpaid though, 'cause a lot of them are appearing in porn flicks.
Well, who put the rn in porn?
Thanks to Bushboy we've been "pertected from terrists," got real good tax cuts and fought off those who want to bring about that damn socialized medicine.
Now if Bushboy & the Goopers can only keep control of the Congress in November, we can get rid of that pesky Social Security thingy!!!!
warning: angry rant:
i guess i'm feeling a little schadenfreude here. i could sit here and tell you stories of all the poor, black and brown people who were my neighbors in chicago, who were complete passed over by the "good times" of the 90s and suffer even more greatly today. home ownership? give me a break. health insurance? hah. i knew one family who lived in a two bedroom apt where their slumlord landlord was too busy hustling with their rent money to pay the water bill, so they had running water for 2 out of 3 days. move, you say? well, that takes things like a huge security deposit, not something you've got lying around when you make the minimum wage. which of course, was the going pay rate in the area, it's not like good jobs exist in the 'hood even for those who manage to get a good education, which of course is a minority.
the horror everyone feels at this particular example is natural, but i often wonder where that same feeling was as the american working class was decimated over the last three decades, turning once good neighborhoods into slums and reducing honest people to poverty or forcing the to turn to the underground economy. forgive me for saying it, but it seems to me that most white folks couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the destruction of the minority working class when something could've been done about, and have spent a lot of time demonizing the poor for the crime of turning to things like the drug trade to live.
now something similar is happening to the mostly white middle class, and the nasty part of me says, welcome to the bottom, you can suck it with the rest of us. i hope you're happy with the politicians you elected, who promised you wealth and hapiness by filling the jails with black and brown men and pouring all the state's resources into communities far away from where colored folks live. how's that working out for you?
they made an unwise decision wrt to how to handle expenses, but should they be punished for that decision?
That's a hell of a punishment, too. These people are going to be really screwed for a really long time. They may never get back to where they were.
OTOH, when someone like Bush fucks up, like he did with Arbusto and Harken Energy, his rich daddy and friends come and bail his sorry ass out.
OT: Terror plot suspect admits he talked of blowing up Parliament
A 24-year-old former university student accused of plotting to carry out terror attacks in Britain has admitted talking about blowing up the Houses of Parliament.
Omar Khyam, who is one of seven men charged with conspiring to build a huge fertiliser bomb, told a jury at the Old Bailey yesterday that he discussed dropping a bomb on MPs during Prime Minister's Questions.
But the self-confessed al-Qa'ida sympathiser from Crawley, West Sussex, said his comments were "just talk" and that there was no plan to carry out an attack.
Lime Ricky,
I appreciate the humor but you are right: the doctors have managed to keep most of the resources for themselves.
I really feel strongly that every major university should have its own medical school. What would the harm be if we had more than we needed so that people could see the doctor when they wanted to rather than needed to?
In Michigan there are three medical schools - I believe. The University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Wayne State. Yet there are huge numbers of "major" universities that could have a medical school. Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Michigan Tech (and it would be wonderful to get some healthcare to the barely existing poor of the upper UP) Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State College and on and on.
(And that is not even counting private institutions.)
More homeless! Thanks, Bushies!!!
Nurses must be underpaid though, 'cause a lot of them are appearing in porn flicks.
Lime Rickey
Those aren't real nurses, they just play one on TV!
Good morning.
I got sick when I was temping.
Stayed in the hospital for 5 days.
I'll be paying that debt off for the rest of my life.
My sisters had to go to one of those mortgage companies for a loan to fix up the house my parents left us and I'm afraid they're getting gamed too.
One of them told me they got approved 3 weeks ago and haven't heard another thing from them.
A $3,000/month mortgage is a $600,000 home. What were the two "fancy" cars they thought they deserved?
I have to feel confident that I'm not advocating raising taxes on people who have to drive cabs or clean hotel rooms to support more government programs that benefit people like this couple so disproportionately and I'm not confident.
Medicine costs money. If you want to deliver your child yourself, you can do that but people want the best care and it costs money.
Hey Dr., you're supposed to be in Albergueque. Whacha doing here?
ql in ny
Hiding biscuits for Arthur, and then heading out the door.
Adios, machacas!
.
Muslim world protests at Pope's 'derogatory' Mohamed comments
Pope Benedict XVI has ignited a firestorm of protest from Muslims around the world in reaction to his citation of negative remarks about the Prophet Mohamed and the purported Muslim tendency to convert infidels by force. Many of the world's senior Islamic figures joined in the protest, including clerics and politicians from Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
The most severe criticism came from Pakistan, where the parliament unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Pope for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam and seeking an apology from him.
CD, I have witnessed this as well. But we are good at not seeing, you know?
"Ditto that. In spite of a tragic situation, these folks frankly aren't compelling poster children; a single income family in a new subdivision with a 3K mortgage and savings has to have at least a catastrophic insurance plan on board, if only for their kids."
don't mean to sound cold hearted, but i agree. they would have been better off with a 2-3k mortgage and living in a not so nice subdivision. and if they couldn't afford health insurance, it was irresponsible to bring kids into the picture.
I have to feel confident that I'm not advocating raising taxes on people who have to drive cabs or clean hotel rooms to support more government programs that benefit people like this couple so disproportionately and I'm not confident.
Your premise is that socialized health insurance will raise taxes. It won't.
I don't think it *is* a single income family-- looks like she does child care out of the home. That gets to be weird, too- I know that a so-so job sometimes doesn't make up for what day care can cost.
That damn Greenspan- ending up like Mussolini would be appropriate...
I'm sure that's coming next.
It's already here. I had a "conversation" with a dunderheaded Republican (and yes, he was in finance) once in which he scolded me for fucking up the real estate market (?) in NYC by living in a rent-stabilized apartment. "If you can't afford the market rates then you shouldn't live in Manhattan," quoth he.
A $3,000/month mortgage is a $600,000 home. What were the two "fancy" cars they thought they deserved?
I have to feel confident that I'm not advocating raising taxes on people who have to drive cabs or clean hotel rooms to support more government programs that benefit people like this couple so disproportionately and I'm not confident.
Medicine costs money. If you want to deliver your child yourself, you can do that but people want the best care and it costs money.
Karla
Um, interest? You forgot to include the interest. Now I know I'm not dealing with the sharpest tool in the drawer.
BTW, $600,000 buys you a shack in the Bay Area. Guessing you're from Oklahoma, where $600,000 buys a mansion.
Welcome Deltones! You in Quebec?
Moe Szyslak
Thanks and yeah, from Quebec City, but living in Montreal. I've been lurking on this blog for about a year. Learn something new every day
Um, where are you from? I hate to tell you this, but there are many places in this country where a $3,000-a-month mortgage isn't buying you "luxury."
smittyw, now 38
Exactly what I thought when I read that bit of nonsense...
A $3,000/month mortgage is a $600,000 home. What were the two "fancy" cars they thought they deserved?
In the NY metro area $600,000 buys you a starter home. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.
Right you are, Moe. Paul Krugman has been pointing out for years how a rational, not-for-profit single-payer health system would SAVE money.
millions and millions.
yeah, karl, keep sending idiot son out there to speak about the magic of home ownership and the american dream. read thru hbb and note the staggering increases of foreclosures in every region across the country.
this is one way to replenish the dwindling ranks of enlistees -- wanna bet a scheme to forego past mortgage debt isn't part of an enlistment package soon.
over here Blair is trying to privatise the NHS through the back door.
this whole thing about being 'competitve' for the sake of it, it is killing the NHS and is preventing doctors and nurses doing their jobs.
and we all remeber how well privtatsing the railways went (snort, chuckle).
and the scandal that is PPP/PFI.
I had a discussion about this with my dad last night. I told him that on the basis of my income, the amount of house I could afford was $125,000. This did not include the property taxes, insurance and homeowners assn fee, and it was being conservative (2.5 times income). So I rent.
Let's just say that unless you want to live in a shack (or a very bad condo conversion in a not-so-good neighborhood), you're not going to find a house in Phoenix for $125,000. Hell, there are mobile homes going for lots more than that.
I have a coworker whose wife just had their first child. They got married a year ago and moved into a $350,000 house. That's how much close-in houses are going for. I know they aren't pulling down, even with both of them working, $140K a year (before taxes) in income. What that means is that she has to go back to work in 3 months and they have to put their boy in daycare because they need her income in a bad way. As it was, my coworker took exactly one day off from work before coming back because they couldn't afford him being off any more than that.
And the other thing that blew my mind was that not only did they get a loan for the $350K house, but at closing they also took out a home equity loan. My coworker told me that he had to have it as an ARM for one day and then he could convert it to fixed (probably for yet another fee).
Unbelievable. I'll stay renting, thanks.