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July 5, 2008, 12:54 pm
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Who would be a better choice as a VP runningmate?


Tim Pawlenty
50% (1 vote)
Hillary Clinton
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Total votes: 2
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What do you think is the county's biggest contribution to the state?
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Prince Rogers Nelson
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Minnesota Landscape Arboretum fruit breeding program
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Other. What do you think should be on the list?
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Total votes: 22
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The health care crisis

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I think that now we can say that our healthcare system is officially in crisis. People cant pay for the drugs, companies cant pay for the insurance, and insurance companies are unwilling to insure the people who will cost them a great deal of money. And who's to blame? Well the Democrats blame the Republicans and the Republicans blame the Immigrants, and really, is there only one group that is causing this whole mess that we call healthcare? It's sort of ridiculous to argue about who's to blame when everyone has done their part. So what is the answer to our health care crisis? Well, we seem to be stuck between two options that unfortunately end up with about the same result - people not recieving the care they need. The system that we have, so far, has left many people from all social backgrounds either under-insured or without insurance completely. Insurance companies reserve the right to refuse their services to people with medical problems, companies often try to avoid hiring people with major health concerns, and many people are refused treatment until they are sent to expensive and overcrowded emergency rooms after their health has greatly deteriorated. Unfortunately, the other alternative, universal health insurance, seems to lead down a similar path. In countries where there is some kind of universal health care, there is often a dangerously long line to get in to see the doctor. Due to high demand, patients with serious symptoms may have to wait up to six weeks to see a doctor, often a critical time for diagnosing diseases and the difference between life and death. There are also strict limits on what kinds of medicines are available to those who recieve the public health care - they don't always provide the newest and most expensive medications, and at least in Britain, if citizens want to buy these more expensive drugs they must also pay for private insurance - they cant have the best of both worlds. So, what is the solution? Between refusing to insure the poorer and sicker segments of the population, which is extremely immoral, and providing everyone with mediocre health insurance that might not be enough to save their lives - which is still not that great of an option. It seems like there should be some kind of a compromise between the two doesn't it? But are politicians creative enough to come up with a viable solution?


I don't agree that health...

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I don't agree that health care is in crisis. But it does need to change to meet new challenges. It needs to be more market-oriented. People need to have greater access to coverage and more choices.

The free market has the potential to get health insurance costs down.

We need a system that allows people to have more individual control over their health insurance. People need to have more power and control over their health care, so they have incentives to be engaged in managing their health.

Public policy changes need to allow for more free-market solutions.


Submitted by FAdams on February 27, 2008 - 2:01pm.

Let me add to that, I think...

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Let me add to that, I think we need to get away from the system of tying health insurance to the workplace. When people lose their job, they lose their health insurance. That's bad policy because the Labor Department reports that four in 10 Americans change jobs every year.

There are bound to be people who fall through the cracks.

On top of that, I think that people should have some of their tax money freed up, so they can use it to buy health insurance coverage. And there should be a standard tax deduction for health insurance.

With regards to the question of whether or not politicians will be creative enough to solve the so-called crisis, I think it's not a question of if they have ideas about health care but which ideas are implemented and if those ideas make matters better or worse. Change for the sake of change is not necessarily a good thing. And a lot of the ideas that seem to be popular right now would probably make matters worse,.

Right now our healthcare system is not consumer-friendly, and I'd say probably that politicians aren't inclined to implement changes to make it consumer friendly. Why? Because we see the U.S. Congress trying to convince people that government is, or should be, the answer to all their problems, healthcare included. We see them trying to expand government coverage of children in families earning up to $83,000 a year and children as old as 25 year old. Government-run health care puts politicians in control, turning people into serfs, and giving politicians the power.


Submitted by FAdams on February 28, 2008 - 2:50pm.

If politicians have the...

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If politicians have the power, they won't give it up.

They have the power. We need them to reform the system so we have it. It's our healthcare.

More competition should be allowed in the market, more choices for consumers and less government intervention.


Submitted by FAdams on March 6, 2008 - 1:31pm.

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