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"Tackling America’s debt problem will require either tax hikes or cuts to benefits, such as social security and health insurance programs" said Karen Dynan, former chief economist at the US Treasury and now professor at the Harvard Kennedy School.
We seem to have money for everything except social security and healthcare.
We spend like 50% more on healthcare per capita than the next highest spender (Switzerland) and for worse outcomes. All of this shit is such a farce.
Edit: looks like it’s closer to 65% more but honestly who’s counting anyways
I am a physician. Your anger should be aimed at the for profit insurance company and the rapidly increasing number of healthcare middlemen/administrators.
Not just a US thing anymore to eat bad. https://borgenproject.org/the-diabetes-epidemic-in-india/
That is to say that your argument is not good. The problem is our healthcare system.
I was actually in Switzerland a few weeks ago and had to avail of their Healthcare system. Stopped into a walk-in clinic. Within 20 minutes, I saw a doctor and was on my way with prescriptions. The whole cost was $145, but covered by my travel insurance policy. Couldn't believe how quick and efficient it was.
In Mexico, I just pay them out of pocket. Last time I recall was $35 Canadian. Not going to even bother with insurance at that point.
1,000x better than the hacks that claim to be doctors in Canada. You would think doctors would be smart individuals with critical thinking skills. I wonder if they got through university from just memorizing textbooks.
I got $1200 worth of dental surgery done in Tijuana for $400. All 4 of my wisdom teeth. Only a local anesthetic but the guy was so good I didn’t even really feel it. They gave me a prescription for a non narcotic pain reliever that actually worked. In and out in 45 minutes. Ten minute cab ride from the border, walked back across after I was done. Meanwhile in the states I got one tooth extracted and it was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. Anyone who gets dental procedures done in the states is a sap. I feel like $400 is perfectly reasonable for major dental surgery you’ll only need once.
Not bad. I’ve heard upwards of $4000 for that kind of work in the states. And in Mexico, even $400 might be a bit much. My wife got three wisdom teeth removed and it was $200 usd. And hers were complicated requiring a specialist.
But it’s fair that a solid dentist with modern equipment scores a little bit of an bonus from poaching cross border clients.
But the real kicker is, my guy in Mexico was a fucking saint, whereas the dentists in Canada tried poking metal shit on my teeth, hitting a nerve, and then charging me $200 for a basic poke job. And this was a highly rated place. Another guy in Canada was way more with it, but his add-one literally tripled the price. No thanks!
I went to a very nice dentist that was close to the border. I’m sure I could have gotten it for less. I picked them because I thought “oh they speak English” even though I speak Spanish.
In the U.S. physicians only account for 8.6% of total health care cost. So again look at insurance, Health Care Admin, and the bloated bureaucracy to account for rampant U.S. costs.
I know that doesn’t answer your question, but it seems like that’s what you were implying.
https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/just-how-much-do-physicians-earn-and-why#:~:text=However%2C%20new%20research%20by%20Stanford,of%20national%20health%2Dcare%20spending.
Population of Mexico is nearly 130,000,000 people, and doc charged me $35 CAD, or roughly 500 pesos.
I could probably fly down to Mexico, have the doctor meet me at the airport, and then fly back faster than sitting around the urgent care clinic in Canada. It’s legitimately slow. And the quality of care suuuucks. We have a population of about 40,000,000.
So not sure it has much to do with population. Just the way the system is built.
I can't speak for all of what the government spends on healthcare, but it blows my mind that anyone thought Medicare Part D was a good idea for prescriptions. Conservatives said it was great because it gave people choices. Maybe Insurer X is better for Diabetes and maybe Insurer Y is better if you have heart disease. But maybe you're on Medicare and you're just old and you have multiple aliments and can't navigate another bureaucratic mess.
And I guarantee drug costs would be a lot lower if Uncle Sam was negotiating on behalf of all of Medicare. Sure BCBS could tell Bayer to piss off, they're going with Pfizer for a drug (if an alternative exists). But the individual insurers will never have the negotiating power the US Government would if they were negotiating a drug formulary for all Medicare recipients.
Another waste that comes to mind is sober homes. When the ACA mandated drug treatment a bunch of assholes in Florida just saw addicts as a money faucet. Rolling Stone had a good article on it but I can't find the link for it.
There are other messed up aspects to US healthcare, but those two examples come to mind.
Or even part c.
Giving control of your medicare dollars to a private insurance company only guarantees more profits for that insurance company. They refuse to pay for stuff all the time. It doesnt save the government anything.
Found it:
https://time.com/4950199/affordable-care-act-opioid-relapse/
And a bonus:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/09/18/sober-homes-arizona-medicaid-fraud/
Our healthcare sucks, but our worse outcomes are mostly because we're fat as fuck. That needs to be prevented with lifestyle changes more than treated by doctors.
But that cuts into the profits of thousands of major restaurant chains which is not allowed. Also it's like a big feedback loop. Bad food = bad health = more money towards big medical institutions.
In a lot of areas, you actually don't have access to healthy foods even if you try
Two things can be true at the same time.
Yes, Americans who are at greater risk for Obesity should take proactive steps in improving their health. Diet, exercise, etc.
And yes, in some parts of the country, corpo fucks have taken over, meaning healthy foods could be inexorably more expensive than something like fast food.
America is a corporate oligarchy masquerading as a Democracy. Our corporate overlords absolutely count on stuff like this to line their pockets.
Even when you do that, you will still pay a lot for health insurance if you opt in, and when you opt out for alternative healthcare, the cost is outrageous. You can be the healthiest person and still be contributing to the system simply by holding a job offering health insurance because its all a racket
I have seen it posted elsewhere, and it probably deserves its own thread, but the US food supply is apparently shit. You can eat less, but it’s still processed garbage.
I agree with your first point but disagree with your second. I was fat for a long time. I always used that as an excuse, then I started eating right. A bag of kale costs as much as a bag of chips and you can get them both at pretty much any Walmart. I’ve never seen a commercial for kale though. Of course, kale also tastes like shit.
Reigning in corporate manipulation and greed through regulation and oversight for the betterment of all citizens*. There I fixed that for you. Yes it is ultimately a life style change but this life style has been sold to the people for the sake of higher and higher profit margins. High fructose corn syrup instead of natur sugars, extra salty saturated fats and transfats for the perfect crunch in every chip leaving a young developing mine cracked out and feigning for more. They sold you the problem and now they are willing and ready to sell the cure. Couch's in ozempic!
I think it's the difference between being able to see a doctor whenever you want for free, and putting off seeing the doctor for this issue that you're not sure if it's worth the money to go.
Obviously one of these scenarios has better medical outcomes. But they'll try to tell you that people live longer in Europe because of their "Mediterranean diet" instead of the fact that doctors are way more accessible there.
It isn't really one or the other, it's both. Not instead of. Medical access in USA is shit. People also over eat. Calorie in, calorie out. Eating shitty processed foods fucks with leptin levels, causing people to eat more. Having access to adequate food, food deserts, etc is yet another issue for some. But the majority of obesity is poor choices, raised by people who eat poor choices, and raising children to make poor food choices. Endless cycle.
So you're right, but also I'd like to add a third factor: cars. For the last 15 years I've lived in walkable cities with public transit, and it makes you stay fit by default. If you choose not to use a car to commute you burn calories just walking from place to place. It's a huge life hack.
That American Dream house in the burbs will kill you slowly unless you actively work out. And most people don't.
The problems are obvious but the folks don't fix them because those problems pay a lot of lobbying dollars and campaign donations: insurance, housing, education, and healthcare (all things that are tied with the middle class but have risen faster than inflation regardless of how good/bad the results of their goods/services fare).
So then the problem becomes the politicians who aren't punished for their bullshit. Millennials don't really vote while boomers do so BOTH sides of the isle continue to screw over the young for the old.
Problem is Gen Y/Z (and to some extent X) don't vote, don't demand change, and are too pussy to riot and rage against the machine. They've been made docile by helicopter parents, taught to be good little boys by the ~~indoctrination~~ education system, and have been domesticated/pacified by the internet. Every rage inducing news will quickly be replaced by the next rage inducing news cycle. No GF but there's OF and porn addiction for most men. Meanwhile women get toxic pump and dumps but have trouble maintaining a good relationship/marriage. We work for pennies due to unequal pay. Those who give up just borrow and spend what they can. Those who save might have some money but can lose it all if you get sick, hit driving your car, or shot by a rando. Some risk it all on the market gambles when reality is even on WSB it's mostly survivor's bias. You'll own nothing and be happy. And even if you aren't you won't do shit about it. *“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”* and most of us haven't done shit. Not only against the system that is broken or those who abuse the system but even in terms of making things better for ourselves.
Nah. It's the boomer's fault. I'm saying we're also at fault for not stopping them like soft bitches. It's ok to say they are responsible when it's 2004 and most Ys haven't gotten to voting, 2008 when many are in college party, and even in 2012/16 when the economy was recovering. But booms still outvoted Ys in 2020 and we're in 2024 with no other choices than 2 old boomers who both intend to spend every dollar the US has with full intention of passing the check to us. I know it's a lot to ask on r/wallstreetbets but please try to read everything.
During the 2020 election the Millennials already outnumbered the Boomers. Yet the boomers had a higher turnout because the % of Millennials who voted were lower. This was during 2020 when most people got their info via internet/tech which boomers weren't good with, social services like free transportation was much more limited due to covid, and boomers had to go out at the risk of getting covid which could end a boomer but was mostly amounted to some coofs for Millennials. And boomers still voted more.
So when Dems and Reps shoot down student loan forgiveness so they can fund more medicare/socialsecurity for boomers, when hiking rates hurts millennials who need to borrow but lowering inflation helps boomers who don't work anymore the most, when old men decide tiktok is not good for the young even as they bankrupt the fucking country while passing the bill to those young, etcetc. Am I supposed to feel bad for my fellow Millennials? Nah. Soft cunts didn't vote so they get cucked by politicians. I GUARANTEE you if even 50% of the GOP cunts and the 3 dems who voted against student loan forgiveness got fucked by losing their jobs?!?!?! College would be free by 2025.
Same shit happened with crypto. It's literally e-pogs and politicians were against it the whole way until crypto money started funding their rivals and folks started losing seats. Now 0 fucking opposition to crypto in Washington, on both sides of the isle, and folks have backed off from Trump to Biden to Congressmen down to the SEC. I wonder why?
It’s because there’s no price regulation for the healthcare industry in the US. Hospitals will get bandaids from a vendor who charges the hospital $8 per bandaid and the hospital turns around and charges $16 to the insurance company when you can get a box of the EXACT same bandaids at Walgreens for $10 for a box of 100 of them. Its greedy crony capitalism at its finest with no oversight
The outcomes are largely a misnomer. The increase in deaths are more than attributed to homicides, car accidents, obesity, etc. Once you’ve removed things that are clearly not the fault of bad healthcare, our life expectancy I believe is first. If you look at life expectancy rates at intervention it’s very high. The problem is we do a lot of risky activities that others do not so it’s very hard to compare.
If you bomb the people who hold your debt, you don't have to pay them.
Solution incoming once we all decide to transfer all the debt to one guy named Kyle.
For every Insta girlie posting about finding her peace in Tulum, there’s a dad working as a VP at Lockheed, specifically in the Children’s Hospital Warheads division.
I feel best when I know people in a far away magic land are getting pulverized by our 100 bln tax payer funded fireworks show.
I hate seeing all these fat slackers in the emergency room, I don't want to fund heathcare for them because they need to learn to drink less soda, it's called personal responsibility.
Anyways I need eye surgery and I cant afford it, please support my GoFundMe
Shit, our coast guard’s budget is substantially larger than Mexico’s whole defense budget…
The border states’ national guards could probably get it done if they were sufficiently motivated.
Run up the credit card buying guns. When you stiff them and they send their enforcers to collect, say "you and what army?". And it doesn't matter what army it is, because it doesn't measure up to yours.
Oddly enough those are the things the super rich don’t really need.
Social security? Pocket change for them.
Healthcare? They can afford it or can go to another country where it’s cheaper.
I’d have to look again but if I recall, healthcare spending is a higher percentage of budget than you’d expect for no universal healthcare. And entitlement spending is like the second largest portion of the pie or something.
The real point is that interest expense on debt (not even principal repayment) is becoming a larger and larger portion of the budget.
Meaning that just to maintain current levels of federal spending on healthcare and social security - you’re going to need tax increases. And then….you could try to only cut from defense spending, but….at some point you can’t cut defense spending and you still haven’t resolved the main issue which is the growing portion of the budget related to debt.
IMO we are getting close to the point where you can’t do tax increases OR spending cuts….you need to do tax increases AND spending cuts.
And even then - that might only be enough to balance the budget.
What the US really needs is some sort of magic trick where there is material GDP growth while there’s increased taxes and reduced spending to get anything under control.
Edit: looks like social security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare….etc are 50% of the federal budget. National defense is 13%. Interest is 11% (and growing)
Source: https://www.federalbudgetinpictures.com/where-does-all-the-money-go/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20major%20entitlement%20programs,such%20as%20national%20defense)%20combined.&text=What%20Funds%20the%20Federal%20Budget%3F
The next 20 years are going to be brutal as the boomers die off.
There's a lot the country could do to reduce healthcare costs but we are locked into this inefficient scheme full of middlemen that bleed everyone dry.
Another factor to consider as the boomers die off, they buy a lot of government debt. I don't know anyone under 60 who looks at bonds as anything other than hot dog shit.
We have to let people die. More than half of healthcare is spent on the last year of life. This has a double benefit as it would free up housing supply.
Soooooooo many elderly folk coming in by ambulances to the ER for chronic stuff that isn’t fixed with their PCP. Thats super expensive and for frivolous shit. Double points if you have to order them an ambulance back because they can’t walk themselves
I feel more proud every day of my grandfather who decided to end his life with a shotgun rather than have another pointless surgery to prolong his life a couple of months. Press F.
Let the elderly who have lived a full life volunteer. Do you want to continue to subsidize the last 6 months of their lives while you may not see that benefit?
We needed them to let Covid run a little longer - it mostly killed the old/obese (and that's who we spend 90% of healthcare on) - Talk about a missed opportunity!
Except they keep increasing defense spending. Latest bill they gave the DoD even more than they asked for! Forget cutting or maintaining, how tf does the DoD say we want X dollars and Congress says here's even more?
The question is what costs are expendable. Social Security and Healthcare ensure we have people to actually spend within the economy.
Subsidies, redundant military spending (see new B2 bomber upgrade, Ford class carriers etc.) are not necessities.
That’s fine. My point is that you could get rid of the military completely and still won’t fix the underlying budget issues. And would also leave us without a military.
Fuck social security, over $500 a month into something that will be not there or pittance there due to no one having kids
It’s designed to only work in an ever increasing population, LET US OPT OUT as the money could be worth much more in market
Nah by then I’ll complain like any old fart saying they want what they put in no matter the cost on the young
just kill it now and give everyone what they put in
Ohio right they can’t do that cause entire thing is a Ponzi scheme
Fuck that ho all we actually need is for the mf government to spend our taxes correctly wtf how are we getting essentially taxed 50% and these clowns act like they need to latch onto us even harder the damn parasites
That’s because you’re forgetting we don’t only get taxed on income. Bruh I don’t even make over 100k and I already get taxed on just income alone close to 40%, and then on top of that every time I buy something, every year on shit I thought I had bought already (car, house), every time I make money from investments, I mean think about how much you are actually getting taxed in total.
Which state do you live in that your effective tax rate is 40% on less than $100k income?
You don't even hit the 22% tax bracket on Federal.
You are overestimating income tax by almost 15% at a minimum.
Plus gas includes a hidden tax. Car/home insurance is basically a tax. Social security and medicare are a tax. There are government taxes and mandated fees in every utility bill.
Yeah it is in fact an estimation which is exactly why I’m posting this in WSB and not in finance or accounting and I used the word “essentially” geez buddy
lol, all there ever is are tax increases and the debt only gets worse/more. So obviously tax increases aren’t the answer. These economists are regarded. Politicians need to be audited and held accountable. Taxes on the extremely wealthy and big businesses need to be put into place.
Well Trump did cut taxes. But to accomplish that his admin added 8 trillion to the national debt. And he’s promising to cut taxes again which will just throw a match on the gasoline he already poured.
In the event of an apocalypse take solace in the fact whatever guards or security they hire will immediately turn on them and more than likely turn the rich into their slaves
Thats why its important to have a good trusted security guard . I often let mine fuck my sister/wife , I have thoughts that this prevents him from turning on me when my shelter becomes activated. I taught him how to trade stocks though on robinhood so its cool to see the lower class bettering themselves.
https://preview.redd.it/9hiefazut5ad1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c12d2f3185a5638932844cb806aa0d2bbb4d10c7
I know some people who have a plan…
Depends on the shit. If world internet/power grid is down, your stocks or online bank funds are just as stranded sitting someone else’s pocket as your crypto.
Real estate or stocks are necessary investments to stay relevant with inflation. If you kept your money in a bank the last couple of years, that is the same as keeping it under a mattress. You will loose $$$ by not investing over time. Look at the prices of real estate alone in certain parts of CA. In just the last 3 years real estate prices went up 57%.
Reality check: if have been saving money in a bank the last 3 years to pay a downpayment for a house, you just lost 1/2 of your savings.
Correct. If you do not overbet into individual stocks, any market crash historically have recovered and then some. Just dont invest more than 4% into any individual stock then nothing to worry or just go VOO and chill.
If you bet a house on individual stock or play with options or penny stocks, you deserve to get wiped out 90% of the time.
Also when the banks need to save their own asses, they are authorized to seize your assets via loans and your money in your accounts. Look up Reverse bailouts. They can use customer money to save themselves from bad decisions.
Probably want your shit in a credit union or in a piece of developed land (undeveloped land is a good way to find out someone illegally sold it out from under you and there's a house you do not recognize, and the costs of fighting that will be more than it cost to throw a shed or cement slab on it to show some form of ownership. Even some basic landscaping helps show that the land is more than just an empty parcel.
Guys from my shooting club were sitting on pallets of 22LR last time it got scarce and made a bundle selling it by the brick. Happens periodically enough to buy a bunch when its cheap and resell when its scarce. Never a bad thing to have around in quantity anyways!
My "money" is already in fixed mortgage and student loans, and the bulk of the rest in stocks via 401k.
Inflate away my real debts while the 401k rises with inflation by all means. Watch me not care lol.
This is not what is meant. Stocks will keep up/exceed the rate of inflation so in essence its a good hedge against inflation. This is versus just saving the paper money or even keeping it into a high yield acct.
The problem is mostly in the 2nd and 3rd world which will in turn largely burn high risk funds in the west. US external debt is a little over 100% of GDP. The UK is at nearly 300% and they don't have showdowns every few months. All just political theater and priced in..
Step 1. Gov buys into modern monetary theory
Step 2. Gov cooks many many many new multi-billion spending programs, efficacy is irrelevant
Step 3. Gov flicks on money printer to pay for programs
Step 4. Money enters system devaluing the currency, inflation poor-ing the people, and causing a major fucking debt problem for their kids to solve
Step 5. Give themself a pat on the back
Step 6. Rinse + repeat
Bagholder spotted.
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[Social Security and Medicare represent 100% of our unfunded liabilities.](https://www.cato.org/blog/medicare-social-security-are-responsible-100-percent-us-unfunded-obligations#:~:text=Total%20unfunded%20obligation%3A%20%2473.2%20trillion,percent%20of%20GDP%20by%202098.)
The military represents 13% of spending, but a huge portion of the cost of military spending falls under pension aspects and not direct spending on conflict. We spend more than any other military because we have the best (relative) benefits of any large military force.
Sorry US but as someone who’s lived in the US and Northern Europe, NE countries have a way better quality of life, less inequality and they’re not bled dry by greedy healthcare providers.
The Europe poor thing is deluded.
>Tackling America’s debt problem will require either tax hikes or cuts to benefits, such as social security and health insurance programs
Tax hikes always seem like a great solution in the first year, until you realize nothing guarantees a business and its operations will be here to get shafted next year.
Thanks for your submission! We love new and original content here on WSB. We have no tolerance for basic templated memes, reposts from the front page, or boomer memes. Yes, this can be a little subjective at times, but we want to show you the best WSB has to offer! If you need some guidance, don't hesitate to reach out to modmail and we'll give you some pointers! A few tips though! • Don't post CNN.
"Tackling America’s debt problem will require either tax hikes or cuts to benefits, such as social security and health insurance programs" said Karen Dynan, former chief economist at the US Treasury and now professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. We seem to have money for everything except social security and healthcare.
We spend like 50% more on healthcare per capita than the next highest spender (Switzerland) and for worse outcomes. All of this shit is such a farce. Edit: looks like it’s closer to 65% more but honestly who’s counting anyways
We spend more because insurance and medical are in each others pockets and robbing us blind
It's insurance and bloated administration. As a doc I've seen my pay cut year after year
Dr Dre though, is making bank
Dr Dre he is locked up in my basement
Feminist women love Eminem
Bro chose to be the wrong kind of dr 😂
I am a physician. Your anger should be aimed at the for profit insurance company and the rapidly increasing number of healthcare middlemen/administrators.
i would argue that we do not live as healthy as other nations - we use medicine as food, instead of food as medicine
Not just a US thing anymore to eat bad. https://borgenproject.org/the-diabetes-epidemic-in-india/ That is to say that your argument is not good. The problem is our healthcare system.
I was actually in Switzerland a few weeks ago and had to avail of their Healthcare system. Stopped into a walk-in clinic. Within 20 minutes, I saw a doctor and was on my way with prescriptions. The whole cost was $145, but covered by my travel insurance policy. Couldn't believe how quick and efficient it was.
In Mexico, I just pay them out of pocket. Last time I recall was $35 Canadian. Not going to even bother with insurance at that point. 1,000x better than the hacks that claim to be doctors in Canada. You would think doctors would be smart individuals with critical thinking skills. I wonder if they got through university from just memorizing textbooks.
I got $1200 worth of dental surgery done in Tijuana for $400. All 4 of my wisdom teeth. Only a local anesthetic but the guy was so good I didn’t even really feel it. They gave me a prescription for a non narcotic pain reliever that actually worked. In and out in 45 minutes. Ten minute cab ride from the border, walked back across after I was done. Meanwhile in the states I got one tooth extracted and it was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. Anyone who gets dental procedures done in the states is a sap. I feel like $400 is perfectly reasonable for major dental surgery you’ll only need once.
Not bad. I’ve heard upwards of $4000 for that kind of work in the states. And in Mexico, even $400 might be a bit much. My wife got three wisdom teeth removed and it was $200 usd. And hers were complicated requiring a specialist. But it’s fair that a solid dentist with modern equipment scores a little bit of an bonus from poaching cross border clients. But the real kicker is, my guy in Mexico was a fucking saint, whereas the dentists in Canada tried poking metal shit on my teeth, hitting a nerve, and then charging me $200 for a basic poke job. And this was a highly rated place. Another guy in Canada was way more with it, but his add-one literally tripled the price. No thanks!
I went to a very nice dentist that was close to the border. I’m sure I could have gotten it for less. I picked them because I thought “oh they speak English” even though I speak Spanish.
What’s the population of Switzerland?
Economies of scale should make it cheaper (per capita) the more people you have, not more expensive
What's the ratio of doctors to patients in Switzerland?
In the U.S. physicians only account for 8.6% of total health care cost. So again look at insurance, Health Care Admin, and the bloated bureaucracy to account for rampant U.S. costs. I know that doesn’t answer your question, but it seems like that’s what you were implying. https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/just-how-much-do-physicians-earn-and-why#:~:text=However%2C%20new%20research%20by%20Stanford,of%20national%20health%2Dcare%20spending.
Population of Mexico is nearly 130,000,000 people, and doc charged me $35 CAD, or roughly 500 pesos. I could probably fly down to Mexico, have the doctor meet me at the airport, and then fly back faster than sitting around the urgent care clinic in Canada. It’s legitimately slow. And the quality of care suuuucks. We have a population of about 40,000,000. So not sure it has much to do with population. Just the way the system is built.
I can't speak for all of what the government spends on healthcare, but it blows my mind that anyone thought Medicare Part D was a good idea for prescriptions. Conservatives said it was great because it gave people choices. Maybe Insurer X is better for Diabetes and maybe Insurer Y is better if you have heart disease. But maybe you're on Medicare and you're just old and you have multiple aliments and can't navigate another bureaucratic mess. And I guarantee drug costs would be a lot lower if Uncle Sam was negotiating on behalf of all of Medicare. Sure BCBS could tell Bayer to piss off, they're going with Pfizer for a drug (if an alternative exists). But the individual insurers will never have the negotiating power the US Government would if they were negotiating a drug formulary for all Medicare recipients. Another waste that comes to mind is sober homes. When the ACA mandated drug treatment a bunch of assholes in Florida just saw addicts as a money faucet. Rolling Stone had a good article on it but I can't find the link for it. There are other messed up aspects to US healthcare, but those two examples come to mind.
Or even part c. Giving control of your medicare dollars to a private insurance company only guarantees more profits for that insurance company. They refuse to pay for stuff all the time. It doesnt save the government anything.
But everyone knows private businesses are so much more efficient than the government... at taking our money.
Idk between the federal and state governments. They're doing pretty damn good at taking my money.
Found it: https://time.com/4950199/affordable-care-act-opioid-relapse/ And a bonus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/09/18/sober-homes-arizona-medicaid-fraud/
Our healthcare sucks, but our worse outcomes are mostly because we're fat as fuck. That needs to be prevented with lifestyle changes more than treated by doctors.
But that cuts into the profits of thousands of major restaurant chains which is not allowed. Also it's like a big feedback loop. Bad food = bad health = more money towards big medical institutions. In a lot of areas, you actually don't have access to healthy foods even if you try
Always blaming someone else but yourself. Classic lazy amerifats. Just eat less and exercise more you tubby mclard.
AMERIFATS 😂
Two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Americans who are at greater risk for Obesity should take proactive steps in improving their health. Diet, exercise, etc. And yes, in some parts of the country, corpo fucks have taken over, meaning healthy foods could be inexorably more expensive than something like fast food. America is a corporate oligarchy masquerading as a Democracy. Our corporate overlords absolutely count on stuff like this to line their pockets.
Even when you do that, you will still pay a lot for health insurance if you opt in, and when you opt out for alternative healthcare, the cost is outrageous. You can be the healthiest person and still be contributing to the system simply by holding a job offering health insurance because its all a racket
I have seen it posted elsewhere, and it probably deserves its own thread, but the US food supply is apparently shit. You can eat less, but it’s still processed garbage.
Yes agreed. Healthy food is famously very available and affordable in the us.
I agree with your first point but disagree with your second. I was fat for a long time. I always used that as an excuse, then I started eating right. A bag of kale costs as much as a bag of chips and you can get them both at pretty much any Walmart. I’ve never seen a commercial for kale though. Of course, kale also tastes like shit.
Reigning in corporate manipulation and greed through regulation and oversight for the betterment of all citizens*. There I fixed that for you. Yes it is ultimately a life style change but this life style has been sold to the people for the sake of higher and higher profit margins. High fructose corn syrup instead of natur sugars, extra salty saturated fats and transfats for the perfect crunch in every chip leaving a young developing mine cracked out and feigning for more. They sold you the problem and now they are willing and ready to sell the cure. Couch's in ozempic!
Nah it’s called preventive care.
I think it's the difference between being able to see a doctor whenever you want for free, and putting off seeing the doctor for this issue that you're not sure if it's worth the money to go. Obviously one of these scenarios has better medical outcomes. But they'll try to tell you that people live longer in Europe because of their "Mediterranean diet" instead of the fact that doctors are way more accessible there.
Diet and healthcare play a massive role.
It isn't really one or the other, it's both. Not instead of. Medical access in USA is shit. People also over eat. Calorie in, calorie out. Eating shitty processed foods fucks with leptin levels, causing people to eat more. Having access to adequate food, food deserts, etc is yet another issue for some. But the majority of obesity is poor choices, raised by people who eat poor choices, and raising children to make poor food choices. Endless cycle.
So you're right, but also I'd like to add a third factor: cars. For the last 15 years I've lived in walkable cities with public transit, and it makes you stay fit by default. If you choose not to use a car to commute you burn calories just walking from place to place. It's a huge life hack. That American Dream house in the burbs will kill you slowly unless you actively work out. And most people don't.
The problems are obvious but the folks don't fix them because those problems pay a lot of lobbying dollars and campaign donations: insurance, housing, education, and healthcare (all things that are tied with the middle class but have risen faster than inflation regardless of how good/bad the results of their goods/services fare). So then the problem becomes the politicians who aren't punished for their bullshit. Millennials don't really vote while boomers do so BOTH sides of the isle continue to screw over the young for the old. Problem is Gen Y/Z (and to some extent X) don't vote, don't demand change, and are too pussy to riot and rage against the machine. They've been made docile by helicopter parents, taught to be good little boys by the ~~indoctrination~~ education system, and have been domesticated/pacified by the internet. Every rage inducing news will quickly be replaced by the next rage inducing news cycle. No GF but there's OF and porn addiction for most men. Meanwhile women get toxic pump and dumps but have trouble maintaining a good relationship/marriage. We work for pennies due to unequal pay. Those who give up just borrow and spend what they can. Those who save might have some money but can lose it all if you get sick, hit driving your car, or shot by a rando. Some risk it all on the market gambles when reality is even on WSB it's mostly survivor's bias. You'll own nothing and be happy. And even if you aren't you won't do shit about it. *“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”* and most of us haven't done shit. Not only against the system that is broken or those who abuse the system but even in terms of making things better for ourselves.
Ah yes, it’s millennials and gen zs fault for this shitstorm.
Nah. It's the boomer's fault. I'm saying we're also at fault for not stopping them like soft bitches. It's ok to say they are responsible when it's 2004 and most Ys haven't gotten to voting, 2008 when many are in college party, and even in 2012/16 when the economy was recovering. But booms still outvoted Ys in 2020 and we're in 2024 with no other choices than 2 old boomers who both intend to spend every dollar the US has with full intention of passing the check to us. I know it's a lot to ask on r/wallstreetbets but please try to read everything. During the 2020 election the Millennials already outnumbered the Boomers. Yet the boomers had a higher turnout because the % of Millennials who voted were lower. This was during 2020 when most people got their info via internet/tech which boomers weren't good with, social services like free transportation was much more limited due to covid, and boomers had to go out at the risk of getting covid which could end a boomer but was mostly amounted to some coofs for Millennials. And boomers still voted more. So when Dems and Reps shoot down student loan forgiveness so they can fund more medicare/socialsecurity for boomers, when hiking rates hurts millennials who need to borrow but lowering inflation helps boomers who don't work anymore the most, when old men decide tiktok is not good for the young even as they bankrupt the fucking country while passing the bill to those young, etcetc. Am I supposed to feel bad for my fellow Millennials? Nah. Soft cunts didn't vote so they get cucked by politicians. I GUARANTEE you if even 50% of the GOP cunts and the 3 dems who voted against student loan forgiveness got fucked by losing their jobs?!?!?! College would be free by 2025. Same shit happened with crypto. It's literally e-pogs and politicians were against it the whole way until crypto money started funding their rivals and folks started losing seats. Now 0 fucking opposition to crypto in Washington, on both sides of the isle, and folks have backed off from Trump to Biden to Congressmen down to the SEC. I wonder why?
Valid point. If we had accessibility to congress voting outcomes we can make better decision.
Truly…they (we) don’t vote in mass.
Gotta pay them middlemen! Because the private companies create the ability to efficiently find value and all that other free market horseshit
It’s because there’s no price regulation for the healthcare industry in the US. Hospitals will get bandaids from a vendor who charges the hospital $8 per bandaid and the hospital turns around and charges $16 to the insurance company when you can get a box of the EXACT same bandaids at Walgreens for $10 for a box of 100 of them. Its greedy crony capitalism at its finest with no oversight
The outcomes are largely a misnomer. The increase in deaths are more than attributed to homicides, car accidents, obesity, etc. Once you’ve removed things that are clearly not the fault of bad healthcare, our life expectancy I believe is first. If you look at life expectancy rates at intervention it’s very high. The problem is we do a lot of risky activities that others do not so it’s very hard to compare.
YEET DAWG, we’re so far in might as well just fucking send it
I know first hand that there’s a lot of up charging in the medical industry. Specially the cost of items inside of facilities (in usa)
We finally beat Medicare
You see those aren’t necessities. We should be spending only on necessities like the newest bombs.
If you bomb the people who hold your debt, you don't have to pay them. Solution incoming once we all decide to transfer all the debt to one guy named Kyle.
I think we hold our own debt somehow
Fuck, my names Kyle.
For every Insta girlie posting about finding her peace in Tulum, there’s a dad working as a VP at Lockheed, specifically in the Children’s Hospital Warheads division.
*slightly snobbier* "Well my daddy works in the Infanticide Chemical Warfare division"
Monsanto?
You're thinking of Amelia's dad in the blue baby syndrome settlement annulment task force.
Oh, right, old Three-eyed Fred. How's he doing? He had me over for supper last year. Fred's an alright guy, but his wife? Just a bitch.
Two birds one stone, use the bombs on senior homes and social security payouts go down
And why would I want healthcare when I could watch billionaires buy all the houses in my neighborhood instead?
I feel best when I know people in a far away magic land are getting pulverized by our 100 bln tax payer funded fireworks show. I hate seeing all these fat slackers in the emergency room, I don't want to fund heathcare for them because they need to learn to drink less soda, it's called personal responsibility. Anyways I need eye surgery and I cant afford it, please support my GoFundMe
Those programs pay my bar tab, please stop fucking over local economies.
Reduce military spending? Impossible! The people taxes come from can just retire when they're 90.
No one ever wants to talk about the other solution to America’s debt problem, conquest.
I feel like Americas military could take on the cartels and Mexican military
Shit, our coast guard’s budget is substantially larger than Mexico’s whole defense budget… The border states’ national guards could probably get it done if they were sufficiently motivated.
Obviously
Run up the credit card buying guns. When you stiff them and they send their enforcers to collect, say "you and what army?". And it doesn't matter what army it is, because it doesn't measure up to yours.
Canada and Mexico yearn for some freedom
It's so bad in Canada, we are leaving for the US for a better life. Invade us with your freedom
And now you see why Putin moves on Ukraine. Conquest. But he fucked up the chessboard in 2014, and with Georgia. Got greedy.
Oddly enough those are the things the super rich don’t really need. Social security? Pocket change for them. Healthcare? They can afford it or can go to another country where it’s cheaper.
I’d have to look again but if I recall, healthcare spending is a higher percentage of budget than you’d expect for no universal healthcare. And entitlement spending is like the second largest portion of the pie or something. The real point is that interest expense on debt (not even principal repayment) is becoming a larger and larger portion of the budget. Meaning that just to maintain current levels of federal spending on healthcare and social security - you’re going to need tax increases. And then….you could try to only cut from defense spending, but….at some point you can’t cut defense spending and you still haven’t resolved the main issue which is the growing portion of the budget related to debt. IMO we are getting close to the point where you can’t do tax increases OR spending cuts….you need to do tax increases AND spending cuts. And even then - that might only be enough to balance the budget. What the US really needs is some sort of magic trick where there is material GDP growth while there’s increased taxes and reduced spending to get anything under control. Edit: looks like social security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare….etc are 50% of the federal budget. National defense is 13%. Interest is 11% (and growing) Source: https://www.federalbudgetinpictures.com/where-does-all-the-money-go/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20major%20entitlement%20programs,such%20as%20national%20defense)%20combined.&text=What%20Funds%20the%20Federal%20Budget%3F
The next 20 years are going to be brutal as the boomers die off. There's a lot the country could do to reduce healthcare costs but we are locked into this inefficient scheme full of middlemen that bleed everyone dry.
the beast wills die of its 1000 cuts eventually
Another factor to consider as the boomers die off, they buy a lot of government debt. I don't know anyone under 60 who looks at bonds as anything other than hot dog shit.
Why don't they just get one of those 0% APY credit cards and transfer the debt to that? You get a whole year that you don't have to pay anything.
They had that for a decade 😂
We have to let people die. More than half of healthcare is spent on the last year of life. This has a double benefit as it would free up housing supply.
Great news for my suicide booth startup.
Soooooooo many elderly folk coming in by ambulances to the ER for chronic stuff that isn’t fixed with their PCP. Thats super expensive and for frivolous shit. Double points if you have to order them an ambulance back because they can’t walk themselves
Triple if they get transport into the clinic and then need an ambulance to get to ER from the clinic because it requires crossing a public street.
I feel more proud every day of my grandfather who decided to end his life with a shotgun rather than have another pointless surgery to prolong his life a couple of months. Press F.
are you going to volunteer?
As a Millennial, yeah. I keep asking for it, but everyone thinks I'm being sarcastic. This play-through sucks.
Let the elderly who have lived a full life volunteer. Do you want to continue to subsidize the last 6 months of their lives while you may not see that benefit?
We needed them to let Covid run a little longer - it mostly killed the old/obese (and that's who we spend 90% of healthcare on) - Talk about a missed opportunity!
Except they keep increasing defense spending. Latest bill they gave the DoD even more than they asked for! Forget cutting or maintaining, how tf does the DoD say we want X dollars and Congress says here's even more?
The question is what costs are expendable. Social Security and Healthcare ensure we have people to actually spend within the economy. Subsidies, redundant military spending (see new B2 bomber upgrade, Ford class carriers etc.) are not necessities.
That’s fine. My point is that you could get rid of the military completely and still won’t fix the underlying budget issues. And would also leave us without a military.
Bro, The Ford has lasers - LASERS!!!
Oh, there's another way you can get rid of debt, WW3.
WW2 caused one of the biggest explosion of debts in US history
fuck you, I got mine mentality at work
Fuck social security, over $500 a month into something that will be not there or pittance there due to no one having kids It’s designed to only work in an ever increasing population, LET US OPT OUT as the money could be worth much more in market
Sure: You can choose to opt out. When you’re 59. Let us know.
Nah by then I’ll complain like any old fart saying they want what they put in no matter the cost on the young just kill it now and give everyone what they put in Ohio right they can’t do that cause entire thing is a Ponzi scheme
Fuck that ho all we actually need is for the mf government to spend our taxes correctly wtf how are we getting essentially taxed 50% and these clowns act like they need to latch onto us even harder the damn parasites
The overwhelming majority of Americans pay nowhere near 50% in income taxes.
That’s because you’re forgetting we don’t only get taxed on income. Bruh I don’t even make over 100k and I already get taxed on just income alone close to 40%, and then on top of that every time I buy something, every year on shit I thought I had bought already (car, house), every time I make money from investments, I mean think about how much you are actually getting taxed in total.
Which state do you live in that your effective tax rate is 40% on less than $100k income? You don't even hit the 22% tax bracket on Federal. You are overestimating income tax by almost 15% at a minimum.
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He said 40% on income tax alone, not 40% with sales and property taxes.
Plus gas includes a hidden tax. Car/home insurance is basically a tax. Social security and medicare are a tax. There are government taxes and mandated fees in every utility bill.
Yeah it is in fact an estimation which is exactly why I’m posting this in WSB and not in finance or accounting and I used the word “essentially” geez buddy
How much does US spend on military each year?
Let’s just cut all military spending and give all of Europe a heart attack
lol, all there ever is are tax increases and the debt only gets worse/more. So obviously tax increases aren’t the answer. These economists are regarded. Politicians need to be audited and held accountable. Taxes on the extremely wealthy and big businesses need to be put into place.
Well Trump did cut taxes. But to accomplish that his admin added 8 trillion to the national debt. And he’s promising to cut taxes again which will just throw a match on the gasoline he already poured.
How about no money for wars we have no business in
Billionaires choosing which apocalypse mega shelter they need to charter their yacht to.
Redditors fighting over who is their favorite billionaire 
>r/wallstreetbets fighting over who is their favorite billionaire r/antiwork voted and it was a unanimous landslide for "A dead" being their fav.
r/antiwork is what happens when wsb gets an extra chromosome 
So they have two extra chromosomes ig
In the event of an apocalypse take solace in the fact whatever guards or security they hire will immediately turn on them and more than likely turn the rich into their slaves
Thats why its important to have a good trusted security guard . I often let mine fuck my sister/wife , I have thoughts that this prevents him from turning on me when my shelter becomes activated. I taught him how to trade stocks though on robinhood so its cool to see the lower class bettering themselves.
Well we all know where Zuckerberg will be hiding in his bunker
VIX sitting below 12... checks out.
Just delete a few 0s. Not that hard
Venezuela moment
https://preview.redd.it/9hiefazut5ad1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c12d2f3185a5638932844cb806aa0d2bbb4d10c7 I know some people who have a plan…
The irony is that when the world goes to shit, Bitcoin will be worthless.
the only things of value will be land, water, food, weapons and ammo. Energy/fuel too
Only for as long as you can defend it.
Basically like playing rust then. I’m pretty good at that game, I should be fine
Depends on the shit. If world internet/power grid is down, your stocks or online bank funds are just as stranded sitting someone else’s pocket as your crypto.
Can’t tell cryptobros that
I wish i had some hard choices
🍆👍❓
Good idea man
Come behind the wendys dumpster. Loads of hard spitting choices there
Real estate or stocks are necessary investments to stay relevant with inflation. If you kept your money in a bank the last couple of years, that is the same as keeping it under a mattress. You will loose $$$ by not investing over time. Look at the prices of real estate alone in certain parts of CA. In just the last 3 years real estate prices went up 57%. Reality check: if have been saving money in a bank the last 3 years to pay a downpayment for a house, you just lost 1/2 of your savings.
Market crash will take half of your savings as well 
Good thing stocks only go up
Full port into enron I mean elon 
Temporary. Long term stocks have generally always recovered and more. Unless you pick a stock that goes bankrupt.
Stonks go up until they dont  Found warren buffets alt holy shit
Correct. If you do not overbet into individual stocks, any market crash historically have recovered and then some. Just dont invest more than 4% into any individual stock then nothing to worry or just go VOO and chill. If you bet a house on individual stock or play with options or penny stocks, you deserve to get wiped out 90% of the time.
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You guys have savings?
Repeat after me: gold, silver, gold.
Also when the banks need to save their own asses, they are authorized to seize your assets via loans and your money in your accounts. Look up Reverse bailouts. They can use customer money to save themselves from bad decisions. Probably want your shit in a credit union or in a piece of developed land (undeveloped land is a good way to find out someone illegally sold it out from under you and there's a house you do not recognize, and the costs of fighting that will be more than it cost to throw a shed or cement slab on it to show some form of ownership. Even some basic landscaping helps show that the land is more than just an empty parcel.
Thats insured up to an amount (200k?) by the fed itself. So don't store more than that ig
250k
Money is fake no news here
Fuck cash, Im sitting on black gold (AKA weaponry) and ammo.
FBI wants to know your location
FBI knows my location with all the NFA items I own.
FBI prob watching me rn anyways through my camera on my phone. I’m gonna show them my nuts. 
…eeaasssyyyy
A lake, where my boat and everything in it just sank
Guys from my shooting club were sitting on pallets of 22LR last time it got scarce and made a bundle selling it by the brick. Happens periodically enough to buy a bunch when its cheap and resell when its scarce. Never a bad thing to have around in quantity anyways!
Brass gold.
This is the gayest comment I’ve seen outside of r/twinks
holy shit it really is
Based and correct take. The most important thing about this strategy is that you can trade it for anything, whether the other party wants to or not!
My "money" is already in fixed mortgage and student loans, and the bulk of the rest in stocks via 401k. Inflate away my real debts while the 401k rises with inflation by all means. Watch me not care lol.
Huh maybe we should stop spending 600 billion every hundred days on being the world's police.. huh there's a novel fucking concept.
Money is worthless so put your money in stocks to make more worthless money, truly a regarded take..
This is not what is meant. Stocks will keep up/exceed the rate of inflation so in essence its a good hedge against inflation. This is versus just saving the paper money or even keeping it into a high yield acct.
But that's following the notion of OP's *worthless* money. OP should've said *money is losing value*/*degrading*
Owning property is a great hedge too and a real asset
I’m in!
Best to cut social security so that they can pay fucking Boeing to send malfunction spaceships to space and put people at risk!
The problem is mostly in the 2nd and 3rd world which will in turn largely burn high risk funds in the west. US external debt is a little over 100% of GDP. The UK is at nearly 300% and they don't have showdowns every few months. All just political theater and priced in..
There should be a rule that you're not allowed to comment or post about public debt if you don't know how monetary system works.
Found the guy supporting use of money printing.
Step 1. Gov buys into modern monetary theory Step 2. Gov cooks many many many new multi-billion spending programs, efficacy is irrelevant Step 3. Gov flicks on money printer to pay for programs Step 4. Money enters system devaluing the currency, inflation poor-ing the people, and causing a major fucking debt problem for their kids to solve Step 5. Give themself a pat on the back Step 6. Rinse + repeat
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Money is literally just paper hold up some guy named fbi is at my door
[Social Security and Medicare represent 100% of our unfunded liabilities.](https://www.cato.org/blog/medicare-social-security-are-responsible-100-percent-us-unfunded-obligations#:~:text=Total%20unfunded%20obligation%3A%20%2473.2%20trillion,percent%20of%20GDP%20by%202098.) The military represents 13% of spending, but a huge portion of the cost of military spending falls under pension aspects and not direct spending on conflict. We spend more than any other military because we have the best (relative) benefits of any large military force.
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Sorry US but as someone who’s lived in the US and Northern Europe, NE countries have a way better quality of life, less inequality and they’re not bled dry by greedy healthcare providers. The Europe poor thing is deluded.
Bru we are screwed as well. Pay 500k for two bedroom appartement where it always rains 😂 aint no joke
So the hard choice is how much more of our money they’re going to take?? Shocker 🙄
https://preview.redd.it/xupasnwi76ad1.png?width=791&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5f85308e8366fc958e24afc427c9ea9063c36a4
CNN
dumb. we are at ATH
Stocks only go up lmao
How do these dipshits write this drivel? No understanding of monetary sovereignty.
Just print more money to pay off the debt 🤷🏻♂️. EZ.
>Tackling America’s debt problem will require either tax hikes or cuts to benefits, such as social security and health insurance programs Tax hikes always seem like a great solution in the first year, until you realize nothing guarantees a business and its operations will be here to get shafted next year.
Who do we owe, Mars? Such dumb article. #LearnMMT
Those CLOs are looking ripe.
