Do you support succession for Arizona to leave the union?

[Frank Lee]

First, "the best form of insurance IS a federal plan.... just ask your congressman if he will give his up..." is completely unrelated to the issue at hand. Congressmen have health care because health care has been tied to employment. I don't think that's a smart thing, but whatever. To then say, "Oh, that means government health care is great!" is not a good argument because the cost would be far too great for every person in the country to have that health care.

My comment was 'tongue in cheek' in nature. The health care and retirement plans our congress has, is far superior and costs them less than any group plan out there. Its clear that IT is one thing that will not CHANGE. I am not suggesting it is a plan for the masses, for I am sure, the Congress' employer(s) are paying dearly for the coverage.

Tying health care to employment has been the corporate directive from day one. Tax policy has encouraged that. Now we are seeing businesses, especially small ones, getting pinched due to the rising costs. Should it be mandatory for the business to offer coverage ?

And furthermore.... our congress has allowed Medicare to hemorrhage into the state it is in... nobody wanted to make a hard decision or even mess with it for fear of voter back lash. Say one thing about changing Medicare that can be negatively twisted by your political adversaries, and you will have 3 busloads of AARP-ers at your office (after breakfast at Hardies) If Medicare was a healthy entity, and the gov had displayed the ability to run it properly, with out the excessive fraud, it would be much easier for people to grasp a federal plan option for everyone. Same with the VA... if they could actually get it functioning to the point of participative approval. Nobody has ANY confidence in DC anymore.

We are precariously requesting these corporate-puppets to turn the mountain into a molehill.
But something has to be done.

What kind of plan do you have ??? Warden ? Impulse ? Ma Dog ? Go7? Bueller ? Bueller ?

When was the last time you 'applied' for individual coverage ? If you have group insurance, do you know how much the 'Cobra' plan will be if you are laid off ? Any of you have any pre-existing conditions ?

I'm not fightpicking here, nor trying to define anyone by their situation...

I am just curious as to how many have actually 'tested' the private market lately. I have... and it certainly has changed my ideas on the whole thing. Just hope, if/when that time comes, you have more options than what is presently out there.


I can only assume this... but I'd bet, the biggest noisemakers at these townholler meetings have good affordable health insurance. And it seems most are 62+.

[Sun Scorched]

One of the partners at my firm just turned 65 and elected not to be included in our corporate policy because his coverage would raise our premium a great deal.

He had COBRA from the firm that we all left and elected instead to go with Medicare due to the cost savings of a government sponsored program versus private industry.... was he wrong.

I had been under the impression that Medicare was free, or close to it. Guess what, it's around $95 a month if you don't make any income at all. But, just like our amazing marginal "tax the rich more" system, he ends up paying aroun $2,000 more a year for both him and his wife than he would on COBRA.

Medicare is more expensive than COBRA for those who hold a legitimate job.

What I have found to be the polarizing question in this whole debate is as follows:

"Do you think health care is a right or a privilege?"

[Spartan13]

Also to our global Suns fans, what do you guys outside of the USA think about it?

Canadian Steve Nash fan here. Please tell me im reading this wrong, but are you talking about leaving the USA and forming your own country? If so, I think it'd be dumb lol. Youll have to invest more money into the military and federal legislature and things of that nature. You'd have to invest in more border security, and more bureaucrats to deal with trade and transit with the USA. It would be harder for people to move to your state, so your population, and tourism and tax revenue will decrease, and so will your revenue. It will be harder to attract skilled immigrants who want to move to the US.

And all for what? So you dont have to invest more in health care? Obama's only got another 3-7 years left at most, the political tide will turn once again. And if your worried about the financial damage he might cause your country, think how much worse off you would be if you didnt have the gigantic resilient US economy to rely on. What would stabalize your currency? Whats the current financial situation of your state, how many loans will you need on an international scale to finance your country, and what would that do to your dollar? What natural resources are in Arizona that are valuable in the intl market? How big is your economy that it can bounce back on its own from a housing or industry bubble? Will the Arizona government be able to bail out its failed industries, or will the bill be too big and you wil fall into a longterm depression like Iceland?

Just some things to think about.

[Miklo]

admission of smoking marajuana

Did you verbally admit this or did they just read through your posts on RGM

[eastsidecrossover]

I do not support succession from the union. why, because AZ's economy is really weak and this state could not survive as a country by its self. Maybe Texas or California could due to their economies, but Cali is totally screwed by their POS representatives.

Since health care has popped up, I will say this. This is my opinion and form what I have read that past month is that I do not like the government plan. I see bigger government, more restrictions, more taxes and less liberty. However, the system needs fixing. But IMO, when government gets involved, they only screw it up on all different levels. I have seen this as I have worked for our government. Truth is, this is not helping Obama and can be the black eye of his admin. The thing that irks me is how he and the dem leaders have pushed things down our throat and said we have to pass it without really reading it, letting the people get their hands on it and debate it out. Just poor decisions the first 7 months by him and the dems. Their time IMO with the way they have acted is limited and they know it.