How Can Trump Shut Down The Us?

[chrissa1]

How can he shut down the government when it means that government employees won’t get paid?

Am I right in thinking that, and what do Americans think of it?

[-Talbot-]

jim360
It doesn't always work, and this time in particular it's hard to see how a compromise can be reached. You either build a wall or you don't -- where's the middle ground?




You agree to build the same length of barrier/wall/fence that the Dems did under the previous president?

[vetuste_ennemi]

Re Obamacare: I think there's a constitutional element to the opposition as well as the ideological and practical ones Jim's mentioned. But can't remember it. (You know how it is, don't you?)

Also, anybody know or care to guess at (a) the premiums, and (wait for it) (b) the excess required by the insurers? Possibly not free at the point of entry stuff as Bevanites would have conceived it.

[jim360]

There was some decision in Texas recently, yes, but it is widely expected that the decision will be fought in the courts for some time yet. During Obama's term the Republicans pushed for the entire scheme to be ruled Unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court disagreed.

[chrissa1]

This might sound simplistic but why are they so against something like the NHS?? I know that the insurance companies would disagree but, what about the poorer people who can’t afford the premiums? I think it’s diabolical, or am I being, naive?

[jim360]

I find it hard to understand myself, but I think the key point is that a great many Americans do not like the Federal government to get too heavily involved in the lives of its citizens. Social healthcare is a massive social insurance policy, which therefore *does* get involved.

I can't explain it much clearer than that, because it seems bizarre to me too -- perhaps someone more sympathetic to the Republican's objections would explain them more clearly.

[vetuste_ennemi]

I love creative jurisprudence in the same way as I (well, all of us) love creative accounting, Jim.

The ability to discern abortion rights guaranteed by the Constitution is good. Same sex marriage more so. But the recent pronouncement by a local judiciary in Michigan (not the Supreme Court) that FGM (although not any of its victims) enjoys the protection of the First Amendment has got to be the Gold medal winner.

What think you. Jim?

[vetuste_ennemi]

(Lord Howard - didn't he do well!)

[gulliver1]

Get rid of Chump, its that simple

[dannyk13]

Gulliver //Get rid of Chump, its that simple//
Maybe you should contact Nancy Pelosi and explain to her how simple it would be. PMSL.

[kvalidir]

Something a lot of people don't know is ( I certainly didn't until I had a lot of medical treatment there recently privately /uninsured) is that if you have no insurance it actually physically costs more than if you're insured. For example it cost us $2700 for one thing which had I been insured at the time would have gone out at a negotiated rate of $1450 to the insurance company, $5550 for something else against $3250 insured and a scan coming in at $800 per scan to us as individuals when it would have $440 to an insurance company. That's absolutely outrageous in my opinion, and penalises drastically people who can't afford insurance.

[woofgang]

Kval, its the same here, the NHS commissioning bodies pay much less to an NHS or a private hospital than a private individual would and health insurers pay hospitals less that a private individual would. Its because they negotiate a bulk rate....actually its the same as any other purchase.....number of units purchased goes up, price per unit comes down

[kvalidir]

I suppose it makes sense Woof, but I'd never really thought about it before and I was horrified at how much everything cost, and the fact it costs us more than if I had been insured at the time, and such a massive difference too. The scans particularly I thought were galling to be nearly twice as much, especially considering they scheduled one every two weeks, so that would have amounted to around $14.5k just in scans to us vs $7920 to an insurance company had everything gone to plan.
God bless (and protect) the NHS x

[woofgang]

so long as those blessings include a radical sort out then hear hear