[MOCKBA]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nero', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')o see how this demographic thing would play out, look at Canada over next 15 years. On one hand Canadians are fiscally conservative, on the other hand like Europeans they cannot dump social security and on top of this all Canadian problem with baby boomers is a lot worse then in US (or Europe).

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('benzoil', 'A')ccording to the authors, you'd have to cut the entire federal budget by about 125% for many years in order to get the future math to work out. THAT's even less of a solution.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rogerhb', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('benzoil', 'A')ccording to the authors, you'd have to cut the entire federal budget by about 125% for many years in order to get the future math to work out. THAT's even less of a solution.

[TommyJefferson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joewp', 'I')rrelevant, every worker pays payroll taxes. Straight 7.5% out of your paycheck up to about $80,000/year. Then it stops.

[MOCKBA]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('benzoil', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rogerhb', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('benzoil', 'I') don't think they talked about super duper hyperinflation though. THAT might definitely fix the problem.

[EnergyHog]

Which party will walk out on the financial obligations?

The one that doesn't ever want to be re-elected.

Like it's always been done... create the funds necessary.

[Kingcoal]

What's interesting is that this is a worldwide problem. We are all human after all. Some nations are healther than others, but for the most part, we are all living much longer than we used to. That means huge healthcare costs in the senior years. If you think about it, these social programs really are a throwback to cheap, almost free, oil. As the party ends, so do the perks.

[nero]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MOCKBA', 'D')enying access to health care so that baby boomers would die out earlier... here you go... but then again, you are racing against advances in medicine etc...

[Laughs_Last]

NPR had some good coverage of America's deficit yesterday. NPR Marketplace: U.S. Trade Deficit Hits Another Record. There is mention of the solution to the problem being "The Fed would have to raise interest rates dramatically."

[JustinFrankl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TommyJefferson', 'I')llegal immigrants are a drain on public coffers. They consume far more public funds than they contribute.

[MOCKBA]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nero', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MOCKBA', 'D')enying access to health care so that baby boomers would die out earlier... here you go... but then again, you are racing against advances in medicine etc...

[Tyler_JC]

The problem with health care is that it is too cheap.

If everyone had a higher co-pay and a higher deductable, they would be far less inclined to show up at the hospital for every single cough or sniffle.

I know people (young, healthy people) that go to their HMO every month, or more! It's absurd.

I generally require very little medical care because I take good care of myself. But there are people who engage in very unhealthy activities that then feel it is their right to take from the public domain health services at essentially no cost to them. Personally, I would gladly throw the heroine addicts back out on the streets if it meant saving another emergency room for a sick child.

Those $5 co-pays should be illegal. We have to force people to shoulder more of the cost of their own health care costs and they will be more prudent with their spending. The core of the problem is that there are too many people taking advantage of their health insurance, forcing up the price for everyone else. Health insurance is just that, insurance. It isn't supposed to cover every single little thing.

Fewer healthy people clogging up the system will reduce costs for everyone and delay the inevitable collapse of our health care system.

Lastly, something needs to be done about this lawsuits...

[MOCKBA]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nero', 'I') think the public has been well softened up for the change in policy that is going to have to occur. Most young adults don't even expect to receive social security anymore.

[nero]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MOCKBA', 'T')hey might not expect it in public statements but their behavior didn't quite stand up to those words. Humans are animals after all and as such they very well fit into what Sir Darwin observed a while back. If they indeed expected no help from the government or any other entitlements for that matter, fertility rates would be way higher. We are not seeing that and the reason is that young adults in developed world just have no recent experience with poverty. Compare them to any young adult in Afrika or any young adult following any World War...

[SchroedingersCat]

Health care is another example of how badly corporate welfare has failed. I pay through the nose for a low-cost insurance plan. I try to use it as little as possible. The thought of going in for a consult with my GP raises my blood pressure (really -- white coat syndrome).

A couple decades ago if I had say, pink eye, I would call my family physician and he would call the pharmacy with a prescription. Now, I would need to go to urgent care because it would take weeks to see my "primary care physician", wait a couple of hours, have some newly minted doctor say "yep, it's pink eye" and write me a script. The cost to them, me and my employer has grown by an order of magnitude, at least. Now multiply that times the 200 million insured in the U.S.

The cost for my wife to spend roughly 48 hours in the hospital to deliver our child was almost $15,000! No complications! $312.50 per hour for what? The only person who did anything extraordinary was my wife!

Modern health care and insurance is likely to be the first casualty of peak oil. May it rest in peace.

[nero]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'T')he problem with health care is that it is too cheap.

[JBinKC]

Regarding the situation fiscally with our government I think the government has a bail out plan and its called the Amero.

Health care needs to be deregulated to a point. Quotation for services, competition (just like any other business) and I should have a right to access to self treatment (i.e. access to class II drugs). Eventually medicare will have a cap once you reach it-tough. The subject of euthanasia will be a very big topic in the coming years.

[MrBill]

Average longevity, and I do mean average, is strongly influenced by nutrition and access to clean water and sanitation. Throw in some common sense and pre-natal care.

The biggest returns come from treating working age adults with acute problems quickly allowing them to return to the workforce. There are no savings from keeping 80 or 90-year old seniors alive longer through expensive chronic care. The net benefit of allowing tri-mester abortions versus the time and money invested to save preemies offset one another.

With 6-8-10 billion people or maybe 4-billion workers in the world the overall gains from medicine are minimal at best. Important for you and your family. Crucial to the world economy less so.

Many countries pay less per person for healthcare than the US, eh, and have better results. Therefore, peak post oil it is probably an everyday luxury people will learn to live without. They will call their neighbors or the midwife and the doctor when all else fails. Needless procedures will not be affordable.

It is only the cad that is afraid of his own death. All the really decent people I have known accepted their own mortality with grace.

[TommyJefferson]

I see more physicians bailing on the whole corrupt socialized medical system and going private.

No Medicaid.
No Medicare.
No Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

A return to the old ways. They charge just like a car mechanic does.
Diagnosis: $40
Tune-up: $200
Major Overhaul/Surgery: $2000

They save thousands of dollars and hours by going straight.