STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 1 November 2013

[Tansy_Gold]

62. Exactly, exactly

I'm in the same position -- turned 65 in October so now on Medicare, which is better than what I was on before, which was nothing. My prescriptions run less than $10/month right now.

And I understand the idea of everyone paying into the system so everyone can use it even if some pay more and others use more. That's the whole basis of socialism and I'm fine with that.

Which makes your whole point even more relevant -- we already have everyone who works paying into Medicare as soon as they start working. So why in the name of St. Jude (patron of lost causes) are we setting up another whole system for "young people" to voluntarily-on-pain-of-penalty opt into that they probably aren't going to opt into until it's too late (and they're hit with penalties)? Why not just jack up the Medicare portion of the FICA contribution by 1%, levy it on ALL income, and then add a 5% employer surtax (5% of the employer's Medicare contribution) for employers of more than 50 employees (regardless of hours worked or wages paid) for those employers who don't provide health insurance for their employees?

I mean, I know WHY all this is going on -- it's entirely to protect the for-profit insurance industry and the for-profit hospitals and the for-profit drug companies and so on.

Which takes us back to the first point.

ARGH.