Post by graybeard on Oct 2, 2007 7:18:31 GMT -6
It's unacceptable for US citizens to go without medical care, just as it's unacceptable for them to starve. Republicans (rightwingnuts, religious conservatives, et al) don't agree on the medical part, and you wonder if they agree that starvation is unacceptable. I wrote "US citizens," as non-citizens who can't pay their own medical and food should be deported.
A major overhaul of the US medical system is needed badly, and a single payer may be the way to do it; I don't know. But I do know that major factors in healthcare needs are diet and lifestyle, things that are clearly under the control of the individual.
Here are some things that should be taxed to pay for universal healthcare:
Sugar - a dime to a dollar a pound.
Animal fat - a dollar a pound. No, I don't know how you would measure that. Note: it takes 400 gallons of water to put a pound of beef on the table.
Booze and cigarettes, while already taxed heavily, should have special taxes for healthcare.
Marijuana - legalize and tax the hell out of it, proportional to its healthcare cost. 20,000 plants, reportedly worth $1,000 each, were found in one rural - not remote - county of Oregon this summer.
Chinese Imports: tax or fine them at triple the potential healthcare cost of their ingredients.
The ideas for taxes that would encourage healthier lifestyles are almost unlimited; for example:
Tax drive-up transactions at $1 or more each. That would eliminate the lines you see at banks and fast food restaurants, as their cars burn extra gas. People would be encouraged to get out and walk - just a little more.
GB
A major overhaul of the US medical system is needed badly, and a single payer may be the way to do it; I don't know. But I do know that major factors in healthcare needs are diet and lifestyle, things that are clearly under the control of the individual.
Here are some things that should be taxed to pay for universal healthcare:
Sugar - a dime to a dollar a pound.
Animal fat - a dollar a pound. No, I don't know how you would measure that. Note: it takes 400 gallons of water to put a pound of beef on the table.
Booze and cigarettes, while already taxed heavily, should have special taxes for healthcare.
Marijuana - legalize and tax the hell out of it, proportional to its healthcare cost. 20,000 plants, reportedly worth $1,000 each, were found in one rural - not remote - county of Oregon this summer.
Chinese Imports: tax or fine them at triple the potential healthcare cost of their ingredients.
The ideas for taxes that would encourage healthier lifestyles are almost unlimited; for example:
Tax drive-up transactions at $1 or more each. That would eliminate the lines you see at banks and fast food restaurants, as their cars burn extra gas. People would be encouraged to get out and walk - just a little more.
GB