More Obamacare fuckups

[Vorpos]

These would be really cool comments if they were true. I sometimes think that government is a helpful thing. I'm clearly a Communist.

I think it's time for another Ayn Rand rant.

[Thondalar]

People just don't resist the lure of credit they don't deserve. Witness nearly every one of our economic downturns, credit cards, and the payday lending industry.

As usual, I totally agree with you on the causes and the details. Where we disagree is what should be done about it.

[Warriorbird]

I think it's time for another Ayn Rand rant.

Because when people are making you look bad it's time for ad hominem. It's all right. Maybe you can win Congress and the next election and generate FDR 2 by bubbling and depressing the country again.

As usual, I totally agree with you on the causes and the details. Where we disagree is what should be done about it.

I wish I trusted people to do the right thing as much as you do. It must be a nice and uplifting worldview.

[Parkbandit]

People just don't resist the lure of credit they don't deserve. Witness nearly every one of our economic downturns, credit cards, and the payday lending industry.

Why would banks give people credit that they don't "deserve"? You are missing a key element... let's see if you can get it on your own.

[Parkbandit]

I think it's time for another Ayn Rand rant.

He's currently on a "business is evil".. he rotates them around.

I give him another couple of weeks to return to Ayn.

[Warriorbird]

Why would banks give people credit that they don't "deserve"? You are missing a key element... let's see if you can get it on your own.

They want to make money. It makes it look like they are.

He's currently on a "business is evil".. he rotates them around.

I give him another couple of weeks to return to Ayn.

It's all right. You stay willfully obtuse forever.

[Thondalar]

The way you can believe this and simultaneously believe that minimum wage laws cause inflation would make my head spin.

I find it telling that you're willing to discount any effect on inflation that minimum wage may have, simply because you can't directly correlate only minimum wage increases to only inflation increases. The economy is way more complex than that.

I certainly agree that other than the blatantly socialist elements, Singapore very much has a free market for healthcare... but I think that caveat is a significant one.

It is indeed a significant one; notice I was the first one to bring it up. This goes back to the system...if you can find some sort of empirical evidence that proves that the price fixes they use is the main cog in that machine, I'm all ears.

Empirically, it looks like your reaction to price controls is a function of how much you support the system doing the controlling. You don't like minimum wages, so those controls are a big deal. You like Singapore's health care system, so those controls are a very small part. Am I wrong? If I said that America had a free market for wages, you would immediately point out minimum wage laws. No?

My overarching opinion is that they are wrong in any situation...I've stated that I believe Singapore's healthcare system succeeds in spite of them, not because of them.

[Thondalar]

I wish I trusted people to do the right thing as much as you do. It must be a nice and uplifting worldview.

This is where we have so much of a disconnect. I don't trust people to do the right thing. I trust that people only learn from their mistakes, and if that learning opportunity is taken away, they will continue to make mistakes.

[Parkbandit]

They want to make money. It makes it look like they are.

So you couldn't get there on your own. Let's take baby steps...

Why would a bank give a loan to someone they knew they couldn't pay back?

I know you have it in you to figure this out.. I have faith!

It's all right. You stay willfully obtuse forever.

Says the guy who blames companies for almost everything bad.

[Warriorbird]

So you couldn't get there on your own. Let's take baby steps...

Why would a bank give a loan to someone they knew they couldn't pay back?

I know you have it in you to figure this out.. I have faith!



Says the guy who blames companies for almost everything bad.

Since you apparently haven't lived in America during the dowturn the fact that they had a lot of loans on the books enabled them to sell certain financial instruments with those loans and made them look good to stockholders because of the removal of Glass-Steagall. Banks love to do this whenever possible. Companies like it because of spiraling stock market gains. Glass's genius was in getting investment banks out of the lending game.

It'd be really nice if I blamed companies for everything bad. You know I don't. You don't like to think though.