Let's Japan.org - Comments

Healthcare in the United States

Heather — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:20:23 -0400

As someone who grew up in Canada and has lived in the United States for over a decade, I can tell you that the U.S. needs health care reform BIG TIME. Yes, there is sometimes a shorter wait in the U.S. for surgery, but what difference does wait time make if you have to go bankrupt to get treatment? My family of 4 spends over $700 per month for medical insurance and we still have a $3000 deductable (each) and have to pay $35 every time we see a doctor. Recently, I had to decide whether we could afford for me to have a necessary medical test that wound up costing $2500 out of my pocket even with health insurance. A former classmate of mine didn't get a broken limb set because she had no insurance and another former classmate went through a bankrupcy because of emergency surgery she needed while she was a student. Only the very wealthy and the very poor are doing OK with the current health care situation in the United States. Combining my family's medical insurance premiums, prescriptions and copays; we spent forty percent of our annual income on medical expenses last year!!! If I were wealthy enough to pay more in taxes than what I paid for healthcare last year, I'd be happy to help pay for other people's healthcare!

"As a percentage of GDP,

Stoney Burke's Press Officer — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:06:18 -0400

In reply to Darwin Meets Health Care:

"As a percentage of GDP, (U.S.) national health spending is projected to reach 17.7 percent by 2012"
From here: http://www.karlloren.com/healthinsurance/p1.htm

It's 9.7 percent in Canada

http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&q=rate+of+gdp+sent+on+healthcare+ca...

It's obvious, capitalism doesn't work. NATIONALISE CAPITALISM NOW!

Vote Stoney Burke!

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/10/nyregion/campus-life-michigan-a-philos...

That's right, Nate. You

anonymous not registered — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:32:34 -0400

In reply to Darwin Meets Health Care:

That's right, Nate. You always have paid, and you always will. The only question is: how much do you get for your buck when you really need it? The answer in the States right now is 'not a lot'. By the way, I hope you don't live in California. What an embarassment that bunch of 'we don't want to pay taxes' morons are. They've wrecked the whole state, and they still don't want to pay up.

Nate,

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:22:26 -0400

In reply to Darwin Meets Health Care:

Nate, you're so uninformed

You already pay for the misadventures of of morons - medcaid and medicare - they are all funded with your tax dollars. The system is broken and the line of reasoning that universal "is nonsense and should never be implemented" marks you a myopic. uninformed, fringe element. You've been fed lies and you've eaten them up because it's all you have known. Even the doctors are fed up with the insurance industry.

As a Canadian, I can't figure

Nate — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:19:36 -0400

In reply to Darwin Meets Health Care:

As a Canadian, I can't figure out why the US hasn't gotten around to adopting universal health care. This accident seems like a good reason for it--you shouldn't have to face financial ruin to get medical treatment.

Spoken like a typical extreme Commie Canadian! I don't want MY hard earned money to be taxed at a ridiculous rate so as to fund misadventures of the morons and working-class. If these deadbeats - like that boy - bring bad health upon themselves, they should probably foot the bill.

Make no mistake: Universal health care is a nonsense, and should never be implemented in the USA. If that buffoon Obama has his way, we will all be paying taxes through the nose.

ive looked into the JET

daniel — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:29:31 -0400

In reply to So you Want to Teach English in Japan?:

ive looked into the JET scheme and have concluded that its innability to place applicants in places they desire is a highly negative aspect. i was wondering if you could highlight some schemes or websites where one can search for posts which are specific to the city which they would like to work in. i have a BA in english literature but no teaching qualification. thanks.

hi there. i enjoyed reading

daniel — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:17:38 -0400

In reply to So you Want to Teach English in Japan?:

hi there. i enjoyed reading your reply to the post and it has helped me with a lot of unanswered questions i had about ESL teaching. i do however, would like to ask for your opinion on applying for ESL jops with purely a BA degree in english lit. did you achieve the post through a certain company?? any help would be greatly appreciated. cheers.

The Japanese are naive

anonymous not registered — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:15:45 -0400

In reply to NHK Report on Problems with ALT Dispatch Companies:

The Japanese are naive racists? Whereas the folks back home are more sophisticated ones? Sorry Thorn, I can't buy into your generalisations. And let's face it, that's a key feature of racism: generalisation.

Let's take this guys post, for example. Despite the fact that Japanese people hardly ever post on this site: despite the fact that this poster is therefore far from being typical, despite the fact that many 'gaigin' have very similar attitudes to those that he or she does, you nevertheless choose to bombard him with your over the top notions of the 'typical' Japanese character. Sorry Thorn, just can't buy it.

Defined Roles and Japan Continued.....

thorninnovasvagina — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:32:40 -0400

In reply to NHK Report on Problems with ALT Dispatch Companies:

I trust you were carrying your finger printed gaigin card when you typed your message – perhaps that shows why you are so sensitive to the topic of racism and Japan.

Meantime, if Japan did not have deep seated racial issues, you know full well that freak shows like Eikaiwa would not exist (in their current form), and complaints about illegal terms and conditions of employment would not so easily and readily fall on deaf ears.

You also know full well, Eikaiwa, and dispatch companies, get away with what they get away with, because “gaigin” issues are really not worthy of paying much attention to.

Meantime, recently, in a court case, where the plaintiff was accusing the defendant of racial vilification, the judge threw the plaintiff’s case out of court, having ruled the plaintiff’s allegations of racism, were actually racist.

Yeah, right.

For sure, there are individuals in Japan who are not racist, but saying that the majority of Japanese people are racist, is an accurate thing to say. If it easier for you to bury your head in the sand, like an ostrich, by refusing to acknowledge it, lest you be branded as a racist yourself, well, that’s your choice.

As for me, I see no point making something that is quite real a “taboo” subject, since no catalyst for change can be generated from silence and denial. I guess you would have liked me to clarify that some Japanese are not racist – ok, have done that above.

THORN

Thank you for your

thorninnovasvagina — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:30:35 -0400

In reply to NHK Report on Problems with ALT Dispatch Companies:

Thank you for your compliment

THORN