Compare that to an area where schools have someone on staff who can prescribe pills, or doctors will insist you consider it...

Where in the word do you live at, where anyone at a school can fucking prescribe medication?!?!??!

Availability is a loaded word in this case. Go buy condoms as a 14 years old in an area where religious people want to burn people who use contraceptive on a stake....good luck (of course IMO they shouldn't need it at that age but the reality is different). You may also be in an area where your doctor will try to convince you not to get contraception. They'll prescribe it if you INSIST....

I have lived in some VERY religious communities in the deep south, like only eclipsed by somewhere like Utah with the Mormons, I can't speak for them.

But no one has a problem buying condoms at the local store. No one ever flinches or bats an eye. I'm guessing you're saying all of this, without first hand informatiion what it is actually like in areas like this. I grew up in the states with many areas that were dry, and where the Sunday blue laws still survive today. There is no problem.

And what Dr. should be insisting one way or the other that someone should used contraception? That is a personal choice....things don't get much more personal than that.

You seem to be conflating something being available, and that thing being promoted and PAID for by everyone else.

Two different issues here. No one is, nor should they be...holding a gun to your head to go down either path.

BTW, despite the glorification of small business in the US, Europe actually has a larger percentage of its economy in small business.

And the policies of the current administration are a LARGE reason we're losing small business in the US.

We almost seem to be actively trying to make it impossible for US small businesses to succeed with ACA and too many regulations and endless paperwork and taxation.

A major drag on our economic recovery IS the lack of small businesses coming back to life in the US due to governmental oppression of them.

$6K/year is about right for real health insurance. What you had previously was "junk insurance" - them paying for and covering the bare minimum. If you were diagnosed with leukemia, your HSA would have been wiped out in the first week and your insurance company would have dropped you as soon as it could legally get away with it. A course of leukemia is going to set them back a cool million bucks, so they'd do ANYTHING they could to retroactively decide you lied on your insurance application and they didn't have to do anything.

Not true, I know how to read for myself my policies. I had the same good coverage for an emergency that I have now on a W2 gig. The chief difference was that I just paid my own way for routine Dr. visits and meds.

Insurance is supposed to be there for EMERGENCIES, not to run you $10 copay for routine Dr. visits. That needs to be something you save and pay for, just like any other necessity of modern life, like utilities, food and gas.

This is the type of policy and situation that is usually perfect for healthy younger folks that don't need tons of coverage for routine things.

:)

he U.S. has an infant mortality rate that dwarfs comparable nations, as well as the highest teenage-pregnancy rate in the developed world, largely because of the politically-motivated unavailability of contraception in many areas."

Seriously? I don't know of anywhere in the US where contraception is not available. They sell rubbers at all drug stores and most every grocery store I've ever been to. I'm born and raised in the south of the US, and I've never seen anywhere that doesn't have multiple forms of contraception unavailable with or without a prescription. There are no cities I know of that ban them by law.

millions of poor Americans will remain uninsured because governors, mainly Republicans, have refused to expand Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income Americans.

And as for the Rep. govenors that refused the Medicaid expansion, they did the cost analysis. It basically is a ticking time bomb of yet another unfunded Federal Mandate type deal. Sure they give you money at first, but that is limited and after that runs out, and the states have expanded (greatly) the Medicaid rolls, they states are then on the hook to pay for it ALL themselves, when the fed money spigot shuts off.

Some governors plan long term and not just short term.

Hell, many if not most states right now are in budgetary crisis, and not needing to heap this on top of an already bad fiscal situation.

I had (at the time) a high deductible plan, basically what used to be called "major medical", for needs if I got hit by a bus, etc.. The deductible was only about $1200.

I coupled that with a HSA (Health Savings Account) which unlike the FSA's are not use it or lose it, they roll over annually. I socked away about $3K pre-tax annually and out of that, I paid my routine med visits and drugs.

I really liked this, it only cost me about $240/mo for premiums. This is what would usually best server young people, which I'm not....I got this and was happy with it and I have pre-existing conditions.

I'm looking to go that route again, but man...I looked at the health sherpa site that shows what obamacare offers in my area, and deductibles on anything but near gold plans is over $3K?!?!?

I would end up on many plans paying about $3K a year in premiums AND $3K+ in deductibles before I started having any insurance kick in. WFT?

I looked at the GOLD plan with no deductible, and it is about $590/mo...but no deductible and 100% pay. Interesting range of choices, no?

Sadly, I think we're stuck with obamacare, and it won't be repealed, but it needs to seriously be altered. Why not remove so many of the minimums for the insurance coverage (as an older man, I don't really need prenatal coverage), and open up insurance competition to allow it to cross state lines. I mean, I can buy motorcycle insurance from a national company across lines, why can't I buy health ins across state lines?

I think we're good with disallowing the pre-existing conditions, but aside from that, I can't see much that helps me or most people at my level of IT income or stage of life that is good about ACA as it currently stands...

35 is the new 65.

I dunno.

I see things largely the same, at least outside of silicon valley.

At ate 35-40+, you should really have grown your career and salary out of the code monkey state and been either moving into mgmt of some type, or moved on to areas that value experience and wisdom, like consulting/contracting.

It is kind of analogous to looking at someone at age 30 that wears a name take and thinking "you've made some SERIOUS vocational errors".

As you get close to your 40's in IT, you need to be moving up the food chain away from rote code monkey work, and into more valuable and lucrative positions.

There is little movement of working to help for the greater good of society. It's how much can I get and how quickly can I get it?

Aside from the few folks truly born altruistic, or have become philanthropic billionaires, who in real normal life actually ever works for the "greater good"?

No one.

Most people work only to get money to give themselves (and family if they have one) the lifestyle they want. Period.

The average person does and always has worked for themselves and their own self interest. Sacrifice for society or the greater good is just not a natural aspect of man's behavior, never has been.

That's not saying people aren't or don't learn to be charitable to some point, but it isn't in our nature to sacrifice our own lives or lifestyles for that of others. If we have extra, sure we give.

But it isn't in our nature to give till it hurts.

What happens to me in my state is the most important thing to me and my life.

The fed govt. is only supposed to be there really, as a forum for the states to fight for what's best for them, etc.

I am not disputing that the federal government is overreaching in a lot of areas. I am just not convinced that moving vast amounts of power back to the states will be some kind of magic bullet. There is plenty of corruption in state governments even with the minimal power they have now. In theory they are more accountable, I am doubtful about how well it would actually work in practice.

It is the way the US was originally set up, it is actually STILL in the constitution to govern this way.

Many of the problems we see today is because we have strayed from that form of government, with most power residing in the states.

You are supposed to be a citizen of your state first, and then a citizen of the United States second.

Because states are not run by the same democrat and republican politicians running Washington?

Your city and state representatives are MUCH more answerable to their citizens, than their federal counterparts. They live with you rather than being isolated in la-la land in DC.

Let's roll back the clock and have them ONLY to only be allowed to fullfill the narrowly defined duties and responsibilities given by the US Constitution, things like defense, border protection, etc.

Bring the power back to the states as it is supposed to do, and we'll cut most of this spending nonsense out.

At the very least, let's at least narrowly define what "interstate commerce" means, and roll back the laws that are based on the overreach of that idea.

You're mostly right. Bill Cosby often speaks on this subject, advocating self-accountability and hard work. But, more and more, he seems to be shunned and dismissed in favor of others like Jesse Jackson who insist on blaming everyone else for the black community's woes.

True...and for the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of the world, they really do NOT want to truly help the black community, if they were to promote success instead of victimization, they'd have all their revenue sources dry up.

They make their living trying to keep racial dis-harmony going.

But what is society doing wrong that these guys can't seem to wrap their heads around wealth to begin with?

It isn't so much society in general, but the black community itself that seems to have a problem with what it takes to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty and crime.

I've known blacks, even back when I was growing up, that during HS were working hard to get an education, taking part in scholastic function, like president of student council, etc. They were often shunned or ridiculed by their peers for "acting white". I was shocked to hear this.

I think that is a large part of what the problem is. The culture, at least of the lower end of the class system, of blacks don't promote things like getting an education and working hard to be successful in today's society as something to strive for. However, thug life, gangsta rap type trappings, and professional athletes are the main heroes that are held up as something to emulate.

I think this is part of the problem, and it is not something that you can legislate away.

This general type of attitude is something that can ONLY be fixed from the inside of the community itself, and so far, this isn't being pushed. And sadly, you often see folks that DO escape from this cycle of poverty into successful jobs and neighborhoods, they also shun the lower end and often understandably so, as that they don't want their kids around that culture.

Is punter some kind of African slang for something/someone?

This is what we get for letting them get out of the kitchen in the first place...

;)