Not only that, they pay almost no tax. Some even get a rebate

I was actually being more than a little sarcastic. Apologies. I too believe in capitalism, and own my own business, though I'm not American. I would never want to live in a place with such a retarded health"care" system - another socialist system that does work (hence Canadians pays half what America does with a very similar outcomes)

As for cleaning up the environment, the only solution I have come up with to make companies behave rationally is to fine them 3x the cost to clean up the mess. You make it cheaper to be clean, and you would have to do it on a federal level, or Texas would become a toxic dumping ground. Companies will still misbehave, so you use the fines to run the EPA.

Socialism is the keyword libertarians use when the government does something they don't like. Freedom is the keyword they use when the government does something they do like. It's irrelevant what that thing is, even if it's libraries which the Founding Fathers rather approved of.

This could work both ways. An opportunity to give honest and open feedback, and makes public offers to (for example) reimburse a customer if there's a problem. Unfortunately too many companies are about making a quick buck.

I completely agree. Unfortunately they didn't do it to Wall Street, what makes you think they'll do it to other companies?

And as an added benefit, less pollution. The problem is, who is going to do these low interest loans? If you suggest a company do it, they don't (tend) to do low interest loans because they don't make any money If you suggest the government (local or federal) do it, then that's SOCIALISM.

I've always wondered if there's an opportunity in Canada for exactly this, for this exact reason. And as an added bonus they can keep their cooling cheap during winter - just run a water cooling pipe out into the -40C snow. All you need is decent VPN into the data center and it's all good.

I'd rather my current iPhone to be cured thanks!

You lie through omission - your original statement was that the lefties do it (the implication being that the righties don't), when in fact both sides of the fence do it *all* the time. I don't believe that "other people are really stupid", but to vote on the same thing 47 times* when they know it won't pass the Senate or POTUS is kinda stupid. What they need to do is wait until they actually have a chance of passing those other two checks and balances. And Boehner is equally remiss at bringing other bills to the floor. The Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats for this kind of politics. There is nothing wrong with holding people up to the ideals they say they hold - especially politicians. Another example being corporate welfare verus personal welfare. The Republicans say they don't believe people should be on welfare, that they should pull themselves up by their proverbial bootstraps whilst simultaneous handing billions of dollars to wealthy corporations. I'm sure the Democrats would probably also give billions of dollars to wealthy corporations too, but they aren't the ones who are saying you should defund the welfare system. * I believe it was Einstein who said that: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

In this instance, they don't need to negotiate to get anything done. I repeat from my previous post: 1) Obama got elected on (among other things) the ACA 2) The ACA went through Congress 3) The ACA went through the Senate 4) The ACA was signed by the President 5) The ACA went through the Supreme Court 6) The Republicans - even though they hold a majority in the House - have failed to repeal the ACA 46 times. And to suggest that the Republicans don't use the Alinsky protocols is ridiculous.

I still want to know why the Democrats should negotiate. Still not answered that one

Righties are just as bad at throwing insults. You clearly don't listen to the right as much as you think you do, or at least with any level of critical thinking

No, I've never been to an ex-communist country. I know people who have, and yes it is devastating. I've never argued that a dictatorship is right. But from you've been saying, you want a single party - the Republican Party. That makes you a hypocrite. Unless you're suggesting that the Tea Party is a viable alternative.

However the fact that Democrats went through 5 pretty major hoops to get the ACA passed, and you still don't accept the result just means you don't believe in the process your own Founding Fathers created. As I mentioned before, if you don't like it, get a Constitutional Amendment passed. There are plenty of things that the Republicans have done that the Democrats would love to get repealed, but guess what. You have to pick you battles

Answer me this: Why should the Democrats negotiate over the ACA?

Which was my original point. Health"care" for profit is morally reprehensible. No - I don't mean boobjobs - they are like tattoos. For the most part a lifestyle choice. I'm talking about life and death.

Cos Fox News never demonizes anyone. Oh no! /sarcasm

Again - this is nothing new for either party. Indeed, nothing new for north of your border either. Harper (and others) are just as bad.

Except, despite owning the House, and failing to get a bill passed what is it now - 46 or 48 times - they still haven't managed to get it repealed. They own the house, yet they still can't repeal it. Why? How is that even possible?

And why should the Democrats negotiate on this?

• * They got a President elected on this topic
• * They got it through Congress
• * They got it through the Senate
• * POTUS signed it
• * The considerably conservative Supreme Court passed it in its entirety.

There *is* nothing to negotiate about this. It is the law at all levels of your government. Don't like it? Then get a Republican Congress, Republican Senate and Republican POTUS elected, repeal it (cos they've even failed to get Congress to repeal it 46 times or whatever it is - I've lost count now), then convince the Supreme Court to repeal it. That's how the law of the land works. Don't like it - get a constitutional amendment. Good luck with that one!

Again, you suppose that the Republicans don't hate the Democrats as much as the Democrats hate the Republicans. As for "getting people eradicated", I'm assuming you're talking (in an emotionally charged way) about how the Republicans seem to be doing a very good job of talking themselves out of their elected seats. The Democrats don't need to negotiate with the Republicans because the more the Republicans talk, the more the American people realize they are dinosaurs waiting extinction. Just look at the farcical government shutdown.

I do live under a single payer system. In fact I've lived under two - Canada and the UK. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I would rather have a single payer, tax funded system than face what America has. Why? Because I know that if I get sick, the government can't turn me away from hospital. I know I won't have to sell my house or end up bankrupt if I get cancer. I know that everyone is covered, from the poor to the ultra rich.

Yes I have had to use the system in both countries. No there are no death panels (despite what Michelle Bachmann bleats on about) - which is effectively (and I think rather ironically) what the American Insurance Industry is. No, I've not had to wait months for elective treatment. Sure I don't get my treatment tomorrow, but when my wife thought she might have breast cancer at the age of 33, she was seen, had as many tests as you can have and had a definitive answer (thankfully not breast cancer!) within a few weeks. That's as quick as it gets. Was it stressful? Sure it was - but then we didn't have the additional stress of "OMG we're going to have to sell the house".

If you don't like that everyone is covered, then you are a very sorry excuse for a human being. Given that you appear to be a Republican, the chances are you're also a Christian - which makes you even more of a sorry excuse for a human being.

You have seen the oh-my-god-how-much-do-we-owe trillions of dollars in national debt - right? You're already bankrupt. America as it stands is a deadman walking.

Not only that - if the drug company tells you that'll be $7 per month to buy the pill that will save your life, you pay the $7 and go on living. If the same drug company tells you that the pill is $100 per week or you die, then guess what - you'd better find that extra $100 per week or you die.

Free market economics doesn't work with healthcare because you are not free to make those choices. This doesn't happen anywhere else in the free market.