Political ad

tet1953

Well-Known Member
I realize this post is more suited to Politics, but it is Maine specific and Mainers need to know. You have no doubt seen an ad that promotes Cynthia Dill over Angus King for Senate. What you may not know is that it is a Republican PAC that is urging you to vote for a Democrat. They hope to steal enough votes from King for their GOP guy to win.
I just think this is terribly dishonest and wanted to make sure eveyone knows about it.
 

maineyankee

Active Member
Thanks so very much Tet. I too realized when I first saw the ad what the true meaning was behind it. Dishonest is such a "tame" word here tho. This Country is going down fast in a hand basket. It is time we take control of our future .... for our kids, and their kids sake.

God Bless America !
 

jujubee

Active Member
I don't watch tv or pay attention to politics, so I hadn't seen it.

From my perspective, it made King look better. He vetoed a min wage increase. Dill wants stronger gun laws.

But I am not a democrat, and I don't vote, so the ad isn't targeted at me.

If the information is correct, I don't see what the problem is.
 

tet1953

Well-Known Member
I don't watch tv or pay attention to politics, so I hadn't seen it.

From my perspective, it made King look better. He vetoed a min wage increase. Dill wants stronger gun laws.

But I am not a democrat, and I don't vote, so the ad isn't targeted at me.

If the information is correct, I don't see what the problem is.
If you don't see what the problem is, I'm kinda glad you don't vote.
 

jujubee

Active Member
The problem is R/D two party system of politics. That is why I don't vote.

giant douche vs turd sandwich

Who will you vote for?
 

tet1953

Well-Known Member
For Senate? King.

BTW, apparently Dill objected strenuously to this ad but they ran it anyway. I had an email forwarded to me that was from her campaign and addressed the ad.
 

Maine Brookies

Active Member
He vetoed a min wage increase.
Nobody should work a full time job and not make a living wage. The minimum wage should increase significantly and then be linked to inflation. Numerous studies show that US market for minimum wage labor is not competitive and, without government setting a floor, workers at that wage will simply fall further and further behind, requiring more and more assistance. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since it was instituted in 1968 it would be over $20/hour today.
 

maineyankee

Active Member
Nobody should tell me how much I have to pay my employees. If they don't like the wage I am offering, they don't have to take the job.
I usually keep my mouth shut when it comes to this .... however (and please Juju, no disrespect to you) You hit a major nerve.

My wife, a short order cook at the same establishment ( family restaurant ) for 29 years, makes $7.75 per hour today. In 29 years, she has missed a total of 5 days. Yes, she knows she has made her bed, and should have left some time ago, but in this economy, where does one go? The owner uses her. If the business has a good day, waitresses make more $$, as well as the owner, however, she does not ever get a thank you for a job well done. Last time (10 years ago, she asked for a raise, and was given .05 cents per hour) .... I told him to take that Buffalo Nickel and make him chit. I am glad that she has finally had enough of this BS, and will soon be moving on to a job with less stress, less hours, and better pay by almost $4.00 to start.

As I told her long ago, with inflation counted in, she has lost money each year. There is no doubt in my mind that $20 per hour would be too much .... however, a fair wage, along with a "priceless thank you" once in a while ... would go along way. I just hope and pray that you do not "use" your employees as such as this a**hole does, for your employees are usually the ones that keep YOUR BUSINESS ... in the Black, and not in the RED.

Just my "Buffalo Nickel" opinion
 

Maine Brookies

Active Member
Nobody should tell me how much I have to pay my employees. If they don't like the wage I am offering, they don't have to take the job.
Yes, we should tell employers that they have to provide a minimum wage. Capitalists make their living by paying employees less than the true value of their labor (the true value of their labor is the market price of the product). As such employees at the bottom of the wage scale, who have the least economic power, need special protection.

In a modern economy, failure to provide a living wage to all employees results allows the employer to shift health insurance costs to the public sector - aka the Wal-Mart business model. The converse of your argument is that people who don't agree with minimum wage laws should not start businesses. The Capitalist has a choice of how to run his life - he can opt to run a business with employees, he can opt to be self-employed, he can take a job with another Capitalist. Minimum wage labor has the choice of working for a Capitalist or not working. This is the origin of the term "wage-slave".
 

jujubee

Active Member
Minimum wage laws don't protect employees at the bottom of the wage scale, or get rid of low paying jobs. The employment turns to under the table work. The job may pay more because the employer and the employee no longer have to pay taxes. Not good for the goverment, but good for the employer and the employee.

It also makes it hard for anyone but a rich person to start a business. It's already hard enough with all the red tape and permit stuff.

I don't even want to get into health insurance.

Everyone has a choice on how to run their life.

And there is always a way around this stuff by only using independent contractors, and not hiring employees.
 

Maine Brookies

Active Member
It also makes it hard for anyone but a rich person to start a business. It's already hard enough with all the red tape and permit stuff.

I don't even want to get into health insurance.
Minimum wage laws foster more economic activity because more people have more money. Increased economic activity makes it easier to start a business.

Medicare for everyone puts everyone in one pool, using the most efficient health coverage system in America. Economists know that the American system of employer supplied healthcare puts American business at a disadvantage in international markets. Medicare for everyone would level the playing field and spur a wave of entrepreneurship, since people would be more willing to leave their employer and take their own shot.
 
If you're not realistic enough to pay your employees a wage they can feed themselves on working full-time, you're goddamn right someone needs to tell you how much you have to pay your employees.
How do you think miners were treated in the 19th century when they were forced to work 18 hours without a real minimum wage and only having "money" that was usable at a mining company's store where they could charge whatever they liked? It led to bloodshed on both sides. But when you have no other way to feed your family or yourself, you take an obviously unfairly paying job just to survive day-to-day.
The same thing goes for today - if a minimum wage were not insisted on, many employers wouldn't pay even that. In Minnesota (my state of residence three years ago), minimum wage was (and still is) the same as federal - $7.25 per hour. In Maine, at least it's slightly better - but chain stores start at the lowest they can and very rarely increase wages. Perhaps you pay a wage deserved by your employees, but frankly, many employers can't be trusted to do so.
 

matt1420

Well-Known Member
Medicare for everyone would level the playing field and spur a wave of entrepreneurship, since people would be more willing to leave their employer and take their own shot.
I 100% agree with you! You can also add that employers would be able to hire more employees. As it is rite now, if a company has more than 10 or 12 employees they need to offer or pay a % of a health plan for them. That is not feasible for a lot of small/family businesses that are just trying to stay afloat.
 

jujubee

Active Member
I wonder why NH is doing so much better economically than Maine.

NH min wage same as federal
NH unemployment rate 5.4%
NH poverty rate 8.3%
NH income tax 0%
NH sales tax 0%
NH public assistance 3.2%

Maine min wage .25 more than federal
Maine unemployment rate 7.6%
Maine poverty rate 12.9%
Maine income tax 8.5%
Maine sales tax 5%
Maine public assistance 5.2%


There seems to be more of an entitlement mentality in Maine.

Maine’s poverty rate isn’t the highest, but it’s No. 2 on public assistance list
 

jujubee

Active Member
Here is a good article from Dr. Sulak's website on why medicare for everyone is not a good idea.

http://www.maine-health.com/resources/recommended-articles/why-patients-need-to-opt-out-of-third-party-health-insurance/


Why Patients Need to Opt Out of Third Party Health Insurance

By Dr. Richard Amerling
If the mandate to buy insurance survives constitutional challenges, individuals should consider defying the mandate and not purchasing insurance. Why is opting out a sound idea for patients?

All third party payers limit options. Limitations will by necessity become more stringent as the system expands. The idea that “universal coverage” will make everything available to everyone is absurd. Care is a finite resource and it will be heavily rationed. Trading liberty for the illusion of “free” care is a fool’s bargain.

Limitations begin with choice of physician. While many plans (even Medicare!) partially reimburse payments to out-of-network physicians, it’s discouraged by the financial structure. As more physicians drop third party payment, choices will become even more limited. Since the 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement to physicians did go through on April 1, Medicare beneficiaries will find it harder to find a physician.

Since participating physicians’ reimbursement is constrained, large numbers of patients are needed to generate adequate revenue. There are frequent distractions by requests for “prior authorization” (see below) and other time-wasters. The result is crowded waiting rooms followed by brief, rushed, and stressful encounters with the doctor. High quality care is rendered all but impossible.

Payers try to control costs by limiting access to consultants, expensive tests, drugs, hospitalization, and procedures by requiring “prior authorization” before approving payment. This is usually a time-consuming, frustrating phone conversation with a minimally educated person who goes through inane screening questions prepared by an accountant. Many doctors are so fed up with this process that they become reluctant to order anything out of the ordinary.

Participating physicians agree to periodic chart audits by the payers. This is a blatant violation of medical confidentiality.
Choice of drugs is limited by a formulary—a list of “approved” drugs. The list is set up to maximize profit for the pharmacy benefit managers (e.g., Medco) by promoting drugs for which they have negotiated low prices. All patients are unique and drugs are idiosyncratic. It is to the patients’ advantage to have a broad selection of pharmaceuticals, not a narrow one.

Increasingly, treatment decisions are being controlled by payers through “payment-for-performance,” where doctors get a bonus for treating according to official “practice guidelines.” I will go into more detail about this in my next column. For now, suffice it to say that this promotes a “one-size-fits-all” approach—the antithesis of good, individualized care.

The best solution for the vast majority of citizens is to open and fund a Health Savings Account (HSA) linked to a high-deductible policy to insure against catastrophic illness. Routine health-related expenditures such as office visits, drugs and many tests would be paid for directly from the HSA. Unused money grows, tax-deferred, year to year. Most people would never need to trigger their policy, and such insurance would be very cheap. Some states impose coverage mandates that make such arrangements impossible. This is why across-state sale of health insurance has so much appeal, and also why it was never considered by the ruling class in Washington, DC. ObamaCare is expected to extend mandates to all states, creating “Cadillac plans” for all with the stroke of a pen.
Thousands of new rules and regulations from newly minted bureaucrats will determine the gory details of ObamaCare. One thing is clear—the government will force insurance companies to accept all comers, regardless of pre-existing conditions. It may therefore be economically advantageous to not buy insurance! Take that $10,000 per year and put it into a savings account. HSA contribution limits will be lowered, but they have not been outlawed. Even if the tax penalty for non-compliance survives legal challenges, most will be better off financially, and more in control of their lives. It may also be wise for seniors to opt out of Medicare Part B and D (doctors and drugs) and pay for these services directly. Part A, which is mandatory, covers hospital expenses.

Relying on government for health care is exactly what the statists want. But no government can ever deliver health care. Medicare and Medicaid are already broke, and neither can sustain the expected growth. The system will implode.

Together with the growing community of opted-out physicians who will compete for patients on quality and price, a thriving free market will be created that will actually deliver health services to ever-greater numbers of patients. 


Richard Amerling, MD, is a nephrologist practicing in New York City. He is an Associate Professor of at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and the Director of Outpatient Dialysis at the Beth Israel Medical Center. Dr. Amerling studied medicine at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, graduating cum laude in 1981. He completed a medical residency at the New York Hospital Queens and a nephrology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He has written and lectured extensively on health care issues and is a Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Amerling is the author of the Physicians’ Declaration of Independence
 
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