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Dr. Obama will take care of them, Dusty. He's from the government, and he's here to help.

heathicus wrote:Dr. Obama will take care of them, Dusty. He's from the government, and he's here to help.

That is part of the problem. Two of them have lost coverage because they could no longer afford the "Affordable Health Care" that they had. Their premiums took a terrific jump. Lower cost coverage is available but with my Boy Scout First Aid Kit and Handbook I can do as well at no cost.

I must keep in mind the fact that "We, The People" voted for this mess we are in. The media and the President keep reminding of that and I keep forgetting.

heathicus wrote:Dr. Obama will take care of them, Dusty. He's from the government, and he's here to help.

My first job out of college was in finance at a major insurer. It's an extremely complicated business. It scares me that politicians are trying to get into that game, let alone slapping something together over a couple of weeks. Neither party has enough experience or brain power to be making those decisions with a clear conscious. Playing with fire in my opinion.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Medicaid a government run operation? By most accounts it's very popular with those who have it. There is no middle man to pay and no stock holders to keep happy. Does it not just provide quality health care to those who can't afford their own at the lowest cost possible. What's wrong with that I'm not talking about exchanges, where those who can afford to purchase their own insurance have a place to go to get a fair rate if they need it.

fredsheldon wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Medicaid a government run operation? By most accounts it's very popular with those who have it. There is no middle man to pay and no stock holders to keep happy. Does it not just provide quality health care to those who can't afford their own at the lowest cost possible. What's wrong with that I'm not talking about exchanges, where those who can afford to purchase their own insurance have a place to go to get a fair rate if they need it.

Medicaid is a type of social welfare, a small group receives benefits (basically health insurance) that is subsidized by the larger group. It definitely has its place in society, but if you expanded it to half the population we would be bankrupt in a week. Insurance is a group of beneficiaries pooling their money together to lower individual risk, which is a little different.

Consider it like unemployment, except there is a large gap between those elligible for medicaid and those than can reasonably afford health insurance, which is what they were targeting. It's from the entirely wrong direction and won't work as advertised, the correct way of doing this was lowering health care costs which lowers premiums (tied together by most state laws) which increases access to health care.

fredsheldon wrote:So, if you own gold or are looking for affordable health coverage, things are looking up, otherwise, we have a long ways to go

I WOOD KNOT call mine anything near affordable. But it's the only one I can GET at 68% of my reduced SS benefits.

fredsheldon wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Medicaid a government run operation? By most accounts it's very popular with those who have it. There is no middle man to pay and no stock holders to keep happy. Does it not just provide quality health care to those who can't afford their own at the lowest cost possible. What's wrong with that I'm not talking about exchanges, where those who can afford to purchase their own insurance have a place to go to get a fair rate if they need it.

I just gotta be wrong. You aren't really holding up Medicaid as an example of how things are looking up, are you? Thank the Lord that I am not dependent on Medicaid and I hope you are not eligible for it.

http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1640

Fred, you also predicted lower gasoline prices. Nevertheless, where does one find the "affordable" health care you mention?

frank81 wrote:Never heard another person make that point. Until the day you start withdrawing, a down market is a good thing.

It's true. If the market was in the dumps (let's say 2,500) for 50 years and the day you go to withdrawal it went up to a hypothetical Dow 15,000 you would have more than if it was at 15,000 the entire time or even made a slow climb. Of course, everyone would say the end of the world was coming and the market was horrible. I bet those who invested in the 70s were happy when the 80s and 90s came around.

When it comes to my retirement funds I'm a passive indexer and buying shares of a mutual fund. When prices are low, I get more shares for my dollars. Everyone cheers when it goes up and it is nice to know that your money is "safe" there - why because it is up? Up just means it is more likely to grow slower and down means the chance from growth is greater. However at 14,253 right now you chance of growth is a lot lower than if it was 10,000.

Stock picking is easier when things are down - the fundamentals look good and conservative. At this price I'd probably be hard pressed to pick out a portfolio of good stocks if I had money to invest. As for metals, look at where they advertise - it's all doom and gloom and very right of center. I know metals are used to smooth volatility and not to be 50%-100% of your investments. Why worry about the end of the world - I guarantee you'll spend more time worrying than is necessary.