Argentina

[Goku de la Boca]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Tbf that looks more extreme than what his actual plan for reformation of the ministries of Argentina actually is. He's just being an over-the-top populist, because that's what's worked for him - so why wouldn't he. He's trying to demonstrate he will cut down on government waste.

In Argentina there are 18 government ministries, many of which just suck up more money than they provide any public benefit at all. This guy doesn't want to end all government ministries and end all government services, but he wants to cut and consolidate 18 ministries so there are just 7 of the current 18 left. Then he wants to create a new ministry for a total of 8.

The remaining ministries would be: Ministry of the Economy, Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Security, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and creating the new Ministry of Human Capitol (which sounds sinister a bit tbh, but it's meant to be governing education, healthcare, and employment).

The thing is... I'm not sure the economic issues of Argentina can come down to squarely reducing government waste. Argentina's got massive debt - does eliminating the central bank and abandoning the peso for the US dollar help them get passed these mountains of debt? When Ecuador and El Salvador did the same thing to bring down inflation (which is out of control in Argentina)... it came with added debt to those countries. And I'm pretty sure Argentina's used the dollar before as their currency and that ended in economic crisis as well.

Argentina's got problems economically. The previous government oversaw these problems, I understand not wanting to let them keep driving the car into the ditch. But I'm not sure this guy has the right ideas to navigate their country to a healthier economy.

I'm not sure anyone thinks he's an immediate solution, but that's the harsh reality of third world countries. There is no perfect candidate but Peronismo just couldn't go on. That was the immediate "bin this option" for the people outside of the lazy Buenos Aires workers.

it's a shame that Argentina has become what it's become. It used to be super developed and extremely safe. Even when I was a kid it was still pretty solid. Nowadays it's below many countries in South America.

[Dr. Gonzo]

6 hours ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I'm not sure anyone thinks he's an immediate solution, but that's the harsh reality of third world countries. There is no perfect candidate but Peronismo just couldn't go on. That was the immediate "bin this option" for the people outside of the lazy Buenos Aires workers.

it's a shame that Argentina has become what it's become. It used to be super developed and extremely safe. Even when I was a kid it was still pretty solid. Nowadays it's below many countries in South America.

I remember at uni learning about “the Argentina paradox” when I was studying economics. I don’t remember much about what I learned but I do remember that Argentina has a long, long history of economic mismanagement. In fact, since taking that class, Argentina had further economic meltdown.

A bigger difference now is they are a democracy, so people get a say. Young democracies are going to make mistakes and learn from them. But it’s not like Argentina doesn’t have 200 years of economic history for them to learn from. It is just shit these were their options.

Looking at statistics, Argentina is also still one of the safer countries in South America lol.

But I don’t think it’s a 3rd world thing either. Populists have taken off all around the world. Left wing (Mexico) & right wing (US, UK, Italy) - it’s the rhetoric of quick solutions to complex problems & making arguments that strike people’s emotions a particular way that appeals to a lot of people.

Milei is just a populist with extreme views that people are finding appealing because he’s promising to dismantle the system that people are fed up with.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with populists but the problem tends to be extreme policies made without considering the consequences tends to happen when they take power. Take for instance Milei’s promise to cut trade relations with Brazil and China - 2 of Argentina’s biggest trading partners. I don’t see how that does anything but hurt Argentina’s economy, while their economy is in the pits.

[Goku de la Boca]

22 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I remember at uni learning about “the Argentina paradox” when I was studying economics. I don’t remember much about what I learned but I do remember that Argentina has a long, long history of economic mismanagement. In fact, since taking that class, Argentina had further economic meltdown.

A bigger difference now is they are a democracy, so people get a say. Young democracies are going to make mistakes and learn from them. But it’s not like Argentina doesn’t have 200 years of economic history for them to learn from. It is just shit these were their options.

Looking at statistics, Argentina is also still one of the safer countries in South America lol.

But I don’t think it’s a 3rd world thing either. Populists have taken off all around the world. Left wing (Mexico) & right wing (US, UK, Italy) - it’s the rhetoric of quick solutions to complex problems & making arguments that strike people’s emotions a particular way that appeals to a lot of people.

Milei is just a populist with extreme views that people are finding appealing because he’s promising to dismantle the system that people are fed up with.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with populists but the problem tends to be extreme policies made without considering the consequences tends to happen when they take power. Take for instance Milei’s promise to cut trade relations with Brazil and China - 2 of Argentina’s biggest trading partners. I don’t see how that does anything but hurt Argentina’s economy, while their economy is in the pits.

The first time I went to Argentina (2002), I was very impressed. I went to Buenos Aires and Bariloche, and that was just when they had 4 presidents in a week. Clearly by the time I was born it was no longer a "developed country" but I remember it being still closer to Europe than the rest of South America.

Nowadays Buenos Aires is still a decent city to live if you figure out how to bypass the Argentine peso, but some of the poor in the city are in a much worse position than they used to.

Argentina's homicide rate is something like 4.5 out of 100k, it's still relatively safe compared to the rest of the continent but it's still much worse than it used to be. Here is a map, no idea why Argentina is grayed out but it was around the number I mentioned last time I checked.

[OrangeKhrush]

On 22/11/2023 at 05:02, Dr. Gonzo said:

I remember at uni learning about “the Argentina paradox” when I was studying economics. I don’t remember much about what I learned but I do remember that Argentina has a long, long history of economic mismanagement. In fact, since taking that class, Argentina had further economic meltdown.

A bigger difference now is they are a democracy, so people get a say. Young democracies are going to make mistakes and learn from them. But it’s not like Argentina doesn’t have 200 years of economic history for them to learn from. It is just shit these were their options.

Looking at statistics, Argentina is also still one of the safer countries in South America lol.

But I don’t think it’s a 3rd world thing either. Populists have taken off all around the world. Left wing (Mexico) & right wing (US, UK, Italy) - it’s the rhetoric of quick solutions to complex problems & making arguments that strike people’s emotions a particular way that appeals to a lot of people.

Milei is just a populist with extreme views that people are finding appealing because he’s promising to dismantle the system that people are fed up with.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with populists but the problem tends to be extreme policies made without considering the consequences tends to happen when they take power. Take for instance Milei’s promise to cut trade relations with Brazil and China - 2 of Argentina’s biggest trading partners. I don’t see how that does anything but hurt Argentina’s economy, while their economy is in the pits.

in an election where people had to vote in person, he won by a landslide, he won by a landslide because the populace is fed up of socio-communist systems and made a change.

his take is a tough one as after 40 odd years of poor ideology has left the country on the brink of following Zimbabwe.   If he can save Argentina's crippling financial deficit which has meant a downsizing of government and the left of liberals are shitting the bed because the first to go institutions were these diversity departments and of course the free loader fund.   

he now has to do what mostly all politicians fail to do, live up to his word.  it's no good being anti establishment in campaigns then reverting to type.    

he does seem a bit of a 70s throw back wild child but the people of Argentina spoke.

[Goku de la Boca]

22 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

in an election where people had to vote in person, he won by a landslide, he won by a landslide because the populace is fed up of socio-communist systems and made a change.

his take is a tough one as after 40 odd years of poor ideology has left the country on the brink of following Zimbabwe.   If he can save Argentina's crippling financial deficit which has meant a downsizing of government and the left of liberals are shitting the bed because the first to go institutions were these diversity departments and of course the free loader fund.   

he now has to do what mostly all politicians fail to do, live up to his word.  it's no good being anti establishment in campaigns then reverting to type.    

he does seem a bit of a 70s throw back wild child but the people of Argentina spoke.

I agree and it's a reminder to the people with majority power in the country that Argentina is massive, and not just Buenos Aires. It's become a very centralized country to be honest, it's always had that issue but it's become much worse in that sense in the last 20 years.

[OrangeKhrush]

4 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I agree and it's a reminder to the people with majority power in the country that Argentina is massive, and not just Buenos Aires. It's become a very centralized country to be honest, it's always had that issue but it's become much worse in that sense in the last 20 years.

Communism is the weapon of mass destruction that the Ruskies unleashed on the planet, the pointer that it's shit should be that NK, China, Russia are not really communist but more empirical, totalitarian however you want to slice it.

power to this guy if he can turn Argentina, he will be hated by the left everywhere but he needs to do what is best for Argentina and not himself.

[Goku de la Boca]

2 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

Communism is the weapon of mass destruction that the Ruskies unleashed on the planet, the pointer that it's shit should be that NK, China, Russia are not really communist but more empirical, totalitarian however you want to slice it.

power to this guy if he can turn Argentina, he will be hated by the left everywhere but he needs to do what is best for Argentina and not himself.

Russia at the moment is fascist though isn't it? Still a totalitarian country though, but technically Putin isn't communist I'm pretty sure.

Oh and regarding your second comment, Peru became the centre of South American hate from the other governments, most notably Evo Morales in Bolivia who pushed an agenda to the people in Puno (the region next to Bolivia). Of course he got support from Gustavo Petro and Alberto Fernandez. I'm very proud of my country for showing we are a tough cookie and that Lima is not so easily manipulated. I don't think Argentina is going to have the same sort of manipulation from Lula or Evo because they are a more powerful and influential nation than Peru is. There will be pressure though because that's the least amount of effort. Gustavo Petro has already begun with that on social media.

My point is, Argentina will be hated like we were in South America for the longest time. All of these Sao Paulo Forum leftists are trying to push this on for their dream of a soviet South America. That dream is slowly fading though. As I posted in a tweet above, Petro is losing popularity in Colombia, Chile's new constitution much rumoured to be left wing is now going to be written by the right given the population's big disappointment with Gabriel Boric, of course Milei winning, and Pedro Castillo in Peru never had any shot to input his self coup and got jailed as a result. Lula is being left on his own and long may that continue.

Hopefully one day Lima gets labeled the "graveyard of communism". We have a lot of communists in Peru but whenever they reached Lima in a centralized country, their dreams get killed. Happened to the Maoist guerilla group Sendero Luminoso in the 90's after dropping a bomb in the capital. That was the beginning of the end for them, same this year when the southerners were trying to fight for Castillo's liberation, that was pretty much the end for their hopes seeing as we are not easily manipulated. It's these reasons as to why Peru is one of the best countries in South America at the moment, which is amazing considering most of the country looks like Afghanistan 

My final note here is that there is no real "communist governments" in South America. The only 2 countries which won't budge are Venezuela and Bolivia. The former has completely gotten the full power despite the president being unpopular with the population, the latter is a mix between the Andean people and the Amazonians. The Andean being left and the Amazonian being right wing, but Bolivia's andean regions have always had the bigger influence. Amazonian Bolivia really only has Santa Cruz as an important city. There is no Cuba or North Korea in the continent. Venezuela being the closest example but even they are definitely not totalitarian. Their ideology killed their social class but they are not totalitarian at all.

[Goku de la Boca]

Every left wing government I've seen has been a failure. In Canada and the USA, they are more leaning to socialist communities with Trudeau and Biden and both have been the worst prime minister/president in those countries in my lifetime. In Peru we've had Humala and Castillo. The former was OK but only because he was just happy being corrupt and not implementing his ideology. The latter was a disaster but thankfully the constitution prevented him from letting him do what he wanted. No point even beating on the dead horse that is Argentina's peronismo or Venezuela's chavismo. Colombia went left for the first time ever and it's been a disaster. Chile wanted to go left and just prevented a fully left constitution by waking up on time. The only country where it's kind of worked in the America's is Bolivia. It has helped the poorer population to an extent, but it has also recently caught up to them and it wasn't sustainable.

As far as I know the Scandinavian countries have found success with it, but I'm not an expert on Europe. I just know that in the America's it has failed for the most part. I don't remember a worse prime minister in Canada than Trudeau.

[OrangeKhrush]

1 hour ago, Goku de la Boca said:

Every left wing government I've seen has been a failure. In Canada and the USA, they are more leaning to socialist communities with Trudeau and Biden and both have been the worst prime minister/president in those countries in my lifetime. In Peru we've had Humala and Castillo. The former was OK but only because he was just happy being corrupt and not implementing his ideology. The latter was a disaster but thankfully the constitution prevented him from letting him do what he wanted. No point even beating on the dead horse that is Argentina's peronismo or Venezuela's chavismo. Colombia went left for the first time ever and it's been a disaster. Chile wanted to go left and just prevented a fully left constitution by waking up on time. The only country where it's kind of worked in the America's is Bolivia. It has helped the poorer population to an extent, but it has also recently caught up to them and it wasn't sustainable.

As far as I know the Scandinavian countries have found success with it, but I'm not an expert on Europe. I just know that in the America's it has failed for the most part. I don't remember a worse prime minister in Canada than Trudeau.

Scandinavia may use a social system but it is also massively rained in from the past.   for an effective social system you need a populace that contribute to it, while richer people contribute more, at the base needs a support structure, when that structure fails because people get to comfortable with doing nothing the system collapses.  

the second aspect is government corruption, the more corrupt the government the faster the pool collapses. 

Argentina's collapse started when the government centralised the bank and loaned money to itself to pay for social systems, then to pay it back started printing money, that's a no bueno.

I really hope this guy turns it around for the people, if at least so we can experience his unique showmanship 

[Dr. Gonzo]

4 hours ago, Goku de la Boca said:

Every left wing government I've seen has been a failure. In Canada and the USA, they are more leaning to socialist communities with Trudeau and Biden and both have been the worst prime minister/president in those countries in my lifetime. In Peru we've had Humala and Castillo. The former was OK but only because he was just happy being corrupt and not implementing his ideology. The latter was a disaster but thankfully the constitution prevented him from letting him do what he wanted. No point even beating on the dead horse that is Argentina's peronismo or Venezuela's chavismo. Colombia went left for the first time ever and it's been a disaster. Chile wanted to go left and just prevented a fully left constitution by waking up on time. The only country where it's kind of worked in the America's is Bolivia. It has helped the poorer population to an extent, but it has also recently caught up to them and it wasn't sustainable.

As far as I know the Scandinavian countries have found success with it, but I'm not an expert on Europe. I just know that in the America's it has failed for the most part. I don't remember a worse prime minister in Canada than Trudeau.

Every American president has been shit since I’ve moved to the US tbh. But the instability of Biden’s predecessor was truly horrific to live under. Obama did a decent job rebuilding the economy after Bush tanked it though. And the best UK PM in my lifetime is Tony Blair and he was awful.

So in the UK, we’ve seen Tories take the country and drive it off a cliff. And in the US there isn’t really a left wing party, Obama and Biden are just less right wing than republicans. And both of them have overseen economic disasters brought on by the administration before them. So I’m not sure that there’s anyone in US politics that can give us a different type of government in the US. Chances are whoever is going to be US president will always be pretty bad.

5 hours ago, OrangeKhrush said:

in an election where people had to vote in person, he won by a landslide, he won by a landslide because the populace is fed up of socio-communist systems and made a change.

his take is a tough one as after 40 odd years of poor ideology has left the country on the brink of following Zimbabwe.   If he can save Argentina's crippling financial deficit which has meant a downsizing of government and the left of liberals are shitting the bed because the first to go institutions were these diversity departments and of course the free loader fund.   

he now has to do what mostly all politicians fail to do, live up to his word.  it's no good being anti establishment in campaigns then reverting to type.    

he does seem a bit of a 70s throw back wild child but the people of Argentina spoke.

One thing is clear - when you’ve got an election between 2 candidates that have bad policies… you’re going to get someone that’s probably not going to be great.

I’m glad I don’t live in Argentina, but from an educational standpoint it will be interesting to take the country that’s a case study in how not to run an economy and see what happens when you take government regulation away as much as you can and let corporations regulate themselves.

[Redcanuck]

The US economy under Trump was the best in my life time, they were self efficient in engery, the stock market was booming and prices were likely half of what they are under Biden.   I live on the US border and have friends and family in the US.  We used to go across on a regular basis, whenever we ran out of milk and gas or just wanted a inexpensive meal.  Now we hardly go across at all, US prices aren't much better than ours and when you factor in the exchange a lot of things are more expensive.  I don't know how the average American is dealing with the damage the Biden administration has done to the US economy and if people do vote with their pocket books, Biden won't be reelected. Trump's the only thing that's keeping it close, if the Republicans nominated somebody else that wasn't as unpredictable they might get Melei numbers.  

Trudeau in my opinion is the worse PM since his old man, but at least Pierre had brains, the boy Trudeau inherited his brains from his mother.  Canada is a very progressive country, and as somebody who doesn't have a progressive bone in his body it's frustrating.  The Liberals benefit from the political system here, the 3 parties to the left of them prop them up, meaning the Conservatives have to get a clear majority of the seats to form a government.  That very rarely happens so the Liberals don't have to put in a lot of effort to government properly. They just assume its their right to govern. 

Trudeau though has pissed most people off, he doesn't seem to think before he speaks or acts, he seems to be uniting a country made up of different regions against him.   What is worse though is that other countries seem to be pissed off at us now, Trudeau has accused the Indian Government of assassinating a Sikh nationalist in Canada , arrested a CEO of a Chinese company and upset the Arab world with his stance on the fighting in the Middle East.  So much for developing trade relationships with Asia and the Middle East.

There is a Chinese curse which says “May you live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times,  but they are also the most creative of any time in history .   A lot of change is coming,  not only in South America,  but in North America as well over the next few years.  

 

[Spike]

Biden is a  socialist is the most hilarious comment I’ve read on here in years. Biden literally signed the biggest anti-union and anti-labour bill in the country’s history when he quashed the rail strikes. Biden isn’t left wing, the democrats aren’t left wing, they are economic liberals to the core.

[Goku de la Boca]

2 minutes ago, Spike said:

Biden is a  socialist is the most hilarious comment I’ve read on here in years. Biden literally signed the biggest anti-union and anti-labour bill in the country’s history when he quashed the rail strikes. Biden isn’t left wing, the democrats aren’t left wing, they are economic liberals to the core.

I didn’t say he was a socialist, or at least it wasn’t what I was trying to say. He leans more left though from what I know. USA never goes further left than that.

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 hours ago, Redcanuck said:

The US economy under Trump was the best in my life time, they were self efficient in engery, the stock market was booming and prices were likely half of what they are under Biden.   I live on the US border and have friends and family in the US.  We used to go across on a regular basis, whenever we ran out of milk and gas or just wanted a inexpensive meal.  Now we hardly go across at all, US prices aren't much better than ours and when you factor in the exchange a lot of things are more expensive.  I don't know how the average American is dealing with the damage the Biden administration has done to the US economy and if people do vote with their pocket books, Biden won't be reelected. Trump's the only thing that's keeping it close, if the Republicans nominated somebody else that wasn't as unpredictable they might get Melei numbers.  

Trudeau in my opinion is the worse PM since his old man, but at least Pierre had brains, the boy Trudeau inherited his brains from his mother.  Canada is a very progressive country, and as somebody who doesn't have a progressive bone in his body it's frustrating.  The Liberals benefit from the political system here, the 3 parties to the left of them prop them up, meaning the Conservatives have to get a clear majority of the seats to form a government.  That very rarely happens so the Liberals don't have to put in a lot of effort to government properly. They just assume its their right to govern. 

Trudeau though has pissed most people off, he doesn't seem to think before he speaks or acts, he seems to be uniting a country made up of different regions against him.   What is worse though is that other countries seem to be pissed off at us now, Trudeau has accused the Indian Government of assassinating a Sikh nationalist in Canada , arrested a CEO of a Chinese company and upset the Arab world with his stance on the fighting in the Middle East.  So much for developing trade relationships with Asia and the Middle East.

There is a Chinese curse which says “May you live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times,  but they are also the most creative of any time in history .   A lot of change is coming,  not only in South America,  but in North America as well over the next few years.  

 

The trade war with China basically raised the price of everything with parts from China or that was made in China (so basically everything) and the totally dogshit Covid response set the world up for economic disaster. Inflation is awful basically everywhere, the US is fairing better than almost every western country despite that. The biggest threat to the US economy at the moment is their instability in governance and the continued failure to pass a long term budget creating the threat of government shutdown. When I look at how things are here in the US to back home in the UK, I think it’s a more stable economic situation.

I agree with you that Republicans probably have a clear shot at the presidency if they could nominate a candidate that isn’t as unstable as Trump, but could generate the same kind of support the former president enjoys. Democrats would also probably do better if they replaced Biden with someone with similar policies but also was younger.

I’d also add that the stock market is a pretty shit indicator of economic health. But even so - the highest day of the US stock market was under Biden’s administration. It’s a measure of investor confidence, not economic strength though. The two are related, but not always so. Companies became higher value because they’d do stock buybacks - that strengthens the market, that does nothing for the economy.

I think Trudeau’s an awful leader though, I’ll give you that. He just seems like a pandering dickhead that doesn’t know when to shut up. I’m surprised you don’t like his stance on the Middle East though considering it seems to be in line with your own views on Israel-Palestine.

It will be interesting to see how Milei does. Argentina’s got a history of economic collapse since about 1860. The ditching the peso for the USD worked for a bit for Argentina until competing economies’ currencies devalued - and caused an economic collapse when Argentina had no way of controlling the value of their currency.

I think the big worry with him is extreme economic decisions often have extreme consequences. There’s probably a happy middle ground for Argentina - like ending the practice of unofficial exchange rates that differ from the official exchange rates. No idea what he’s going to do for their massive debt issue though.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Just now, Goku de la Boca said:

I didn’t say he was a socialist, or at least it wasn’t what I was trying to say. He leans more left though from what I know. USA never goes further left than that.

The most left leaning president the US has probably ever had was FDR

[Spike]

1 minute ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I didn’t say he was a socialist, or at least it wasn’t what I was trying to say. He leans more left though from what I know. USA never goes further left than that.

He certainly does not lean left at all

[Goku de la Boca]

6 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The most left leaning president the US has probably ever had was FDR

There are a lot of things that put me off from the USA, but the anti-socialist laws are appealing. Rarely would I have to worry about that.

[Redcanuck]

8 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The trade war with China basically raised the price of everything with parts from China or that was made in China (so basically everything) and the totally dogshit Covid response set the world up for economic disaster. Inflation is awful basically everywhere, the US is fairing better than almost every western country despite that. The biggest threat to the US economy at the moment is their instability in governance and the continued failure to pass a long term budget creating the threat of government shutdown. When I look at how things are here in the US to back home in the UK, I think it’s a more stable economic situation.

I agree with you that Republicans probably have a clear shot at the presidency if they could nominate a candidate that isn’t as unstable as Trump, but could generate the same kind of support the former president enjoys. Democrats would also probably do better if they replaced Biden with someone with similar policies but also was younger.

I’d also add that the stock market is a pretty shit indicator of economic health. But even so - the highest day of the US stock market was under Biden’s administration. It’s a measure of investor confidence, not economic strength though. The two are related, but not always so. Companies became higher value because they’d do stock buybacks - that strengthens the market, that does nothing for the economy.

I think Trudeau’s an awful leader though, I’ll give you that. He just seems like a pandering dickhead that doesn’t know when to shut up. I’m surprised you don’t like his stance on the Middle East though considering it seems to be in line with your own views on Israel-Palestine.

It will be interesting to see how Milei does. Argentina’s got a history of economic collapse since about 1860. The ditching the peso for the USD worked for a bit for Argentina until competing economies’ currencies devalued - and caused an economic collapse when Argentina had no way of controlling the value of their currency.

I think the big worry with him is extreme economic decisions often have extreme consequences. There’s probably a happy middle ground for Argentina - like ending the practice of unofficial exchange rates that differ from the official exchange rates. No idea what he’s going to do for their massive debt issue though.

I didn't say I didn't like Trudeau's stance on whats going on in the Middle East, just that it upsets the Arab world..

[Spike]

5 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

There are a lot of things that put me off from the USA, but the anti-socialist laws are appealing. Rarely would I have to worry about that.

The USA is beyond the richest country in the world, one piss drop of the  military budget would be enough to enact socialist policies that would dwarf most of the world’s GDP. Tell me why I should pay into a private health fund that selectively chooses what I am and aren’t covered on, who isn’t covered, and who I can see, when I could pay into a public health fund that helps everyone?

[Spike]

How is it okay that insulin is manufactured for about $5 a bottle and is retailed at $98, but than it is covered by a monthly insurance fee of $450p/month to reduce it down down to $14. So why do I pay a private company a $5,400p/a to have the right to still be overcharged for a product that my wife will die without?

[Dr. Gonzo]

16 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

There are a lot of things that put me off from the USA, but the anti-socialist laws are appealing. Rarely would I have to worry about that.

The US is one country I think no sweeping generalization can ever be accurate about. It’s massive like Canada, but with way more people. I can understand being put off by parts of it, but I’m sure there’s loads of places in the US you’d really like.

Its got so many places with massive Latino populations, some of those places have Latino culture engrained in the local culture.

And it sounds like you’d certainly like the political views more than Canada’s.

[Goku de la Boca]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

The US is one country I think no sweeping generalization can ever be accurate about. It’s massive like Canada, but with way more people. I can understand being put off by parts of it, but I’m sure there’s loads of places in the US you’d really like.

Its got so many places with massive Latino populations, some of those places have Latino culture engrained in the local culture.

And it sounds like you’d certainly like the political views more than Canada’s.

The thing I hate about the USA is the gun laws and how it's a car country. More the latter as I don't have a "I'm gonna die today" mentality 

[Dr. Gonzo]

3 minutes ago, Spike said:

How is it okay that insulin is manufactured for about $5 a bottle and is retailed at $98, but than it is covered by a monthly insurance fee of $450p/month to reduce it down down to $14. So why do I pay a private company a $5,400p/a to have the right to still be overcharged for a product that my wife will die without?

I’ve never understood why it’s somehow ok for tax money to go to subsidise health insurance companies… but not pay for the health costs of individuals.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Just now, Goku de la Boca said:

The thing I hate about the USA is the gun laws and how it's a car country. More the latter as I don't have a "I'm gonna die today" mentality 

The gun laws are stupid but there’s a few cities you could live in comfortably with no car. Granted, not many.

[Spike]

2 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I’ve never understood why it’s somehow ok for tax money to go to subsidise health insurance companies… but not pay for the health costs of individuals.

Corporations have more rights than people