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Should Americans be required to buy health insurance?

I don't understand why the personal question, but yes. I made sure my latest place of employment offered health insurance.

I don't think the question is very personal at all, but my point was, if you do, then why do you care so much about the mandate (which is only a detail of the bill anyway)?
 
Start with the 15% below the poverty line who will pay zero. Continue on with families earning 89k or less who will get a subsidy. Not fair if you can walk and talk that you don't pay your part.
Where did you get your 15% figure?

And families earning 89k or less will be "paying their part", so remove that from your argument.

15% is the number currently at or below the poverty line. The 89k folks will get subsidies. I don't consider that "paying their part".
15% of what? Where specifically are you getting that figure?

So now you're against those who are working receiving benefits because they aren't earning enough in your estimation? That's a LONG way from a "free ride". Make up your mind. Stop moving the goalposts.
 
How many people do you know who don't own a car?
I don't even know that many who don't have (at least regular access to) a car, and I live in a big city with great public transport and a country that has a much lower ratio of cars per capita than the USA.

I know several. And it doesn't matter, our work, our transportation, our choice of a place to live, our healthcare, are all decisions best left up to the individual. Not the government.

So you are okay with indirectly paying for the health care of those who, at the moment, are unable to get access to affordable health insurance and those who's insurance refuses to cover the costs?

Which would be no different what happens now (a point that certain people seem unable to grasp). When they pay their insurance premiums it all goes into one big pool of money from which other people's claims are paid out. So it along comes Mr X with heart condition the insurer could pay out $200,000 to cover his surgery which is well in excess of what premiums he's paid and is likely to ever pay. So those premiums paid by Ms Y have gone to cover some-one else.

Just like what would happen with UHC system.

IOW pretty much every complaint that gets made by certain people about UHC already exists within the U.S system while at the same time not always existing in countries with UHC.
 
1) All states that that allow homeschooling require that the parents/guardians to get govt. recognition and approval to homeschool. You just can't keep your kids out and claim "homeschool" you have to go to your local or state board of education and be approved, else you're required by law to enroll you kids in a govt. approved school. Failure to comply and register with the local school district either in public school or as a homeschool, and this is the average- YMMV, can lead to fines, jail time, and possibly removal of the child from the home; the 1st two being in effect in every state homeschool or not. In TN, some DHS services will actually get you denied the right to homeschool and require that the child be placed in a public school or accredited "church" school.

So no, again, you don't have the freedom not to educate
your child in the USA.

Well for starters, you are free to not have children. And in any case, in Arizona you don't need permission or approval to homeschool, you just have to "notify" the local school board of your intent to homeschool.

But I digress. I concede the point that you must educate your children. However, you do NOT have to educate them via the "government option". ;)

Does Arizona require you to pay a school tax even if you are childless?
 
Does Arizona require you to pay a school tax even if you are childless?

I have never heard of a specific "school tax" per se.

As I understand it the educational system is paid for by property taxes. I think the various school districts get some kind of state subsidy which varies by district and which could come from either sales tax or state income tax. However the vast majority of public school funding comes from property tax.

Obviously you don't pay property taxes if you don't own property, and the amount you pay is not at all affected by your child status.

Child status indirectly affects how much sales tax you pay, since typically if you have more children you'll buy more things and pay more sales tax.

Child status REDUCES the amount if state income tax you pay. More kids equals less tax.
 
Does Arizona require you to pay a school tax even if you are childless?

I have never heard of a specific "school tax" per se.

As I understand it the educational system is paid for by property taxes. I think the various school districts get some kind of state subsidy which varies by district and which could come from either sales tax or state income tax. However the vast majority of public school funding comes from property tax.

Obviously you don't pay property taxes if you don't own property, and the amount you pay is not at all affected by your child status.

Child status indirectly affects how much sales tax you pay, since typically if you have more children you'll buy more things and pay more sales tax.

Child status REDUCES the amount if state income tax you pay. More kids equals less tax.
In SC, the county hits you with the school taxes, in addition to property taxes. Also, bond referendums, etc. I agree with you regarding the sales/income tax effect of having a child. I've often wished that I could count my dogs as deductions too...
 
Americans shouldn't be required to do anything. Kind of flies in the face of that whole "land of the free" deal.
 
Child status REDUCES the amount if state income tax you pay. More kids equals less tax.

Which is WRONG in my opinion. I ay 1 deduction regardless of number of kids. Ideally, and more fairly to those that don't have kids, no tax deduction for having kids. Plus do away with the marriage deductions.
 
I'm more in favor of one set standard deduction per each member of the household, whether they work or not, and no difference in the rules between filing as single or married.
 
Child status REDUCES the amount if state income tax you pay. More kids equals less tax.

Which is WRONG in my opinion. I ay 1 deduction regardless of number of kids. Ideally, and more fairly to those that don't have kids, no tax deduction for having kids. Plus do away with the marriage deductions.


Do away with ALL deductions for people and business. Flat tax of perhaps (guessing) 8% for anything over $30K/year. Trim government to work within that budget.
 
Indeed. I consider this helping those less fortunate than myself - also known as 'being part of society'.

Yup. Lower taxes so businesses can hire those poor people or perhaps allow them to start small businesses of their own. Then we all win!

Great!
You just solved the health care problems of America: Businesses for all.
Miniature American flags for the rest.

:rolleyes:
 
I'm more in favor of one set standard deduction per each member of the household, whether they work or not, and no difference in the rules between filing as single or married.
Basically only the dependent deduction, and do away with any additional tax credits? If I was going my way, I'd do away with every deduction but a standard 8 to 10% of combined income, and medical or work related expenses, maybe medical insurance if we don't have UHC.

Example: Say you and your spouse make 65K, your deduction (barring medical/work) would be 6500 dollars. The same as a single person making the same amount of money. Since's it's a percentage, there's no preference of married over single.

Of course my long term goal would be to do away with tax refunds.
 
In Mass driving is a "privilege". That way the government can charge you all kinds of fees and taxes. So that is not a term I picked.


And how do you expect roads to be maintained? Pixie dust?

Americans shouldn't be required to do anything. Kind of flies in the face of that whole "land of the free" deal.


So did slavery. So, songs aside...it's a pretty worthless phrase.
 
In my perfect system there would be NO tax at all on any kind of income, and no tax at all on property. There would only be "transaction taxes", sales taxes, excise taxes, etc.
 
In my perfect system there would be NO tax at all on any kind of income, and no tax at all on property. There would only be "transaction taxes", sales taxes, excise taxes, etc.
I have no problem with transaction taxes, but we'd have to set them at around (off the top of my head) 25 to 30% to make them a revenue generator, plus still have state and local taxes as a revenue stream for the states.

Roads could be offset, a bit, by making all interstates toll roads.
 
Roads=vehicle registration fees and gas taxes. Drive more, pay more.

30% would be a bit high, so you can imagine that in my "perfect system" the federal budget is much, much, smaller. ;)
 
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