George Carlin on Education and the owners of America

It is a bit of a double edged sword in many sectors.

Private companies bottom line is profit, so they are
willing to break rules and screw people if they can
turn a profit. Even if it is short term in many cases.
This does happen. But there are companies in business
for the longterm that have provided innovation the
government could not have possibly accomplished.
And have made peoples lives better, especially in
medicine. A huge % of new drugs to help all sorts of
illnesses are discovered and produced in the US. A bit
of government help is also involved.

The government provides very little incentive for workers
to actually do a good job though. The government does a
horrible job at many things requiring vigiliance of others
money and efficiency. There is no incentive for running a
tight ship in many cases. But in some cases, especially local
governments, police, fire, and other services are quite good
because it is done locally and with pride.

It is a complex problem that will always be debated.
How much of a role does government need to play in
providing various services to the people who the government
represents.

I would also argue on the whole the public school system
does work in middle class to affluent areas. But in many
urban and some rural areas, its very poor. And it is completely
understandable. What teacher in their right mind wants
to go into a war zone where parents put their kids on
the bus so they can be done with them. And some rural
areas might be dominated by people (usually older folks)
who are unwilling to help fund public schools so they
have to drag "teachers" off the streets because the pay
is just above a Whataburger.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

I think the key is to ask yourself if something is a necessity for a country's citizens.If it is a necessity.then it's much cheaper for the Government to do it than the private sector.Look at the oil companies.They are charging the American People 10 billion a quarter(often) in profit. Even if the government kept gas prices high(to reduce consumption) it could use those billions for many necessary things(healthcare,education,etc.) the government workers(in the long run..with decent pensions etc. that private industry won't pay) cost more,but people aren't noticing that you cut out the business owners who isn't around to pocket billions.I am talking about necessary services and products.Not anything that could be considered optional....fire,police,military,education,healthc are,energy(oil etc./solar/agri-fuels.)

[timmgirvan]

Diogenes is still lookin.......

[skippy3481]

More people should have healthcare, but the government should not run it. Name one country where socialized medicine has ever worked? I won't give you much time beacause there isen't one. Thats why canadians stream across the border to get medical help if something really goes wrong. Just ask yourself one question, If you had rare form of cancer..... what country would you seek medical treatment in?

[Mortimer]

The country nearest the Tropic of Cancer.








( I believe it's him....right? )

[GPK]

Originally Posted by Mortimer

The country nearest the Tropic of Cancer.








( I believe it's him....right? )

oh boy..

[Mortimer]

ror!

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by skippy3481

More people should have healthcare, but the government should not run it. Name one country where socialized medicine has ever worked? I won't give you much time beacause there isen't one. Thats why canadians stream across the border to get medical help if something really goes wrong. Just ask yourself one question, If you had rare form of cancer..... what country would you seek medical treatment in?

As a country,we spend more on healthcare than those countries with socialized medicine.They underfund it(which is what politicians do to programs they don't agree with.)If you don't fund it properly,then of course it isn't gunna be satisfying .To answer your question,if I could get treated anywhere I want,it would be Germany,Switzerland,or Scandinavia.I don't know where the idea comes from that says it's more efficient to pay a middleman huge profits for services to citizens.It doesn't make any sense.It's stupid.If you ever just looked at what you're talking about,you would see that it's cheaper to provide a service if you aren't trying to make a billionaire a billion more dollars. Simply look at PGRDN'S school district.They are out to do what? Make profit? No,they are there to provide a service.Nobody is getting rich off that school district.If it was a for profit school district,then they would have worse healthcare for teachers,and worse pensions for them(if any.) That's how they would afford to pay some guy a 10 mil a year for owning it.Well,just ask PGRDN why he doesn't teach at a private school.

[Mortimer]

All FAR from the Tropic of Cancer.

[skippy3481]

Scuds, how then, do we raise enough funds to properly fund it?

[Mortimer]

Originally Posted by skippy3481

Scuds, how then, do we raise enough funds to properly fund it?

Bust out the teachers retirement stash..

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by skippy3481

Scuds, how then, do we raise enough funds to properly fund it?

good question. the only thing the govt seems to know how to fund properly is the military. certainly not social security, which is essentially a pathetic version of a pyramid scheme--and plenty of people getting SS disability who actually aren't disabled.. medicare, medicaid, both are full of fraud and waste. oh yeah, i can see our health care going in the right direction if the feds took over.

most of those services should be provided by the states, the fed govt is too bloated, too wasteful and is too far away geographically to handle many of these areas for it's citizens. if each state took care of these services, we'd all be better off.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by skippy3481

Scuds, how then, do we raise enough funds to properly fund it?

We are already spending more than enough on healthcare.It's not like more money needs to go in to fund it.We just need to get lawyers,and insurance companies' hands out of our healthcare money.We have the funds,but we piss it away by giving it to these 2 groups.You would rather do that then have the Gov't run it,and so we will continue to have poor healthcare in this country.