Once you get rid of the patent system which includes copyrights how would you pay people for their creativity?
REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Pollard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 08, 2003 3:01 AM Subject: RE: [Futurework] NYTimes.com Article: For Middle Class, Health Insurance Becomes a Luxury > Arthur, > > We could start by getting rid of the patent system that > articially raises drug prices along with the bottom lines of the > huge drug companies. This money helps them pay off Congress. > > If you saw the Bill Moyer show on Friday you would appreciate why > Eisenhower originally intended to call it the > military-industrial-congressional complex. > > Of course the other privileges should also go - primarily the one > that gives some people the ability to collect Economic Rent - or > rather an amount much higher than economic Rent, because the > price mechanism doesn't control Rent. Thus it becomes something > known throughout history - rack-rent - the path to poverty for > generations of peasants. > > So, we are back to the problems in the article. If the basics are > not dealt with, such problems will always be with us. But as > Thoreau said: "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of > evil to one who is striking at the root . . . . " > > So, I'll keep striking, perhaps to little avail, leaving the rest > of you to get sweaty hacking away at those branches. Of course > there is great benefit to doing that, That's the psychological > uplift that reformers get even if nothing of consequence is > accomplished. I know - I've been one. > > So, work on a dozen or a hundred programs designed to ameliorate > rather than end misery. It passes the time. > > Harry > > PS It costs $266 a month for a 59 year old to join Kaiser. That > $275 for Ms Pard's nine year old seem a bit stiff. > > > ******************************************** > Henry George School of Social Science > of Los Angeles > Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 > Tel: 818 352-4141 -- Fax: 818 353-2242 > http://haledward.home.comcast.net > ******************************************** > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2003 4:45 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: [Futurework] NYTimes.com Article: For Middle Class, > Health Insurance Becomes a Luxury > > So, Harry P., how do you deal with this?? > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2003 3:38 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [Futurework] NYTimes.com Article: For Middle Class, > Health Insurance Becomes a Luxury > > > This article from NYTimes.com > has been sent to you by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > For those who are not NYT subscribers. > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ > > FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: IN AMERICA - IN THEATRES NOVEMBER 26 > > Fox Searchlight Pictures proudly presents IN AMERICA > directed by Academy Award(R) Nominee Jim Sheridan (My Left > Foot and In The Name of the Father). IN AMERICA stars Samantha > Morton, Paddy Considine and Djimon Hounsou. For more info: > http://www.foxsearchlight.com/inamerica > > \----------------------------------------------------------/ > > For Middle Class, Health Insurance Becomes a Luxury > > November 16, 2003 > By STEPHANIE STROM > > > > > > DALLAS - The last time Kevin Thornton had health insurance > was three years ago, which was not much of a problem until > he began having trouble swallowing. > > "I broke down earlier this year and went in and talked to a > doctor about it," said Mr. Thornton, who lives in Sherman, > about 60 miles north of Dallas. > > A barium X-ray cost him $130, and the radiologist another > $70, expenses he charged to his credit cards. The doctor > ordered other tests that Mr. Thornton simply could not > afford. > > "I was supposed to go back after the X-ray results came, > but I decided just to live with it for a while," he said. > "I may just be a walking time bomb." > > Mr. Thornton, 41, left a stable job with good health > coverage in 1998 for a higher salary at a dot-com company > that went bust a few months later. Since then, he has > worked on contract for various companies, including one > that provided insurance until the project ended in 2000. "I > failed to keep up the payments that would have been > required to maintain my coverage," he said. "It was just > too much money." > > Mr. Thornton is one of more than 43 million people in the > United States who lack health insurance, and their numbers > are rapidly increasing because of ever soaring cost and job > losses. Many states, including Texas, are also cutting back > on subsidies for health care, further increasing the number > of people with no coverage. > > The majority of the uninsured are neither poor by official > standards nor unemployed. They are accountants like Mr. > Thornton, employees of small businesses, civil servants, > single working mothers and those working part time or on > contract. > > "Now it's hitting people who look like you and me, dress > like you and me, drive nice cars and live in nice houses > but can't afford $1,000 a month for health insurance for > their families," said R. King Hillier, director of > legislative relations for Harris County, which includes > Houston. > > Paying for health insurance is becoming a middle-class > problem, and not just here. "After paying for health > insurance, you take home less than minimum wage," says a > poster in New York City subways sponsored by Working Today, > a nonprofit agency that offers health insurance to > independent contractors in New York. "Welcome to > middle-class poverty." In Southern California, 70,000 > supermarket workers have been on strike for five weeks over > plans to cut their health benefits. > > The insurance crisis is especially visible in Texas, which > has the highest proportion of uninsured in the country - > almost one in every four residents. The state has a large > population of immigrants; its labor market is dominated by > low-wage service sector jobs, and it has a higher than > average number of small businesses, which are less likely > to provide health benefits because they pay higher > insurance costs than large companies. > > State cuts to subsidies for health insurance to help close > a $10 billion budget gap will cost the state $500 million > in federal matching money and are expected to further spur > the rise in uninsured. In September, for example, more than > half a million children enrolled in a state- and > federal-subsidized insurance program lost dental, vision > and most mental care coverage, and some 169,000 children > will lose all insurance by 2005. > > "These were tough economic times that the legislature was > dealing with, and the governor believed in setting the tone > for the legislative session that the government must > operate the way Texas families do and Texas businesses do > and live within its means," said Kathy Walt, spokeswoman > for Gov. Rick Perry. > > She noted that the legislature raised spending on health > and human services by $1 billion this year, and that > lawmakers passed two bills intended to make it easier for > small businesses to provide health insurance for their > employees. > > Those measures, however, will not help Theresa Pardo or > other Texas residents like her who have to make tough > choices about medical care they need but cannot afford. > > Ms. Pardo, a 29-year-old from Houston, said that having no > insurance meant choosing between buying an inhaler for her > 9-year-old asthmatic daughter or buying her a birthday > present. The girl, Morgan, lost her state-subsidized > insurance last month, and now her mother must pay $80 > instead of $5 for the inhaler. > > Rent, car payments and insurance, day care and utilities > cost Ms. Pardo more than $1,200 a month, leaving less than > $200 for food, gas and other expenses. So even though her > employer, the Harris County government, provides her with > low-cost insurance, she cannot afford the $275 a month she > would have to pay to add her daughter to her plan. > > When Morgan's dentist recently wanted to pull a tooth, Ms. > Pardo hesitated. The tooth extraction proceeded, but: "I > had to ask him, if you pull this tooth, will it cause other > problems? Because if it does, I can't afford to deal with > them." > > Lorenda Stevenson said her choice was between buying > medicine to treat patches of peeling, flaking skin on her > hands, arms and face and making sure her son could continue > his after-school tennis program. "There's no way I will cut > that out unless we don't have money for food," she said. > > Mrs. Stevenson's husband, Bill, lost his management job at > WorldCom two years ago, when an accounting scandal forced > the company into bankruptcy. They managed to pay $900 a > month for Cobra, the government policy that allows workers > to continue their coverage after they lose their jobs, but > when the cost rose to $1,200, they could no longer afford > it. > > When their son, a ninth grader, needed a physical and shot > to take tennis, Mrs. Stevenson turned to the Rockwall Area > Health Clinic, a nonprofit clinic in Rockwall, a city of > 13,000 northeast of Dallas. The clinic charged her $20 > instead of the $400 she estimated she would have paid at > the doctor's office. > > "I sat filling out the paperwork and crying," she said, > tears streaming down her face. "I was so embarrassed to > bring him here." > > A salve to treat her skin condition costs $27, and she pays > roughly $50 a month for medications for high blood pressure > and hormones. She does without medication she needs for > acid reflux, treating the conditions sporadically with > samples from the clinic. > > Carol Johnston cannot afford even doctor visits. A single > mother in Houston, she lost her job in health care > administration in May and said she was still unemployed > despite filling out 500 to 600 applications and attending > countless job fairs. > > Cobra would have cost $214 a month, or more than one-fifth > of the $1,028 in unemployment she gets a month. As it is, > her monthly bills for rent, car, utilities and phone exceed > her income. > > She got a 12-month deferral on her student loans, and Ford > pushed her car payments back by two months. The Johnstons > rely on television for entertainment and almost never use > air-conditioning, despite Houston's muggy, hot climate. > > Now Ms. Johnston's 16-year-old son is losing the portion of > his insurance that covered treatment for his learning and > emotional disabilities because of state cutbacks. > > Ms. Johnston herself does not qualify for Medicaid, the > government insurance program for the indigent, because her > income is too high, the same reason she qualifies for only > $10 a month in food stamps. "I worry, I worry so much about > making sure my son is safe," she said. > > As for her own health, Ms. Johnston has two cysts in one > breast and three in another but has had only one aspirated > because she cannot afford to check on the others. "Do I > have to move to Iraq to get help?" she asked. "They have > $87 billion for folks over there," she said, referring to > money Congress allocated for military operations and > rebuilding. > > Experts warn that allowing health problems to fester is > only going to increase the costs of health care for the > uninsured. "As Americans, when are we going to realize it's > cheaper to save them on the front end than when they get > cancer and show up in the emergency room?" said Sandra B. > Thurman, executive director of PediPlace, a nonprofit > health clinic in Lewisville, Tex. > > Many hospitals and neighborhood clinics here say that the > well-heeled are now joining the poor in seeking their care. > Emergency rooms are particularly hard hit, since federal > law requires them to treat anyone who walks through their > doors for emergency treatment, regardless of whether they > can pay. > > Public hospital emergency rooms are even harder hit, since > private hospitals will move quickly to shift uninsured > patients to them. And clinics for the poor are also seeing > an increase in demand. > > A clinic run by Central Dallas Ministries charges patients > $5 for a doctor visit, $10 for medication and $15 if > laboratory work is needed, but often settles for no payment > from many of the 3,500 patients it treats each year. > > "I'm not real optimistic it will get a lot better," said > Larry Morris James, executive director of Central Dallas > Ministries. "Demographic and economic trends tell you that > it's probably going to get worse." > > For Irma Arellano, the problem has already hit home. Mrs. > Arellano is a secretary in the Royse school district > northeast of Dallas, which provides her health insurance > for $35 a month but offers no discounts for her three > children or husband. > > Two years ago, the Arellanos paid $269 a month to insure > the family. The price jumped last year to $339 and this > year to $780, more than their monthly mortgage payment. > > Her husband works for a small landscaping company that does > not offer insurance. So Mrs. Arellano is insured, but her > husband, Jose, and their three children - Jackie, 16; Joe, > 15; and Anthony, 13 - are going without insurance. > > The Arellanos' income, which ranges from $2,800 to $3,200 a > month, makes them ineligible for state-subsidized > insurance. Their basic expenses run $2,000 a month or more. > > > "I'm one of those people in the middle," Mrs. Arellano > said. "We don't make enough to pay for insurance ourselves, > but we make too much to qualify for CHIP," the > government-subsidized program for children. > > So her children were recently at the Rockwall clinic for > the physicals they need to participate in after-school > sports, paying $25 instead of the $100 or more Mrs. > Arellano would have paid at the doctor's office. > > The family has catastrophic insurance, but Mrs. Arellano is > uncertain how much longer she can afford it. Mr. Arellano's > income typically drops in the winter, and his wife is > hoping the children will then qualify for the state > insurance program. > > Even so, newly initiated regulations require families to > reapply for the insurance every six months, rather than > once a year, so they are not likely to qualify for long. > > "I'll take what I can get," Mrs. Arellano said. > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/national/16INSU.html?ex=1070015 > 089&ei=1&en > =71a5f688d394a03d > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.548 / Virus Database: 341 - Release Date: 12/5/2003 > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
