Recent content by lets-retire

I definitely would hold out for the insurance company to have their way with the provider. On every policy I've had (PPO) they stipulate that participating providers have agreed to the negotiated amount. Since I always go to participating providers, I will not pay anything more than the...

I have considered the strategic default, but only as a future option. Currently the DW and I are both government workers. We are severely upside down in our house, however we have no plans to default unless we are unable to pay the bill. With all of the benefit reductions being proposed in...

Talks of defense reductions always makes me think of the draw downs of the early 90's. The Air Force was on track to meet the Defense Department's goal within the required timeline. Congress, however, wanted it done quicker than their initial timeline. As a result many good people left the...

From what I was told, the teachers back in the day were unable to flip the writing around in their mind to teach it to a lefty. As a result we lefties were taught to write upside down. I did that for a very long time then figured if my writing is illegible either way, then I'll just write like...

The way I've lost hundreds of pounds is the moderation diet. I found out about this diet when I was heavy into weight lifting. You can not cut out any one specific group from your diet if you like it. As T-Al said the hiker lost in the wood is going to pig out when they get back. If you...

Each of these issues present at the time the Constitution was written was handled correctly, with an amendment. That is how the Constitution should be changed for issues that were present at the signing, not through legislation or activist judges. If a development was made after the...

You seemed to have interpreted my position as a pro Republican one. You are incorrect, my position is a strict interpretation of the Constitution. I agree Bush's part D should not be allowed.

You are correct in that health insurance did not exist. Health care did exist, even in it's most rudimentary form. The founders did not include it in the Constitution. They did not think the federal government should provide health care. If they did they would have included it. Airplanes...

Technically this is incorrect, at least according to the 10th Amendment. I know in practice it is a bit different. In my thinking (I know not really a good source) if something had been invented when the Constitution was written and it wasn't provided for in that document it is a fairly good...

A person must have food shelter and clothing to survive. The government must provide those items because of the general welfare clause. A person should also engage in physical activity in order to thrive, so the government must provide gym memberships for the general welfare. People with...

I have to agree. Yes, there would have been people unemployed, but they were excess capacity in the system. That excess has not been wrung out, so it is still there and still being a drag on the industry. Until that excess is taken out of the system the industry will not be healthy and will...

Because the money is taken from our paychecks for the specific reason to pay for SS. If it was taken from our paychecks to pay for other government programs, then it would be income tax withholding, not SS withholding.

There is definitely a lot of government waste. The agency the DW works for has essentially the same functions as another government agency. The only difference is the product is a bit different and the target consumer is a bit different. There is no reason at all why the DW's agency couldn't...

Unfortunately the wife's tumor wasn't diagnosed until almost 15 years after she was discharged.

The wife was asking a similar question to her neuro-oncologist about a tumor she had removed. They said it was slow growing and at the time of removal 6 years ago there was no way of determining when it started. This last visit, two months ago, she was advised that there are methods in...