Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich

Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by lotsofpulp on Monday June 12, 2017 @08:05AM (#14536588)

Medical issues (maybe legal too) seem to be the game changer. Millions can go just like that, assuming you want the best available (and who doesn't for loved ones?)

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by taneq on Monday June 12, 2017 @08:16AM (#14536637)

"The best available" goes far beyond the point of diminishing returns. If you're willing to settle for merely 'top tier', you'd spend a small fraction of the amount for essentially the same level of care. And that's even in a place with medical costs as insane as the U.S.

Anyway, there's no such thing as perfectly impervious to risk - even ultra-wealthy families sometimes topple. That doesn't change the fact that with careful management, a $300k/year income can rapidly feather a rather nice, rather secure nest. $30k/year cannot.

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by lotsofpulp on Monday June 12, 2017 @09:23AM (#14537157)

I'd like to think that there are diminishing returns, but in my experience, the biggest complaint about doctors (and from doctors) is the lack of time they get to spend on a patient. It would stand to reason that a doctor that can spend an hour talking to you, researching your condition and history, collaborate with colleagues across disciplines is going to have a much greater impact than one who sees you for 5 minutes.

And it costs quite a lot to get that level of care.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/business/economy/high-end...

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by kbutler on Monday June 12, 2017 @11:00AM (#14537847)

> in my experience, the biggest complaint about doctors (and from doctors) is the lack of time they get to spend on a patient.

If you talk to someone with significant health issues, it rapidly becomes, "The doctors don't have the answer".

Nobody wants to spend longer with the doctor - they want healthy, productive life outside the doctor's office.

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by FussyZeus on Monday June 12, 2017 @08:22AM (#14536676)

As I understand it, medical expenses are the fastest route from "stable" as OP defines to the street. If you blew your millions on a yacht only to crumble under the load of the debt that would be one thing, but for the majority of people who lose everything they have, it was due to one disease or another, traffic accident, some other kind of ailment that they played little to no role in getting.

That's not right.

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by miguelrochefort on Monday June 12, 2017 @08:44AM (#14536837)

> due to one disease or another, traffic accident, some other kind of ailment that they played little to no role in getting.

How do you feel about kids born in Africa?

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by FussyZeus on Monday June 12, 2017 @09:32AM (#14537215)

I'm not certain if you're trying to imply that people in the US shouldn't complain because they have it better than "kids born in Africa" or if you're implying that healthcare shouldn't be a basic human right for everyone, in the US or not.

If it's the former: Suffering isn't a contest, just because you aren't the MOST impoverished person on the face of the planet does not make your problems less real, nor does it make you less deserving of help when you do need it.

If it's the latter, I'm all for getting those kids healthcare (and food) and whatever else they might need. That's a damn sight better use of my tax dollars than numerous Government programs currently sucking up actual trillions of dollars here in the States.

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by miguelrochefort on Monday June 12, 2017 @09:55AM (#14537378)

You concluded your comment with "That's not right", implying that no one should ever be in that situation.

Considering that a lot of people are in that situation, I was wondering if you were advocating taking money from the rich to give it to the poor.

Personally, I don't believe in free healthcare. I accept that people who are unlucky or demonstrate poor judgement will suffer and die. However, I also believe that the market should be deregulated so that more affordable options become available.

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by jrmg on Monday June 12, 2017 @10:28AM (#14537621)

I accept that people who are unlucky or demonstrate poor judgement will suffer and die.

Oof. That’s quite an admission.

I thank you for stating it though. I think our politics would be in a better place if people would admit things like this more.

I suspect that a lot of Republicans have the opinion that the poor don’t _deserve_ to be taken care of by society, because they believe that they are poor because of their own inaction. But it’s impossible to debate this - and change minds either way - because we don’t admit that point of view in discussion.

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by Cthulhu_ on Monday June 12, 2017 @08:55AM (#14536938)

> implying all African kids live in shit conditions

Can we please not generalize Africa? It's the biggest continent of the world, not a giant 3rd world country plagued by famine and poverty. Some countries are, but if you mean those, please name them specifically.

(I dislike phrases like "asians" and "europeans" too, much as Americans should dislike the moniker "American")

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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by thatwebdude on Monday June 12, 2017 @09:47AM (#14537314)

I always liked the ring of "United Statesian".

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