Smokers to pay for public health insurance in Maryland?
- Thread starter bcp
- Start date
MysticalMom
Witchy Woman
BS Gal said:
:snort:
Somdmommy said:
We pay for people to be in jail so they are removed from society. The risk/reward of putting someone in jail is in our favor if it a) makes society safer and b) punishes the perpetrator. If one child is made safe by putting a perv behind bars the cost is inconsequential.
We've already made society safe from smokers (that's old news), now some citizens and all insurers (as a result of employee/employer pressure) want to make sure that they pay their fair share of medical costs via higher taxes, higher premiums, etc.
ylexot said:
I can see the litigation now...
Lawyer: "Dr., did this disease occur as a result of smoking?"
Doctor: "I can say with 99% certainty, yes, its from smoking."
Lawyer: "So there is a 1% chance its from huffing glue?"
Plaintiff: "Objection."
Lawyer: "No further questions."
Somdmommy
:Jeepin' in NC:
Your slice of the pie
The fiscal year 2004 federal budget is about $2 trillion. The spending in percentages this year looks like this:
26.2%—military
22.6%—interest on the debt
19%—health care
5.5%—income security
3.4%—veterans’ benefits
3.3%—education
2.5%—nutrition spending
1.6%—housing
1.6%—environment
11.4%—everything else
Looking at it a different way, if you had $1,500 deducted from your paychecks as an “income” tax and your tax dollars were directly applied to government expenses, your contributions by category would be:
$393—military
$339—interest on national debt
$285—healthcare
$83—income security
$51—veterans’ benefits
$48—education
$38—nutrition spending
$24—housing
$24—environmental protection
$216—everything else
The fiscal year 2004 federal budget is about $2 trillion. The spending in percentages this year looks like this:
26.2%—military
22.6%—interest on the debt
19%—health care
5.5%—income security
3.4%—veterans’ benefits
3.3%—education
2.5%—nutrition spending
1.6%—housing
1.6%—environment
11.4%—everything else
Looking at it a different way, if you had $1,500 deducted from your paychecks as an “income” tax and your tax dollars were directly applied to government expenses, your contributions by category would be:
$393—military
$339—interest on national debt
$285—healthcare
$83—income security
$51—veterans’ benefits
$48—education
$38—nutrition spending
$24—housing
$24—environmental protection
$216—everything else
Holy cow!!! And I pay my health insurance premiums on top of that!!!
That's another question - are smokers less likely to carry health insurance? Is that why they're supposedly such a financial drain on society?
Somdmommy
:Jeepin' in NC:
I dont know? I have Health Insurance? My parents have it, so do my In laws (we all smoke)vraiblonde said:Holy cow!!! And I pay my health insurance premiums on top of that!!!
That's another question - are smokers less likely to carry health insurance? Is that why they're supposedly such a financial drain on society?