I had my gallbladder out in 2008, spent 4 nights in the hospital getting bumped for whatever else came up while they took my blood every six hours, waking me up at 4am telling me that there was a cumulative possibility that a stone could drop into my pancreas, and I'd probably be dead before I knew it had happened, not that they'd be likely to save me even if I did. The last night they assure me that nobody stays more than 4 nights by some kind of office agreement, and yet I hear over a nurse's radio that they weren't going to take me just minutes later.
I grabbed my rack and (holding it over my head, something they hadn't seen before) walked out into the nurse's office and began telling them loudly that I'd paid 7 figures just in income taxes in my life and whether that matters to anyone or not, I damned well am demanding to have my well-being taken care of THAT night or I was walking out of the hospital right then and calling my lawyer; furthermore they'd best hope I didn't die or my instructions to him would be to use my estate to sue every doctor and nurse that was involved in my death, then give my settlement to a private clinic.
They put me into a surgery gown five minutes later. After my surgery, I was awake for 1/2 hour before they kicked me out of the bed. The nurse who had looked after me for three of the days I was there apologised to me that the system works the way it does, she was a bit appalled herself.
It's ridiculous. We pay all that money and most of it goes to just... beurocracy. Or to salaries for people that do nothing all day. The waste... the waste is ugly. Anyone advocating big government just doesn't have a clue. Government's job is to make itself bigger and more important (its definition, not mine) and it's ever been thus. Right now there are so many beurocrats and do-nothings in government... if you've ever worked with any level of government you know exactly what I mean. You have the police taking $100K+ salaries plus overtime now, you have doctors taking $500K+ salaries... thanks Liberals! I used to be a card-carrying liberal but now... the worst of it is that I hate Harper and his goons with a passion, so how to vote?
To get elected requires money and backing of heavy hitters to grease the wheels.
Yes and because those in power got there using money, they reject any attempt to end that practice. I think it absolutely should be a low-cost system that is funded by public money - and no other spending is allowed.
And by the way, why have they totally avoided using the Internet to self-govern or provide consumer-based voting services to give the common person a real, defined way to have an impact at little cost to themselves?
Because they don't want that. Those in power hoard power. I was involved in a project where a local politician was promising easy access, transparency and community discussion using the web, and the team provided them many features to allow that, including a discussion forum of sorts and more. It worked, she had people volunteering to "beat the street" to help. After getting elected, what did that politician immediately do? Shut it all down. I was skeptically waiting for it to happen but one of my friends who believed in The Process was devestated.
You simply have to be a self serving weasel to get into and prosper in politics.
This.
As as soon as a person goes xxxx party is to blame, I file them under "intellectually lazy" who have bought the us vs them mentality needed to perpetuate the two sided politics.
Also this. How many times have I had to say "I don't care about what party did it, it's got to stop!" and still been accused of parroting some party line of an opposing party. Intellectually lazy or brainwashed, I don't know. For some people, politics are as rational as religion: not at all.
