Mr. Stossel, if hospitals were like Fed Ex instead of USPS....

[Drahthaardogs]

1) Your care would not be done on time. See, only one agency has a history of delivering all of its packages on time during the Holidays and it WAS NOT UPS or Fed Ex. In fact, they used the USPS to finish up their work when they knew they could not succeed.

2) You would pay more for basic services. USPS will now deliver a letter from one coast to the next for $.47. They will deliver a package within three days for about $7.00. Overnight for $23. Fex Ex wants more.

3) Your hospital would be publicly traded on the market and would now have a fiduciary obligation to INVESTORS to turn a PROFIT, not YOU as the customer. USPS by law, cannot be profitable.

4) Your doctor and nurses would be paid the lowest salary possible (see Item #3 above). Temporary hires during critical times would be likely. Some of the work might be subcontracted out to foreign countries. You have to maximize profits, and union employees with benefits do not maximize profits. In fact, you might get to have an automated answering service filter your emergency. Press 1 for a heart attack, Press 2 if you are having an asthma attack.

5) Your artificial knee would be designed for planned obsolescence. While the new Smith and Nephew 30 Year Knee is innovative, it sure does not help make profits to have a stupid fake knee last for 30 years... We went through that with Maytag in the 60s. Nope, we want that sucker to last about 10 years. Then time for a new surgery. It is more PROFITABLE that way (See Item #3 above).

Your article is one of the dumbest things I have read in a long time. Still espousing that stupid Venture Capitalist nonsense bullshit. The number 1 and 2 health systems in the world are France and Italy - both government run. U.S. is way down at 37 even though we have no government run health care. Of course, don't let something like reality get in the way of your "libertarian" bullshit.

[world wide wally]

1. Yep! ^

[Baobab]

40. This is basically happening already, almost!

Don't people know about TiSA? Almost finished in Geneva?

[MerryBlooms]

2. Well stated!

[narnian60]

19. +1

[n2doc]

3. 4. They would hire nurses and assistants off the street during busy times

and then fire them immediately after the busy season was over. Taking whomever they could find, rather than those with the long term experience in the field.

[HubertHeaver]

8. During natural disaster

hire the first 15 in the door to perform triage on the remainder.

[Enthusiast]

26. +1!

[KT2000]

4. good post! n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

5. D'oh

I misread it. He didn't say these things, this is a rebuttal of it. He is still a right wing idiot.

[rpannier]

6. I think that beat down by the wrestler

must have done permanent brain damage or dislodged his soul

[JHB]

10. It taught him "I'm not getting paid enough for this shit"...

...so he found an easier and more lucrative gig.

[Stonepounder]

7. Just a minor quibble (I agree with the thrust of the OP)

I don't know what it is like now, but back in the 60's and 70's, the Post Office would hire temps for the Christmas rush. I know, because for several years I looked forward to getting hired on at the Post Office at Christmas, because they paid so well. We would be hired as sorters (back in the days before the automatic sorters), truck loaders/unloaders, and other stuff.

And in the 90's I worked as a contract programmer for the Post Office as well. We were not Postal employees (don't I wish), but worked for a Gov't Contractor. It was interesting, because while I was there, Contractor A lost the bid to Contractor B. We stayed put, just our paychecks then came from Contractor B instead of Contractor A. Not a single person lost their job in the 'move'.

[TexasBushwhacker]

35. Yup, my aunt started as a temp during the holidays

She had always been a housewife, but once she had an empty nest, she could only do some many crafts! She took the job on a lark for a little extra Christmas money but liked it so much she got her own full time route.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

9. I hate that snake

The epitome of a rabid, racist, money grubbing, super dick fuckwad!

[TexasBushwhacker]

36. I don't know what happened to him

He wasn't always such a tool.

[tecelote]

11. I hate what they have done to the post office.

The post office helped make America great.

It's been hobbled by stupid regulations yet still remains on top.

Good people doing an invaluable job.

Imagine what we would have to pay if it was privatized.

[TheBlackAdder]

17. Many dist centers closed to increase delivery time, then use USPS to perform final segment delivery.

.


They pay congress to pressure the Postal Commission to make the USPS less competitive for 1-day deliveries.

This way, they can charge a pile of cash for an overnight delivery, besting the USPS.


They pay USPS about a penny a package above cost to deliver a package to a residence. The most expensive segement.

Whereas the private delivery firms would not be able to compete, since they don't have the infrastructure.


It's the old PRIVATIZE PROFITS , SOCIALIZE COSTS




.

[Thespian2]

12. Isn't Stossel a kind of fungal disease

around the assholes of Madagascaran Tenrecs? I could be wrong...just asking...

[pdom694]

24. I heard things.

Donald Trump said that he is looking into that. He has talked to many people and some say that it is in fact a fungal disease, but he can't verify that is on the asshole of Tenrecs. He is having people look into it.

[Thespian2]

30. Excellent!

[TheBlackAdder]

13. They'd buy off Congress, make competition prefund retirement, then have a PE firm loot it.

.


Oh, then the US Taxpayers would be on the hook to replenish the accounts.


.

[aggiesal]

14. I agree with everything you said, except ...

Last edited Wed Apr 27, 2016, 11:05 PM - Edit history (1)

this sentence:

U.S. is way down at 37 even though we have no government run health care.

I disagree with the second half. The US does have government run health care.
It's called the VA.
Everything about the VA is socialistic. The hospital are owned by the gov't,
the property it sits on is owned by the gov't, the doctors and nurses are paid
by the gov't.

And if you ask any veteran if they would give up the VA benefits, they'd say no way.

So it must not be that bad.

[trc]

22. here here

Love me some VA

[dembotoz]

15. am i awful to say i hope his prognosis is very over optimistic?

if so

i
don't
care

[SCantiGOP]

16. All I can say is

Extremely well stated.

[Overseas]

18. K&R. Well said.

[JoeyT]

20. If my experience with UPS and Fed Ex are anything to go by

then I'd pay for a shoulder surgery and they'd operate on the first person they ran into that lived near me because my house is too far out. USPS never does that.

[reformist2]

21. When I hear the name FedEx, I think fast and expensive. Not two words I want to hear re: healthcare!

[quakerboy]

23. Also

They would take your liver transplant and drop it off at the local minimart if you werent home that day. Then they would claim it never arrived, and then two weeks later, if you were "lucky", they might find and offer to let you come pick up the decayed organ.

[Enthusiast]

25. K&R! This post deserves hundreds of recommendations.

There is no good argument against non-profit Medicare For All. The voices you hear speaking against it originate with the insurance, pharmaceutical and medical services pirates.

[Monk06]

27. Both UPS and FedEx failed to deliver parcels too me recently Canada Post ten flawless deliveries in

a row If CanPost misses a delivery I can pick it up at a retail postal station one block from my house

I was tracking my deliveries and waiting by the phone for all of them

UPS missed me twice I was on my third attempt when I received my package

FedEx also failed due to an incorrect address. After finally tracking down their phone rep I found out my address was correct The phone guy said he had no idea how that could happen. I told him easy, the delivery person buzzed the wrong number on the door intercom and when there was no answer he or she just walked away

The intro to FedEx customer service was a hoot "How can you make your FedEx delivery experience more awesome"

Seriously, it was not awesome. To get back to awesome read the address correctly and deliver the frigging package

[Scuba]

28. Perhaps we could have "charter" hospitals, staffed not with real doctors and nurses, but ...

... with folks who just want to give it a shot.

[AllyCat]

31. Well, hey, we can do that with teachers now in Wisconsin.

Why not nurses? I mean, my experience as an RN means the same as someone with basic first aid skills and some life experience birthing a baby in the back of a car, right?

[hunter]

32. Everyone has been a student, so they all think they can be teachers.

Most people have visited a doctor at some point, I mean how hard can it be? The pharmaceutical reps will be happy to help the doctors in such a place, right?

[Locrian]

29. great post - bookmarking for use against freemarket true believers - n/t

[wryter2000]

33. I wish I could rec this more than once eom

eom

[rickford66]

34. Stossel AND George Will are oxygen theives.

On the positive side, they produce plenty of bird cage and kindling supplies.

[MadDAsHell]

37. USPS is able to do all of these things....at a loss of billions per year.

Something has to give. Let's fix USPS, not just pretend nothing is wrong.

[Drahthaardogs]

41. They operate at a profit but lose money becausw

They prefund retirements as mandated.

[MadDAsHell]

43. As they should. Since when is it a Democratic ideal to let employers off the pension hook?

If they have obligations to retirees, they better damn well make sure they're prepared to meet them.

[Drahthaardogs]

44. I agree.

But Congress makes them overpay it just to make them look bad.

[11 Bravo]

38. Nicely done! Stossel needs to see this.

Happy to K&R

[GrapesOfWrath]

39. Tell it!

+1000

[wolfie001]

42. The middle and lower classes can never suffer enough for the likes of that asshole!

Fuck him and his bullshit "wisdom".