Basil Marceaux (R) for Governor of Tennessee!!!

[BabylonHoruv]

A brief overview of his policies:

Get rid of mandatory car insurance.

School principals should take classes taught by retired principals.  

Teachers should have bachelor's degrees and take annual competency tests.

"Health care in Tennessee is a joke. I believe the doctors in Tennessee should practice preventive medicine. We need to be tested for all possibilities so we do not have to have an expensive medical procedure because the problem was not caught in time. I think insurance companies should bid on all parts of health insurance. So we can get the best price and service possible. There should be CAPS on all medical procedures. "

Politicians should listen more to the people.

I can't say I really disagree with him on any of those.

I disagree slightly on the health care item. Preventative medicine is very useful but there comes a point where you have to decide which tests are useful and which aren't. Testing people who are in very low risk groups can cause a high number of false positives which do more harm than good. Testing "for all possibilities" would have doctors spending most of their time on wild goose chases.

Testing and preventative medicine are different things.  Preventative medicine is things like cigarette taxes and fast food taxes (at least at a government level)  Discourage unhealthy behaviors.  Odd to hear socialism and social engineering from a republican.  Good thing he isn't very coherent,  His followers would lynch him.

[Cramulus]

I thought preventative medicine was stuff like vaccinations?

I don't support sin tax. To me, it always seems like --- When the government needs to make some scratch, it picks some behaviors which are on its SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE list and discourages them. You're imposing a form of social control not out of social need, but out of economic need. If the government taxes a behavior that is generally considered badwrong, people forget that this just a form of social control. It's not much of a stretch for sin tax logic to be applied to abortions or condoms or red meat. We all do stuff which is perhaps not good for the collective - the government doesn't want to fix it so much as capitalize on it.

[AFK]

A brief overview of his policies:

Get rid of mandatory car insurance.

School principals should take classes taught by retired principals.  

Teachers should have bachelor's degrees and take annual competency tests.

"Health care in Tennessee is a joke. I believe the doctors in Tennessee should practice preventive medicine. We need to be tested for all possibilities so we do not have to have an expensive medical procedure because the problem was not caught in time. I think insurance companies should bid on all parts of health insurance. So we can get the best price and service possible. There should be CAPS on all medical procedures. "

Politicians should listen more to the people.

I can't say I really disagree with him on any of those.

I disagree slightly on the health care item. Preventative medicine is very useful but there comes a point where you have to decide which tests are useful and which aren't. Testing people who are in very low risk groups can cause a high number of false positives which do more harm than good. Testing "for all possibilities" would have doctors spending most of their time on wild goose chases.

Testing and preventative medicine are different things.  Preventative medicine is things like cigarette taxes and fast food taxes (at least at a government level)  Discourage unhealthy behaviors.  Odd to hear socialism and social engineering from a republican.  Good thing he isn't very coherent,  His followers would lynch him.

No, that is not preventative medicine.  What you are talking about are prevention initiatives, undertaken by advocacy groups.  Preventative medicine is routine checkups, vaccinations, etc.  It's basically human maintenance.  If you drew the analogy to cars, preventative medicine would be the routine oil changes, tune-ups, and inspections. 

When people talk about preventative medicine initiatives, they are policies aimed at getting more people to see their PCP and to get the proper checkups.  Because if someone is seeing a doctor regularly, they are much more likely to catch something in the early phases, and thus, prevent the need for more specialized, risky, and yes, expensive procedures. 

[AFK]

I thought preventative medicine was stuff like vaccinations?

It is.   

I don't support sin tax. To me, it always seems like --- When the government needs to make some scratch, it picks some behaviors which are on its SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE list and discourages them. You're imposing a form of social control not out of social need, but out of economic need. If the government taxes a behavior that is generally considered badwrong, people forget that this just a form of social control. It's not much of a stretch for sin tax logic to be applied to abortions or condoms or red meat. We all do stuff which is perhaps not good for the collective - the government doesn't want to fix it so much as capitalize on it.

I can only speak from my experience, but this really isn't true.  I am currently part of an initiative to raise the taxes on alcohol here in the state.  So that's the first point, that this is an initiative being undertaken by citizens and advocates, not the government.  And yes, from our perspective there certainly is an element of wanting to discourage use.  Price increases do seem to put some downward pressure on youth alcohol use. 

However, the main aim is to be able to fund prevention efforts.  The funding that would come from this tax increase would fund substance abuse prevention programming and initiatives in the state.  It isn't to raise money for the government to balance their books. 

[Doktor Howl]

A brief overview of his policies:

Get rid of mandatory car insurance.

School principals should take classes taught by retired principals. 

Teachers should have bachelor's degrees and take annual competency tests.

"Health care in Tennessee is a joke. I believe the doctors in Tennessee should practice preventive medicine. We need to be tested for all possibilities so we do not have to have an expensive medical procedure because the problem was not caught in time. I think insurance companies should bid on all parts of health insurance. So we can get the best price and service possible. There should be CAPS on all medical procedures. "

Politicians should listen more to the people.


I'm going to send him an email to find out what his position is on the construction of Mosques in Tennessee.

I can't say I really disagree with him on any of those.

Never been clobbered by an uninsured driver, have you?

[Cramulus]

over here in NY, there's been a lot of dialogue about raising tax on soda. The advocates claim that soda drinkers are costing all of us money because soda causes diabetes and obesity and that's a public health issue.

don't get me wrong, I fucking hate diabetics, and if we can end their existence then I will gladly never drink soda again

but the moral price tag seems a bit misplaced to me. My personal soda drinking habits are not causing any obesity or diabetes. And supermarkets think it's not going to curb soda drinking, it's just going to cause everybody to buy the cheaper, sweeter soda (which is produced outside of NY).

[Rumckle]

I thought preventative medicine was stuff like vaccinations?

I don't support sin tax. To me, it always seems like --- When the government needs to make some scratch, it picks some behaviors which are on its SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE list and discourages them. You're imposing a form of social control not out of social need, but out of economic need. If the government taxes a behavior that is generally considered badwrong, people forget that this just a form of social control. It's not much of a stretch for sin tax logic to be applied to abortions or condoms or red meat. We all do stuff which is perhaps not good for the collective - the government doesn't want to fix it so much as capitalize on it.

I'm not sure that is the case, though the political and social landscape here may be different. For instance, in conjunction with raising the tax on pre-mixed drinks here recently, the government also set up an education campaign with pamphlets and prime time TV ads designed to prevent excessive drinking. (Which cost an extra $50m on top of what they were already spending, how that compares to the money gained through tax I am unsure). It also worked, because the amount of pre-mixed drinks sold dropped by 31%. Our cigarettes are also heavily taxed here, but the government also puts in other measures, such as ad campaigns, and laws regarding how they can be sold.

That said, the problem I have with the cigarette tax, is that the government says it is terrible, and it says do not smoke ever, at all, not even once. But rather than ban cigarettes, they just tax them, then spend that money on various ad campaigns, and other shit. (Though the tax on cigarettes is really fucking high, so they probably make a shit-load off them.)

http://www.phaa.net.au/documents/FederalHealthBudgetbriefingforPHAAmembers.pdf

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/alcopops-campaign-hoax/story-e6frergo-1111117082544

[Doktor Howl]

don't get me wrong, I fucking hate diabetics, and if we can end their existence then I will gladly never drink soda again

Next, Cram on Cancer Babies:  Are they using medical resources they haven't yet earned?

[Cramulus]

Children with cancer are fuckwads too. You don't get any sympathy from me until you're old enough to earn it. and no, getting cancer before age 3 is not an accomplishment. It's just FAIL on your part.

[BabylonHoruv]

I thought preventative medicine was stuff like vaccinations?

I don't support sin tax. To me, it always seems like --- When the government needs to make some scratch, it picks some behaviors which are on its SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE list and discourages them. You're imposing a form of social control not out of social need, but out of economic need. If the government taxes a behavior that is generally considered badwrong, people forget that this just a form of social control. It's not much of a stretch for sin tax logic to be applied to abortions or condoms or red meat. We all do stuff which is perhaps not good for the collective - the government doesn't want to fix it so much as capitalize on it.

Vaccines are also preventative medicine.  I dunno about condom taxes, that seems kinda counterproductive, but taxing red meat I am all in favor of.

[BabylonHoruv]

A brief overview of his policies:

Get rid of mandatory car insurance.

School principals should take classes taught by retired principals. 

Teachers should have bachelor's degrees and take annual competency tests.

"Health care in Tennessee is a joke. I believe the doctors in Tennessee should practice preventive medicine. We need to be tested for all possibilities so we do not have to have an expensive medical procedure because the problem was not caught in time. I think insurance companies should bid on all parts of health insurance. So we can get the best price and service possible. There should be CAPS on all medical procedures. "

Politicians should listen more to the people.


I'm going to send him an email to find out what his position is on the construction of Mosques in Tennessee.

I can't say I really disagree with him on any of those.

Never been clobbered by an uninsured driver, have you?

I have yes.  The insurance requirements didn't help a bit. Aright, so I am stretching the truth a tiny bit, I don't drive, so it wasn't my car that was hit, it was my friend's, but it was totalled, right in front of my house, and the driver proceeded to bounce off a tree on the other side of the street after destroying my friend's expensive car.

The guy was driving with no insurance on a suspended license.  Those regulations really helped a lot.

Mandatory insurance just looks like a fat subsidy to the insurance companies from the car driving law abiding public, to me.

[BabylonHoruv]

I thought preventative medicine was stuff like vaccinations?

I don't support sin tax. To me, it always seems like --- When the government needs to make some scratch, it picks some behaviors which are on its SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE list and discourages them. You're imposing a form of social control not out of social need, but out of economic need. If the government taxes a behavior that is generally considered badwrong, people forget that this just a form of social control. It's not much of a stretch for sin tax logic to be applied to abortions or condoms or red meat. We all do stuff which is perhaps not good for the collective - the government doesn't want to fix it so much as capitalize on it.

I'm not sure that is the case, though the political and social landscape here may be different. For instance, in conjunction with raising the tax on pre-mixed drinks here recently, the government also set up an education campaign with pamphlets and prime time TV ads designed to prevent excessive drinking. (Which cost an extra $50m on top of what they were already spending, how that compares to the money gained through tax I am unsure). It also worked, because the amount of pre-mixed drinks sold dropped by 31%. Our cigarettes are also heavily taxed here, but the government also puts in other measures, such as ad campaigns, and laws regarding how they can be sold.

That said, the problem I have with the cigarette tax, is that the government says it is terrible, and it says do not smoke ever, at all, not even once. But rather than ban cigarettes, they just tax them, then spend that money on various ad campaigns, and other shit. (Though the tax on cigarettes is really fucking high, so they probably make a shit-load off them.)

http://www.phaa.net.au/documents/FederalHealthBudgetbriefingforPHAAmembers.pdf

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/alcopops-campaign-hoax/story-e6frergo-1111117082544

I know I would much much rather have the option to pay the government tax to do things they think are wrong than have them ban them.  Looks like a win win to me.  I get to smoke my cigs, drink my booze, and the relatively high prices of both means that, percentage wise, the good stuff is not that much more expensive than the cheap stuff.  I'm also prone to moderation if getting high costs more (and yes, I smoke cigs to get high, when you only smoke one a day they give you a wicked headrush)  I wouldn't be all that upset if they started taxing soda and coffee as well.  Soda's not for getting high for me, coffee certainly is and soda is not a necessity.  And I see sin taxes as a model that leads to more legalization, because the government sees potential new revenue streams.  I know this is one of the factors in California's marijuana legalization campaign.  I think it is only a matter of time before some state realizes how much tax revenue they could make on legalized cocaine.

[Adios]

A brief overview of his policies:

Get rid of mandatory car insurance.

School principals should take classes taught by retired principals. 

Teachers should have bachelor's degrees and take annual competency tests.

"Health care in Tennessee is a joke. I believe the doctors in Tennessee should practice preventive medicine. We need to be tested for all possibilities so we do not have to have an expensive medical procedure because the problem was not caught in time. I think insurance companies should bid on all parts of health insurance. So we can get the best price and service possible. There should be CAPS on all medical procedures. "

Politicians should listen more to the people.


I'm going to send him an email to find out what his position is on the construction of Mosques in Tennessee.

I can't say I really disagree with him on any of those.

Never been clobbered by an uninsured driver, have you?

I have yes.  The insurance requirements didn't help a bit. Aright, so I am stretching the truth a tiny bit, I don't drive, so it wasn't my car that was hit, it was my friend's, but it was totalled, right in front of my house, and the driver proceeded to bounce off a tree on the other side of the street after destroying my friend's expensive car.

The guy was driving with no insurance on a suspended license.  Those regulations really helped a lot.

Mandatory insurance just looks like a fat subsidy to the insurance companies from the car driving law abiding public, to me.

ORLY?

Seriously, think about this, don't just have a knee jerk reaction.

[Jasper]

I wonder if people would object to single payer car insurance. 

[BabylonHoruv]

A brief overview of his policies:

Get rid of mandatory car insurance.

School principals should take classes taught by retired principals. 

Teachers should have bachelor's degrees and take annual competency tests.

"Health care in Tennessee is a joke. I believe the doctors in Tennessee should practice preventive medicine. We need to be tested for all possibilities so we do not have to have an expensive medical procedure because the problem was not caught in time. I think insurance companies should bid on all parts of health insurance. So we can get the best price and service possible. There should be CAPS on all medical procedures. "

Politicians should listen more to the people.


I'm going to send him an email to find out what his position is on the construction of Mosques in Tennessee.

I can't say I really disagree with him on any of those.

Never been clobbered by an uninsured driver, have you?

I have yes.  The insurance requirements didn't help a bit. Aright, so I am stretching the truth a tiny bit, I don't drive, so it wasn't my car that was hit, it was my friend's, but it was totalled, right in front of my house, and the driver proceeded to bounce off a tree on the other side of the street after destroying my friend's expensive car.

The guy was driving with no insurance on a suspended license.  Those regulations really helped a lot.

Mandatory insurance just looks like a fat subsidy to the insurance companies from the car driving law abiding public, to me.

ORLY?

Seriously, think about this, don't just have a knee jerk reaction.

I've been thinking about it for a very long time.  I remember having debates about it with my father when it first went into effect.  I'm generally opposed to government mandating the purchase of anything, now admittedly mandatory car insurance can be avoided by not driving but in the US not driving is a really difficult lifestyle choice to make (I know, I've made it).  Spreading the risk pool is fine, spreading the risk pool and also subsidizing giant corporations in the process, not so fine.