Relax, Everything is Going to be Okay!

[SAJ-99]

I cant think of much thats been made cheaper by means of subsidy, especially once you venture outside of a specific product/technology. Education and medicine are the strongest examples for that in my mind.

Why would subsidizing health insurance (way beyond aca intent btw) make it more affordable?

Interesting question. My basic responses would say we probably didn't make it more affordable, but we made it more available. The complexity of our healthcare system is mind numbing and I'm not going to argue it works well. It's a mess. The government has cut the fees it pays for procedures (one way a person could argue that the subsidy makes it cheaper), most hospitals have to take patients regardless of ability to pay, and insurance companies need to maintain a profit to offer insurance. Unstoppable force meets immovable object.

Education is less subsidized every year for 40 years now and we have seen what that has done to the cost of college. But people can, and have of late, choose not to go to college. A less educated workforce is bad in the long run, but the result isn't immediate. Education is only about 1.5% of CPI. Healthcare is almost 10%. The mess needs to be solved, but it won't get solved the way either side is approaching it now.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

Education is less subsidized every year for 40 years now and we have seen what that has done to the cost of college. But people can, and have of late, choose not to go to college. A less educated workforce is bad in the long run, but the result isn't immediate. Education is only about 1.5% of CPI. Healthcare is almost 10%. The mess needs to be solved, but it won't get solved the way either side is approaching it now.

Add in the rapid growth and implementation of AI, what career opportunities will be left?

 

[TX Trophy Hunter]

No idea, I finally gave up on it ever running good over a decade ago. It's been relagated to limbing only. Chat just offered up a testing plan to see if it's not the ignition coil

I guess I don’t know what you meant by saying it doesn’t run very long but I’m assuming it dies on you when you buck logs since you only use it for limbing. Some things to consider: I have seen the spark plug boot separate from the magneto wire, but in that case the saw absolutely will not run. I don’t believe it’s possible for them to come out of timing but maybe. If it runs at all I wouldn’t think it would be related to that. Check simple things first. Pull the spark plug and see if it looks like the saw has been running lean or rich and check the gap. Make sure you are using fresh gas and mixing the fuel 50:1 with good 2 stroke oil. Preferably ethanol free gas. With the saw being over 25 years old there’s a good chance the fuel hose and filter need replaced. There’s a good chance your carburetor could use a good cleaning, rebuild, tuning, or replacement. The air filter needs to be cleaned at least once a day and replaced every so often. Keeping the chain properly sharpened at the correct angles with the rakers filed to the correct height is extremely important and most people cannot sharpen chains correctly without using a guide. Even with a guide it is an skill that takes time to master. If you remove the front cover of the muffler you can look into the cylinder with a flashlight and see if the cylinder is scored and if the piston rings are still in working condition. Use the pull cord or spin the flywheel by hand to move the piston in and out of view.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Education is less subsidized every year for 40 years now and we have seen what that has done to the cost of college.

Ive got a difference in understanding of facts here. Open to being outside my echo chamber - but all information i am aware of points to the opposite of that.

A less educated workforce is bad in the long run, but the result isn't immediate.

Again - i dont really have the same understanding of facts. Theres a lot of education that frankly doesnt produce in terms of tangible things that make the economy better. More folks going into construction/energy will do more for our gdp growth than those same people pursuing history degrees and aimlessly wondering the world hoping to apply it.

The government has cut the fees it pays for procedures (one way a person could argue that the subsidy makes it cheaper), most hospitals have to take patients regardless of ability to pay, and insurance companies need to maintain a profit to offer insurance.

I think one of the most important things thats been a policy push in my lifetime is price transparency. Being an analytical person - i was sort of shocked when you couldnt have any idea what any procedure might cost. Its an extortion model - where you find the price out after its been completed.

Thats part of what i voted for - and im aware the entirety of the rest of it isnt ideal. Just trying to express an alternate point of view and/or grow change my own.

 

[BigHornRam]

It seems that politically, this shutdown may be accomplishing some of what DOGE tried (and failed) to do.

That restoring Obamacare and PBS subsidies is not a hill sane Democrats are willing to die on?

 

[Treeshark]

That restoring Obamacare and PBS subsidies is not a hill sane Democrats are willing to die on?

I’m not exactly sure what you mean. I was more referring to shutting down certain govt functions and getting rid of some employees.

 

[Forkyfinder]

That restoring Obamacare and PBS subsidies is not a hill sane Democrats are willing to die on?

Well - its more than that.

Its the subsidies that were greatly (grossly if you ask me) unsustainably expanded via the IRA. Table below.

ACA Marketplace Premium Payments Would More than Double on Average Next Year if Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire | KFF

KFF estimates that, if Congress allows the enhanced premium tax credits to expire at the end of this year, ACA Marketplace enrollees on average would see their premium payments more than double next year, growing by 114%, from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.

www.kff.org

 

[TOGIE]

Chainsaws seem to have the same power as a good Tillamook in a divisive thread, I see.

Very nice.

 

[TX Trophy Hunter]

Chainsaws seem to have the same power as a good Tillamook in a divisive thread, I see.

Very nice.

Just trying to help him relax, everything is going to be ok with his chainsaw

 

[Irrelevant]

D

I guess I don’t know what you meant by saying it doesn’t run very long but I’m assuming it dies on you when you buck logs since you only use it for limbing. Some things to consider: I have seen the spark plug boot separate from the magneto wire, but in that case the saw absolutely will not run. I don’t believe it’s possible for them to come out of timing but maybe. If it runs at all I wouldn’t think it would be related to that. Check simple things first. Pull the spark plug and see if it looks like the saw has been running lean or rich and check the gap. Make sure you are using fresh gas and mixing the fuel 50:1 with good 2 stroke oil. Preferably ethanol free gas. With the saw being over 25 years old there’s a good chance the fuel hose and filter need replaced. There’s a good chance your carburetor could use a good cleaning, rebuild, tuning, or replacement. The air filter needs to be cleaned at least once a day and replaced every so often. Keeping the chain properly sharpened at the correct angles with the rakers filed to the correct height is extremely important and most people cannot sharpen chains correctly without using a guide. Even with a guide it is an skill that takes time to master. If you remove the front cover of the muffler you can look into the cylinder with a flashlight and see if the cylinder is scored and if the piston rings are still in working condition. Use the pull cord or spin the flywheel by hand to move the piston in and out of view.

dude, I hate to break it to you, but I've run a lot of chainsaws over a lot of years. I sold firewood for a living. I've lived in a house that only had wood heat for almost a decade. So telling me to check the spark plug or the fuel mix is more like a slap in the face than actual advice. Everything that's easily replaced or cleaned has been done. I know for a fact it's nothing simple because I remember quite clearly the meltdown my Dad had when it died the very first time we used it. Like I said in my last post, Chat actually provided a pretty good idea (ignition coil fault) and method for testing. It dies (slowly) after it gets hot/warm. Then it won't start until it gets cools off. It's never actually hot (I've seen that in other saws). I'm going to buy a spark tester and give it another go this fall (assuming I don't get snowed out).

 

[TX Trophy Hunter]

D

dude, I hate to break it to you, but I've run a lot of chainsaws over a lot of years. I sold firewood for a living. I've lived in a house that only had wood heat for almost a decade. So telling me to check the spark plug or the fuel mix is more like a slap in the face than actual advice. Everything that's easily replaced or cleaned has been done. I know for a fact it's nothing simple because I remember quite clearly the meltdown my Dad had when it died the very first time we used it. Like I said in my last post, Chat actually provided a pretty good idea (ignition coil fault) and method for testing. It dies (slowly) after it gets hot/warm. Then it won't start until it gets cools off. It's never actually hot (I've seen that in other saws). I'm going to buy a spark tester and give it another go this fall (assuming I don't get snowed out).

When you said you didn’t know what they checked it gave me the impression that you were not all that experienced. Sorry for trying to help.

 

[Irrelevant]

Ive got a difference in understanding of facts here. Open to being outside my echo chamber - but all information i am aware of points to the opposite of that.

Again - i dont really have the same understanding of facts. Theres a lot of education that frankly doesnt produce in terms of tangible things that make the economy better. More folks going into construction/energy will do more for our gdp growth than those same people pursuing history degrees and aimlessly wondering the world hoping to apply it.

Recently we're definitely spending more on education in WA that previously and the test scores keep going down. But *gets onto soapbox* I will absolutely die on the hill that an education should be related to GDP. An education, which doesn't have to come from a college/university, though I've met VERY few people who make the time and effort to self-educate, is much more important than the GDP, it's more important than any peice of paper that may be derived from it, it is a means to a worthwhile end, that expands and humbles you, and gives you the tools to seak that last true freedom, freedom of thought.
*crickets*
*Steps off soapbox, goes back to reading about corrosion protection of post-tensioned tendons*

 

[Irrelevant]

When you said you didn’t know what they checked it gave me the impression that you were not all that experienced. Sorry for trying to help.

I don't know, because it was a decade ago, and I've shoehorned 2 kids into that space!

 

[Straight Arrow]

Chainsaws seem to have the same power as a good Tillamook in a divisive thread, I see.

Very nice.

I love my old Stihl (but have it cleaned and tuned professionally every couple years).



I love Tillamook too!

 

[SAJ-99]

Ive got a difference in understanding of facts here. Open to being outside my echo chamber - but all information i am aware of points to the opposite of that.

You are probably thinking of Pell grants (which are income-based) and Fed Student loans. The increase in those reflects the greater cost burden places on students through tuition and a decrease in funding from Federal and State because of other burdens, like healthcare. A lot of research funding remained, because it was appropriated by Congress, up until Trump and DOGE that is, and that reflected the transition of a lot of R&D to universities.

Again - i dont really have the same understanding of facts. Theres a lot of education that frankly doesnt produce in terms of tangible things that make the economy better. More folks going into construction/energy will do more for our gdp growth than those same people pursuing history degrees and aimlessly wondering the world hoping to apply it.

You didn't provide any but I think you are cherry picking "facts". There are some majors that might not be "productive" from your point of view, and I might agree, but it's not relevant. We are talking about the whole, not picking individual subjects. There is no doubt that a more educated work force is the driver of progress.

What concerns me the most is you imply construction/energy does not require post-secondary education, which it definitely does. Too much of our conversation has been about college vs trades. Almost all jobs today require more specialized knowledge than an individual gets in the standard public education program. We can debate GDP impacts another day. All jobs are valuable, but the electron engineers at Bell Labs that invented the semiconductor affected GDP more than any electrician or carpenter, but who saw that coming? All I can say is that getting a carpenter or electrician in my area is no problem. I'm sure they are not the bottleneck to realizing the fantasy for GDP growth that I hear sometimes.

I think one of the most important things thats been a policy push in my lifetime is price transparency.

Thats part of what i voted for -

Healthcare PRICE transparency act easily passed the House in 2023. Never came to a vote in the Senate, so I'm not sure you will get it this time. Lobbiest gonna lobby and Politicians gotta get paid. There are already Federal regs that require medical facilities to provide cost estimates. Go to your hospital/network website and look. I have heard compliance with the reg sucks but the expectation to order healthcare like you do fast food is probably a little optimistic. It's a prime area of work for lobbyist.

 

[Forkyfinder]

The increase in those reflects the greater cost burden places on students through tuition and a decrease in funding from Federal and State because of other burdens, like healthcare.

I cant find much in the way of evidence decreases for fed spending on education, including on r&d (excluding the recent doge effort, cause what happened 6 months ago isnt why college is totally unaffordable).

Can you point me in the right place for that?

 

[Forkyfinder]

Healthcare PRICE transparency act easily passed the House in 2023. Never came to a vote in the Senate, so I'm not sure you will get it this time. Lobbiest gonna lobby and Politicians gotta get paid. There are already Federal regs that require medical facilities to provide cost estimates. Go to your hospital/network website and look. I have heard compliance with the reg sucks but the expectation to order healthcare like you do fast food is probably a little optimistic. It's a prime area of work for lobbyist.

Trump Administration Announces Historic Price Transparency Requirements to Increase Competition and Lower Healthcare Costs for All Americans | CMS

As directed by President Trump’s Executive Order on Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare, today the Department of Health and Human Services is announcing that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing two rules that take historic steps to increase...

www.cms.gov

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces Actions to Make Healthcare Prices Transparent

EMPOWERING PATIENTS THROUGH RADICAL PRICE TRANSPARENCY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to empower patients with clear,

www.whitehouse.gov

Hes got a pen and a phone when congress doesnt do their job - it cant be too soon for that joke after 15 years right?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Recently we're definitely spending more on education in WA that previously and the test scores keep going down. But *gets onto soapbox* I will absolutely die on the hill that an education should be related to GDP. An education, which doesn't have to come from a college/university, though I've met VERY few people who make the time and effort to self-educate, is much more important than the GDP, it's more important than any peice of paper that may be derived from it, it is a means to a worthwhile end, that expands and humbles you, and gives you the tools to seak that last true freedom, freedom of thought.
*crickets*
*Steps off soapbox, goes back to reading about corrosion protection of post-tensioned tendons*

Oh, yeah teach me about corrosion protection for post tension!

No but seriously, please do? Sounds super interesting. Always enjoy learning outside specialty. Attended a lunch and learn on specialized stadium roof construction, blew my mind how they balanced all the forces in unexpected ways

 

[Gulf of America]

View attachment 390626
I cant find much in the way of evidence decreases for fed spending on education, including on r&d (excluding the recent doge effort, cause what happened 6 months ago isnt why college is totally unaffordable).

Can you point me in the right place for that?

I can't work the google fu in my old age, but I'd love to see a chart of federal funding per student. And then index to inflation.

 

[SAJ-99]

View attachment 390626
I cant find much in the way of evidence decreases for fed spending on education, including on r&d (excluding the recent doge effort, cause what happened 6 months ago isnt why college is totally unaffordable).

Can you point me in the right place for that?

I don't think that number is what you think it is. That number is from the GDP report. It says it is expenditures for the category - and I can't find it, and I can't find the definition in FRED, but whatever. I think it may be total is expenditures by the category, not to the category.

The federal government gets money to Universities through 1) pell grants and loans - both of which have limits that prevent them from fully covering the cost of tuition, and the loans have to be paid back, but both have definitely gone up - and R&D grants. Best chart I can find for the latter is below with link provided.

Finding a clear trend on how much in Federal money (your tax dollars) goes to colleges is very hard (have tried to do it for years, but colleges don't publish data on it) and that may be the point. What I can say for sure is that Universities aren't rolling in cash, professor pay is barely keeping up with inflation and the highest public salaries in almost every state is the university football or basketball coach. (I believe Montana is an exception.)

https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf25345

But the research out of US universities is second to none, so is the cost worth it? I would argue that the Trump cuts to research grants will harm this country by a factor of 10x more than any of the other stupid stuff he's done, but it won't be noticed until he is long gone. It seems others are starting to agree.

The US used to be a haven for research. Now, scientists are packing their bags.

A recent survey of U.S. professors found that 75% were looking for work outside the country. The result is an exodus that has not been seen since European scientists sought refuge on U.S. shores during the World War II era.

www.csmonitor.com