Salty yes, bitter no. CT is a beautiful state and has been in a long continuous process.. of being run into the ground.

If not for my children I would have left for a better run state years ago. As it is we have a 5 year plan to spruce up the house and then reassess if we are going to go or stay another 5 years.

I frequently wonder which state will declare bankruptcy first- California, Illinois or Connecticut.

Math seems hard for elected politicians.

Hey I was sure yesterday that his goal was 5K but maybe I was wrong... who knows? If I'm wrong I'll blame you Other things have had to be changed on that page so... who cares?

Like I said before... he seems to be a hit and I did my part to help him avoid any accusations of "piling on" or a "scam" so I'm happy for him.

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How old do you think I am? Open heart surgery was pioneered in 1952.

A LOT of medical costs are directly and indirectly related to government meddling and lawyers.

I saw sometime in the 1960s on a cursory google on open heart surgery, but I just looked it up again and apparently it was first tried (I'm assuming unsuccessfully) in 1893. http://www.jsums.edu/gtec/dr-daniel-hale-williams/
So I'll have to withdraw that one since you can't be more than 80, 90 years old tops.

I do stand by my point that there's been an exponential growth in the variety of treatments available vs. 50 years ago, though, so even if the delivery system were perfect it's hard to imagine how medical expenses (as a proportion of patient income) could have remained steady.

Sure. Though I would add insurance companies to your list of causal factors. They're all transaction costs that aren't directly related to providing health care to patients. Some level of administration cost is unavoidable in such a giant and complex system, but the percentage of money spent on transaction costs in healthcare is outrageous.

Really no point of contention, you were just flat out wrong. And if he changed something to make a correction about an unintentional mistatement, seems like the right thing to do. Is the detached retina thing the "gotcha" change or moment you are referencing? Assuming it is, and borrowing your words, who cares? He told me that well before the gofundme was posted, because there was talk of it and he was told that it was a concern and possibility. Glad it wasn't the case.

If your buying insurance then there is going to be some sort of overhead, it is part and parcel of actually buying the product (insurance) and administrating the various accounts. Its unavoidable if you are making the transaction.

Try buying a car without having an actual factory to build them.

Insurance is based off cost and the reason the cost is high? Over regulation, excessive taxes, excessive insurance (largely due to frivolous lawsuits) excessive waste, the list goes on and on.

Do you know when a resident dies in our facility all their medications are destroyed by government decree? Can't donate them to a third world nation or relief bank or even another resident who could use the exact same medication. It is loaded into a shredder with 3 witnesses and then the shredded and bagged drugs are packed into a sealed biohazard container which is then incinerated.

Think of what the medications cost, shredder costs, man hours lost documenting, destroying and tracking plus what I have to pay for a certified company to pickup the shredded remains and incinerate.

Thousands of dollars per person easy, the stack of meds some people are on is astonishing.

Looks like the GoFundMe is doing great! Good luck! Take care.

Well hell... was I wrong to try to get him to remove the untrue claim of a "detached retina"?. He didn't write "there's a possibility,etc"... he just said he had it. Period.

Notice how I had to *politely* mention it to him THREE times before he took his claim of a "detached retina" off his page and his original post and he never did bother to explain it when he replied to me. Just ignored that part of my post but replied about something else.

People are rightfully wary of gofundme's so I figured the guy would get tagged as a scam artist if he claimed he had a detached retina and yet no emergency operation to show for it.

I appreciate your defense of your friend but don't attack me over it. I think the cleaning up his gofundme page was just as valuable for him as your character reference.

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No attack on you was intended. Perhaps I wrongly interpreted your intentions and I should haven't called you out on your own misstatements. I guess it happens, particularly when people have multiple life changing things going on at the same time.
You are correct that any inaccuracies should be immediately cleaned up.

gdonovan yes, there were two factors of the Stabilization Act of 1942 that led to employer subsidized healthcare: 1. an alternative to higher wages, which were restricted; and, 2. because the act steeply taxed revenue above pre-war levels, but businesses could write off healthcare benefits as a pre tax deduction.

Regardless, even if your employer paid 100% of your health insurance premium, as you said, it is part of your compensation package. And just as with federal income tax, reduces the amount of money you take home. E.g. your company sees you as a $100k cost even though your salary is $80k. Therefore, it is a de facto tax.

Thanks for the reply. I probably didn't phrase things very well but I'm delighted you didn't end up having a detached retina on top of your other trauma. You can end up having two or three operations on the one eye... including the required cataract surgery as a cataract will form within six months of the first operation.

Anyway heal quick and you must be a good guy as you have some good friends in your corner.

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Then you'd think their insurance would cover it similar to an old lady falling down their stairs.

How many machines do you own in your game room? You could sell a couple to help out with the bills.

that is like someone with cancer asking for more cancer

You forget I have the option of not taking the employer healthcare benefit.

Not a tax.

When I was younger there was many times I had no medical insurance and if something came up I paid. I have medical insurance now mostly for my wife, I'm a bit more fatalistic about my own health. We all die and I have had a good even exciting life, my wife however states I'm not allowed to shuffle off anytime soon though.

I'll do my best to hang around longer for her sake, never hear the end of it should I depart prematurely!

Asked and answered right at the start of the thread:

I had to ask because of this https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/23-pin-pickup-last-night and a nice game room with a theater, video games and all.

Don't let this distract you from the the fact that in 1966, Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game while playing for the Polk High School Panthers in the 1966 city championship game versus Andrew Johnson High School, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds against his old nemesis, Bubba "Spare Tire" Dixon.

I was qb in that game. It was amazing!!

WOW dude this is your house and you need help??? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7600-Scenic-Hts-Manchester-GA-31816/105395357_zpid/

Holy shit, thats not a house...that is a compound.

10,000 sq ft home. $500k+

Is this the same guy asking for donations.

Say it ain’t so.

Hence the smell...

Wouldn’t even buy a dirt lot in Denver metro...that’s a steal!!

I’m sure you could find a decent condo for 500k.

Can I get a refund?

The pics of the game room from a few years ago on pinside does look like the same room on the Zillow listing. Unique ceiling tiles.

That doesn’t mean people can’t get in over their heads, and far too many of us can be house poor and not be liquid to handle being 6 months without work. The price history does show the listing dropped by $60k recently.

Two urinals?? Damn...

Exactly what I was thinking. Even if this is the guys house it can get foreclosed on just as quickly as a trailer in a trailer park if he gets behind with his bills. There is always more to a story then meets the eye. But logic tells me if this guy is well off and didn't need some help right now he wouldn't waste his time with a scam for $15,000.

Long term wealth and short term financial needs are two very different things. If he was living "on the edge" until house was sold he could be in serious short term trouble right now. I am sure he will comment again and explain more. He has been doing that all along so I don't think this really changes anything in my eyes at this point.

Especially here. He’s been here awhile and has done business with others also it looks like. He would know that he would get his nuts ripped off in a heartbeat if he tried to scam anyone. It seems legit to me IMO

"short term financial needs" Then why not sell/auction off some of the items in that 10k sf home to raise the money?

45%, but I'm guaranteed health care? I'll take it. A lot if us are already paying that much when you add up income tax, property tax, gas tax, sales tax, FICA, etc. Then insurance premiums/deductibles/copays on top.

I’m sorry you had to lay out that much personal info. Unfortunately there’s a lot of assholes out there using the go fund me thing as a way to steal money so I get it when people are suspicious. I’m one of them, I trust no one. It’s just part of the business I’m in. Thank you though for not getting angry, offended, defensive and turning this into a shit show. That tells me right there that this is real and you really are in a tough spot. Nobody wants to air their hardships to strangers, especially strangers that could also be considered friends just from a common website that they frequent everyday.

Well let’s just wrap up the health care debate going on here. Right? Good advice from folks to check on the church insurance.

If you would like to donate great. If you choose to pass on this one that is fine also.

If you have any word of encouragement drop a line. Whatever support you give seems very much needed and appreciated.

Once again, hang in there John!

I'm glad to be able to donate a little. I'll be lifting you and your family up in prayer as well.

Don't let a handful of "A-Holes" upset you. I looked at a couple of peoples collections that have been giving you a hard time here and they could buy a house with the money from machines they have sitting in their collections. Some people have never been "down on their luck" without a good way out. I have experienced that a couple times in my life and fully understand where you are coming from.

Stay positive and don't worry about the hand full of "haters". Those people have nothing better to do then to give others a hard time. If anyone looks back at the post I have made here it is easy to see I know exactly where you are at right now and I truly feel for you since I have been their more than once.

Sadly this accident also kind of messes up things for you in many ways. Even if you could find a buyer for the house tomorrow it would be tough moving when you can't help with the packing. I know from reading your post that you would not do well watching other people work while you had to sit there because of your wrist. Hopefully you will get the money needed to be able to stay in the house until you heal.

Disregard the negative post & keep trying to focus on raising the funds you need and getting better. Best of luck! Skip

That's not a correct comparison though. 45% is where it STARTS... then like here, there are a myriad of other things you are taxed on. VAT fees for all kinds of things, property tax, gas tax that can bring it to $5 a gallon, etc.

No question though that health care for people that don't have an employer (self-employed,etc) footing much of the bill needs a serious overhaul.

Pool table, not pinball.... I remember the last pinball to leave the building was mine, the Freddy you rebuilt for me.

I purchased one of my dream pins (Nine Ball) along with a slew of arcade games from Jonathan. Super solid honest dude. This isn't a scam.

That is a lovely house, only thing that concerns me is the camera? Pointing at the bed??

What line of work did you say you was in again hehe.

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I wasn't insinuating you were trying to scam money from a go fund me at all. not what I meant....but the church's insurance will cover something like this, that's why they carry it. they need to step up and do the right thing. And im pretty sure no one would want the money back from you even if you offered. Good luck and a donation coming your way!

Bit off topic here but not sure where this is coming from..

Tax on income is 45% if you’re earning £150k (~$200k) per annum or more. Frankly if you’re earning that much you will probably have private healthcare (which also isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things).

More importantly, if you’re earning less than £50k (~$65.5k) you’ll be paying 20% income tax, and if you only manage to make £12.5k (~$16.4k) you won’t pay any income tax at all. And best of all - everyone gets the same level of service and attention from the free health services, no matter how much they earn.

I’m amazed at how much your able to type out with 2 crushed and dislocated wrists.

Voice typing from a phone is super easy to do and pretty accurate.

you get nothing for free. the employer pays 80 percent because you work for it and earn it. if they werent paying for your health insurance you would get paid more. at my current job i get paid more because i am covered under wifeys policy and the employer doesnt have to shell out the 80%.