Juror#8 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 To the OP, American Competitiveness is going to continue to struggle so long as we are so pathetically lacking in our core competencies. This may seem real "captain obvious," but it used to be that we produced things in this country - cars, watches, electronics, appliances, etc. Now, 2/3 of the U.S. auto industry is emerging from taxpayer resuscitation, Toyota and Honda make the best vehicle on the road, and Japan and Korea make the best electronics and appliances... Heck, even our manufacturing industry is being incrementally shifted to South America. Our service industry is being incrementally shifted to Southeast Asia. We produce soooo little comparatively. Add into that that we're 17th in the world in math and science...it's no wonder that we're flailing with respect to competitiveness. We need to invest in this country. We need 11 month K-12 education initiatives. Some Asia-style economic protectionism would be nice too(but not practical - because we have zero leverage). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Doc, Tell these people how much (in percent) your medical malpractice insurance is in relation tp your gross income. They'd be shocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Doc, Tell these people how much (in percent) your medical malpractice insurance is in relation tp your gross income. They'd be shocked. I'd be a bad example. Because I'm at a surgery center, my malpractice is fairly low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I can assume that Doc would like you to compare your retirement benefits to those of the most private sector workers though...it is said the new retirement age will be 75 for the majority of public sector workers in the future and 65 for gov't...10 years of your life is worth a hell of a lot. It goes round and round and the "you have this and I have that" won't move us forward IMO. Hmm, I could have sworn retirement age was based on when you've saved enough of your own money to be able to afford not to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 To the OP, American Competitiveness is going to continue to struggle so long as we are so pathetically lacking in our core competencies. This may seem real "captain obvious," but it used to be that we produced things in this country - cars, watches, electronics, appliances, etc. Now, 2/3 of the U.S. auto industry is emerging from taxpayer resuscitation, Toyota and Honda make the best vehicle on the road, and Japan and Korea make the best electronics and appliances... Heck, even our manufacturing industry is being incrementally shifted to South America. Our service industry is being incrementally shifted to Southeast Asia. We produce soooo little comparatively. Add into that that we're 17th in the world in math and science...it's no wonder that we're flailing with respect to competitiveness. We need to invest in this country. We need 11 month K-12 education initiatives. Some Asia-style economic protectionism would be nice too(but not practical - because we have zero leverage). We can have never ending debates on whether you can create the same growth in national wealth in a service vs a manufacturing economy, and so far, we've done fairly well in growing the standard of living in the switch to a service economy. But whether America's competitive advantage will last is more fundamental than that. You allude to it, but don't bring it the full circle. There needs to be a wholesale shift in parents' and schools' attitudes that in order to be competitive on a global scale, kids need to learn to compete and recognize that failure is one of the outcomes, and that not everyone is special at birth. You have to earn your lot in life, because the guy next to you who is hungrier will take it away. Right now, the other countries are a lot hungrier than the US, while the next generation that we are raising is being trained to avoid contact & competition because it hurts their self-esteem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 We can have never ending debates on whether you can create the same growth in national wealth in a service vs a manufacturing economy, and so far, we've done fairly well in growing the standard of living in the switch to a service economy. But whether America's competitive advantage will last is more fundamental than that. You allude to it, but don't bring it the full circle. There needs to be a wholesale shift in parents' and schools' attitudes that in order to be competitive on a global scale, kids need to learn to compete and recognize that failure is one of the outcomes, and that not everyone is special at birth. You have to earn your lot in life, because the guy next to you who is hungrier will take it away. Right now, the other countries are a lot hungrier than the US, while the next generation that we are raising is being trained to avoid contact & competition because it hurts their self-esteem. The problems all started when kids were convinced that they could be whatever they wanted to be when they grow up, no matter how impractical, absurd or just plain dumb. My Indian, Chinese and Japanese friends suffered from no such issues as their careers were decided for them in the womb. Kids aren't interested in the math or the hard sciences. They want to be graphic designers, design video games, study criminal justice, or invent the next fart ringtone, probably. Perhaps our incentive to succeed just isn't as strong as in other nations where failure means going hungry. Many of today's youth are completely confused about wealth or even embarrassed of it. Its cool not to fall into the trap of money and success. Well, as long as your parents are still shelling out for Bonarroo tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The problems all started when kids were convinced that they could be whatever they wanted to be when they grow up, no matter how impractical, absurd or just plain dumb. My Indian, Chinese and Japanese friends suffered from no such issues as their careers were decided for them in the womb. Kids aren't interested in the math or the hard sciences. They want to be graphic designers, design video games, study criminal justice, or invent the next fart ringtone, probably. Perhaps our incentive to succeed just isn't as strong as in other nations where failure means going hungry. Many of today's youth are completely confused about wealth or even embarrassed of it. Its cool not to fall into the trap of money and success. Well, as long as your parents are still shelling out for Bonarroo tickets. Man if I had kids they sure would hate me. I could just imagine if my kid came up to me asking for Bonarroo tickets. "If I can't go kid neither can you.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Well, as long as your parents are still shelling out for Bonarroo tickets. Don't get me started on this grand tale of hypocrisy on the farm in Manchester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) This is why America has lost it's competitive edge. I found this on the bio section of one of the bands playing at Bonnaroo this year. In college, Kate majored in art, focusing on painting and making puppets. She received an A.A. in Fine Arts from Keystone College. After a small stint watering banana and pineapple plants in Hawaii, Kate decided to go to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where she made more puppets and received a B.A. in Studio Art. During this time, Kate also had a paying job building sandcastles in Santa Monica Edited June 7, 2012 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 This is why America has lost it's competitive edge. I found this on the bio section of one of the bands playing at Bonnaroo this year. In college, Kate majored in art, focusing on painting and making puppets. She received an A.A. in Fine Arts from Keystone College. After a small stint watering banana and pineapple plants in Hawaii, Kate decided to go to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where she made more puppets and received a B.A. in Studio Art. During this time, Kate also had a paying job building sandcastles in Santa Monica Jesus Christ, thats too f@#%ing good to be made up. I cannot stop laughing in my cube, and my co-workers are starting to stare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 This is why America has lost it's competitive edge. I found this on the bio section of one of the bands playing at Bonnaroo this year. In college, Kate majored in art, focusing on painting and making puppets. She received an A.A. in Fine Arts from Keystone College. After a small stint watering banana and pineapple plants in Hawaii, Kate decided to go to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where she made more puppets and received a B.A. in Studio Art. During this time, Kate also had a paying job building sandcastles in Santa Monica That's the thing. One person out of a thousand will actually make something of themselves with this kind of learning & experience. But the other 999 will think, why not me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 That's the thing. One person out of a thousand will actually make something of themselves with this kind of learning & experience. But the other 999 will think, why not me? And protest, and suggest the government should repay their student loans or pay them regardless of employment status. But ultimately, they will blame the rich for the rigging an unfair system which doesn't reward building sandcastles and puppetry for some cruel reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Jesus Christ, thats too f@#%ing good to be made up. I cannot stop laughing in my cube, and my co-workers are starting to stare. Probably because you're distracting them from their sand castles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Jesus Christ, thats too f@#%ing good to be made up. I cannot stop laughing in my cube, and my co-workers are starting to stare. I just realized they're not musicans but a comedy team so it may just be a joke. And then again................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanM.D. Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Go to med school sure... But live like others. The medical profession should not be about "get your own piece of the pie." He still hasn't answered how much he makes a year... Getting Tuesdays off and all... Sure he has made sacrifces through the years... But we all have for our occupation, most likely some more... Doc, Tell these people how much (in percent) your medical malpractice insurance is in relation tp your gross income. They'd be shocked. I'd be a bad example. Because I'm at a surgery center, my malpractice is fairly low. Mr. Exiled....your premise is laughable. I'll live 'like others' when they've sacrificed what I ( and many others ) have sacrificed.... Did you sacrifice what are arguably the 'prime' years of life studying, working inhumane hours and borrowing money for the 'privilege' to do so? Then you get the 'joy' of making 30K a year to work 80 plus hours per week as a resident for 3 or 4 or 5 or more years. Yeah...Yeah...I know they've put a cap on that but it doesn't help me any. Regardless...do the math. It comes out to a whopping 15k per yr based on 40 hr week. Meanwhile....all the other people I'm supposed to 'live like' started careers much earlier with far less debt, and many are far better off financially than I am. But then you finally start your career at the ripe age of 30ish...provided you did nothing but go to school your whole life. There I was about 12 yrs ago....'raking' 115,000K per year as a family doc. Too bad I owed more than double that for my education (yes that's double) and my malpractice insurance started at 15K per year for a 250/750 policy (which is very little protection) which matured in five years to cost 25K per year. I was in a very terrible state (FL) for malpractice and it is certainly more costly there but the message is the same. Do the math joker.....Let's just say I don't drive a BMW. Lastly your understanding of billing is concerning. You do realize I can bill whatever I want.....but it doesn't mean I'm gonna get paid that. Medicare allowable??? Who do you think sets the rates? Ever hear of a full risk practice.....you know, the ones where you can actually LOSE money on a month to month basis? Capitation anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 The problems all started when kids were convinced that they could be whatever they wanted to be when they grow up, no matter how impractical, absurd or just plain dumb. My Indian, Chinese and Japanese friends suffered from no such issues as their careers were decided for them in the womb. Kids aren't interested in the math or the hard sciences. They want to be graphic designers, design video games, study criminal justice, or invent the next fart ringtone, probably. Perhaps our incentive to succeed just isn't as strong as in other nations where failure means going hungry. Many of today's youth are completely confused about wealth or even embarrassed of it. Its cool not to fall into the trap of money and success. Well, as long as your parents are still shelling out for Bonarroo tickets. LOL that was a great last line I have to admit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 To the OP, American Competitiveness is going to continue to struggle so long as we are so pathetically lacking in our core competencies. This may seem real "captain obvious," but it used to be that we produced things in this country - cars, watches, electronics, appliances, etc. Now, 2/3 of the U.S. auto industry is emerging from taxpayer resuscitation, Toyota and Honda make the best vehicle on the road, and Japan and Korea make the best electronics and appliances... Heck, even our manufacturing industry is being incrementally shifted to South America. Our service industry is being incrementally shifted to Southeast Asia. We produce soooo little comparatively. Add into that that we're 17th in the world in math and science...it's no wonder that we're flailing with respect to competitiveness. We need to invest in this country. We need 11 month K-12 education initiatives. Some Asia-style economic protectionism would be nice too(but not practical - because we have zero leverage). There is also the problem of: "Eskimos do not by ice boxes." ...w/Americans. I get on my wife's nerves when I say that her sister would rather drive a Volvo than a Ford... A Volvo is just a fancy Ford (same engineering) with a "prestigious" badge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 So, you're a toll booth operator for ships that works one hour out of eight for $30 an hour and you are being exploited? Is it difficult to find time for your breaks? No... More than just an operator... And no tolls are collected... It is free. Locks are not toll booths... Road can still be used without a tollbooth... Without a lock... You couldn't even use a canoe on the infrastructre... The dam is what MAKES the road... And operating the dam and lock is like constantly building and supplying that road. To end... Everything is done in house. So one has to be a Jack of all trades: Welder Plumber Electrician Carpenter. Etc.. Etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Or you can dispel any topic where EiI is a participant. Hey who asked you... You are a money man...Figure it out. By what I am saying... You can't argue with the notion that the taxpayer and nation are getting quite a bang for their buck and are able to effectively compete with the world. Transportation systems play a vital role in how a nation can effectively compete. On a small scale within a nation, look what happened to BFLO. Crunch the numbers, even a working dick moron like myself can figure it out. It is obvious where things are going wrong when it comes to competition! I just happened to see it on a daily basis on Main Street... Sorry I am not locked away in some fancy office on Wall Street or holed up in cube farm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Mr. Exiled....your premise is laughable. I'll live 'like others' when they've sacrificed what I ( and many others ) have sacrificed.... Did you sacrifice what are arguably the 'prime' years of life studying, working inhumane hours and borrowing money for the 'privilege' to do so? Then you get the 'joy' of making 30K a year to work 80 plus hours per week as a resident for 3 or 4 or 5 or more years. Yeah...Yeah...I know they've put a cap on that but it doesn't help me any. Regardless...do the math. It comes out to a whopping 15k per yr based on 40 hr week. Meanwhile....all the other people I'm supposed to 'live like' started careers much earlier with far less debt, and many are far better off financially than I am. But then you finally start your career at the ripe age of 30ish...provided you did nothing but go to school your whole life. There I was about 12 yrs ago....'raking' 115,000K per year as a family doc. Too bad I owed more than double that for my education (yes that's double) and my malpractice insurance started at 15K per year for a 250/750 policy (which is very little protection) which matured in five years to cost 25K per year. I was in a very terrible state (FL) for malpractice and it is certainly more costly there but the message is the same. Do the math joker.....Let's just say I don't drive a BMW. Lastly your understanding of billing is concerning. You do realize I can bill whatever I want.....but it doesn't mean I'm gonna get paid that. Medicare allowable??? Who do you think sets the rates? Ever hear of a full risk practice.....you know, the ones where you can actually LOSE money on a month to month basis? Capitation anyone? BS. You should be mad at the parasitic system and stop whining instead of gouging others because of past sacrifices... I am the wrong person to be whining to you on this... I have made more sacrifices for my occupation and to my health (which should concern any family practioner) than you have in your little finger... But let's not get into a pissing contest. 115k? Even in that prior hole and all the other add ons... ROFLMAO! 5, 10, 15 years of having it "rough", "digging yourself a hole." Digging yourself a hole and then scoring later money is the very reason we have a health crisis in this country... LOL... You gotta be joking... You got it easy my friend compared to the real world... I did the math... Try living in the real world with your family customers doc maybe that is why they are coming to see you? I suppose you are living real rough... From paycheck to paycheck... If you are, congrats... Keep it up, you gotta another 40 years to a lifetime to go! All those lean years justify the ends... Are you kidding me? You went into the medical profession to help OTHER people. LOL... 5, 10, 15 years... How old are you Doc? The priviledge? Hah... Like nobody else sticks it out for the priviledge? Nice to have a 10-20 year timeline... Try a lifetime sticking it out for that priviledge... Keep hope alive brotha! Spend and tax or in your case, charge the customers more! Sorry... I have no sympathy... I know you work hard and are dedicated... But no more harder than the next slob on the planet. Keep grinding it out! Peace... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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