Thanks, appreciate the link. However, it does not corroborate the theory that health insurance companies alone are responsible for that difference. From the article:

There are many possible factors for why healthcare prices in the United States are higher than other countries, ranging from the consolidation of hospitals — leading to a lack of competition — to the inefficiencies and administrative waste that derive from the complexity of the U.S. healthcare system. In fact, the United States spends over $1,000 per person on administrative costs — approximately five times more than the average of other wealthy countries.

So while the administrative overhead definitely IS very high compared to other countries, it doesn’t even account for more than 10% of the total healthcare expenditure — meaning eliminating insurance companies wouldn’t just magically make healthcare 50% cheaper for everyone.

I don’t doubt that insurance introduces a certain amount of overhead into the equation (after all, they have offices and wages to pay), but I’m a bit skeptical of that 50% figure. Do you have a source for that?

Not in the slightest. According to a congress report, American healthcare expenditure was was approx. $4.6 Trillion in 2023. That $77B would barely even cover 2%.

Don’t let the haters discourage you. It’s worth it.

Correct. Therefore, there’s definitely no LSD in the water.

I mean it CAN be pretty dark traumatizing for sure (see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, especially the White Rabbit scene), but either way, when you’re tripping on LSD, you definitely WILL notice that something’s not right. Wild visual and auditorial hallucinations, vibrant colors and rainbow patterns, up to and including synesthesia (i.e. seeing sound and hearing pictures) are all known to occur.

Even at a low dose it produced noticeable mood changes, though usually no hallucinations.

I’ve had LSD. Trust me, you’d definitely notice.

I hope you have as good a time with this as I did.

Well, get yourself a modern sourceport like vkQuake or DarkPlaces, and then download this mod: https://www.moddb.com/mods/arcane-dimensions

You won’t regret it. This is Quake as if it was made in 2016 instead of 1996. Massive levels. Stunning architecture. Quad shotgun.

I’m definitely in favor of laws against rape, assault, theft, and murder, but I think bigotry and discrimination are simply too vague a charge to be properly defined or enforced, and will always defeat themselves in the long run anyways.

Say someone is running an Indian restaurant, should they be forced to hire white people? Would you trust that you’re getting authentic Indian food if either the chef, or even the serving staff was predominantly Chinese? Would you go to a Chinese restaurant run by Mexicans an expect authentic Chinese cuisine, or a Mexican restaurant run by white people, and expect proper, authentic cuisine?

All of these examples sound extremely racist on the surface, but let’s be honest, chances are extremely high that someone of the same ethnicity is vastly more qualified to work there than someone who’s not, because they simply understand the culture and the flavors better. And of course there are always counterexamples, but those are the exception rather than the norm.

Meritocracy simply means having to earn your laurels by putting in effort and proving yourself. You don’t need to legislate that because cream rises to the top all by itself. It doesn’t rise any faster because there are laws requiring it to do so, just like the sun doesn’t rise any faster if you make a law requiring it to do so.

The problem with that logic is that you’re assuming you’ll just find another job. What if you lived in a city that was super crazy liberal, and no one was hiring you because you were straight. Unfortunately you still need a job to get by, and you can’t afford to move if you don’t have a job.

Oh, is that so? Well, at least you seem to understand that bigotry can cut both ways. That’s more than most people here seem to be willing to acknowledge.

That said, if I was faced with that sort of situation, I would to whatever I can to find a way to move somewhere else where I’m welcome.

But hey, about mistreating you? There’s laws about that, too, all part of the package deal that comes with not hiring you based on race. With strict enough penalties companies would rather their employees not be bigots because they don’t want to go to court.

You can mistreat people in subtle ways that are difficult to sue over or prove in court. Like, giving people bad hours, or passing them over for promotions.

A side effect of all this is that bigotry dies in people’s hearts when they are exposed to the people they are bigoted against. If there was someone who hated Americans, but then got to actually meet and talk to one and work with one, they would realize Americans aren’t all bad and can be pretty nice and chill. So making sure people don’t hire based on race helps eliminate racism and keeps things fair for everyone, which helps business innovate by giving people a chance.

Yes, I do believe this CAN work, but it generally requires at least a shred of willingness to participate. You cannot simply force someone into accepting someone they don’t like. That sounds sounds a hell of a lot like raping your way into a relationship, don’t you think?

Right back at ya.

Why would you want a law that forces a business run by bigots or racists to hire you despite hating you for your skin color? Don’t you think they’ll just find other, legal ways to mistreat you or discriminate against you? And if you fail, they’ll feel more righteous about their bigotry, but if you succeed, they’ll resent you for that.

I’d honestly rather just have them tell me upfront if they’re racist, that way I won’t waste my time with them.

You responded to it.

Thanks, I appreciate your honesty.

You didn’t answer my question either when you asked yours, so I assumed answering a question with another question was fair game. Don’t expect me to play by your rules if you won’t even play by them.

Do you have any actual arguments, or are you just here to spout verbal abuse and baseless accusations?

Do you believe that if there was a collective bias against white people, it would be harmful?

If two people are interviewing for a job, but only one position is available, whoever does not get it is hurt by that decision regardless of skin color, no?

I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying that even though cream always does rise to the top, passing a law requiring to do so would make it go faster? Or simply that it would make you feel more reassured that it eventually will? If it’s the latter, should we perhaps also pass a law requiring the sun to rise every day, or that objects must always fall down instead of up? Where do we draw the line?