Not to sound like an after school special, but if a “friend” encourages you to do something harmful then they’re not your friend. (Making fun of others, physically fighting, consuming more substances than you’re comfortable with, generally breaking the law) But especially when people are younger they might be eager to have a friend, and feel pressured to go along with what another person suggests.
More often than not, the best way to hide is to simply blend in with the crowds – this also encompasses one’s choice for a username. It is relatively simple to make a single throwaway account – just come up with a username, and off you go – however, if one makes throwaway accounts often, the task of thinking of a unique,...
One time I asked chatgpt to come up with a list of random street addresses, and the first couple were fine, then one was like “123 cherry street”, then each following address was like “777 apple lane” “888 banana ave” and so on. Which was wrong but also pretty charming I thought.
Was just thinking that there should be doctor clubs, where a bunch of people pool their money to hire a dedicated general physician. Or to have a shared tailor, or group cafeteria, or whatever....
Thanks for commenting! Having experienced the difficulty in getting traction on a state level campaign for an unrelated issue, I’m discouraged about the prospects for a nationwide overhaul of our health system, although that’s what I’d prefer to see.
Do you have any thoughts on what the pathway for such an overhaul would look like?
Well, fair criticism aside, I didn’t say money would be useless. The idea is if one doctor can see a thousand people a year, then a thousand people pool their money and hire their own doctor. Not an infinite service for finding a doctor. (Of course you’re right they still need to find each other and then find that one doctor, which sounds like real middleman stuff) But sort of this less abstract relationship - as it is you pay thousands to health insurance, not a specific doctor, and then when you go to see a doctor they pop in for 5 minutes then off to the next patient.
Wasn’t saying farmers would hire the doctor, was throwing out examples of services. Another one might be a neighborhood cafeteria - how many people can one or two people prepare lunch for everyday, then pool that many guests. Kind a very specific consumer coop.
If you see my other replies here I’m interested in universal healthcare. More was thinking about options because doesn’t seem to be an intermediate step for how far away the U.S. at least is from universal healthcare.
Ok so I want to download this embedded PDF/document in order to physically print it. The website allows me to view it as much as I want, but is asking me to fork over 25 + tax USD so i can download the document....
Was just thinking about this while taking a boring regular shower with water. A sonic shower just vibrates at high intensity to pulverize dirt and knock it from your body; but what about oils and lipids and all that other stuff that makes you stinky?...
I will say I went from a place that had these meetings to one that doesn’t. It’s more concerning when leadership doesn’t seem to have any plan at all, even if the plan is “do a good job and sell this much of this thing”.
Thanks for the helpful links! Some of the comparison charts are pretty grim for the U.S.
Are you aware of any sources on the ins and outs of public support for universal care when it was being implemented in other countries, or the political climate? I think knowing the destination is one thing, but getting there is more what I was focused on when talking about a pathway.
Here are links to see who has co-sponsored these bills: House / Senate
If your senator or legislator has not sponsored that could be one action - call or write them asking them to support the bill.
That said, I volunteered with a group for a few years trying to pass an unrelated bill at the state level, which in at least one session had more than 50% of the chamber co-sponsoring, but we still couldn’t get our bill out of committee. Eventually, the bill actually was voted out of committee, only to add amendments that made our bill do the opposite of what it was intended to, and then we had to rally votes against it. Eventually I moved and kind of dropped out of that organization, but the reform we support still has not been passed. And that was for a non-partisan issue.
I don’t know the methodology that govtrack uses, but they give the Medicare for All act a 0% chance of being enacted. So I’m interested in more ideas on the nuts and bolts of passing a bill like this.
Ah, so a referendum is a direct vote by the population on a given issue - for example a lot of states have passed recreational marijuana referendums, in my opinion at least because a lot of lawmakers didn’t want to to be seen as supporting it, but you can’t get blamed if the public approved it directly.
I’m not aware of any state level referendums on universal healthcare (which doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any) and there isn’t a national level referendum. (Although in googling this to confirm that I found an interesting article about implementing a national referendum)
With the Medicare for All Act it’s been introduced as a bill, but as I understand the process it first needs to be reviewed by a committee and voted out of that committee before the senate or house can consider it to possibly hold a vote. Then it needs to do the same thing in the other chamber of congress. So you can imagine that’s a lot more convoluted process than a referendum, and while voters may ask their representative to pass it, plenty of opportunities for legislators to say, “oops, some technicality or person who’s not me has stalled the process.”
Sorry, I think we’re talking past each other. I’m not asking how the mechanics of the healthcare would work once a bill is passed. How do we even get that far? Our elected representatives don’t seem to have substantive interest (a few bright spots aside) and while polls often show majority support amongst the public, the results can vary a lot based on how the question is asked. So big picture / long term just as a start we need more perfect democracy, and we need better awareness and advocacy of the idea. In terms of first steps and short term (I think regretfully a decade or two is short term) I could see an argument to implement it in a specific state, or expanding medicare for certain age groups or something like that. But I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking.
I think comment above yours has a point. It’s not a question of whether or not it works, it’s a question of getting people on board, and fending off vested interests like insurance companies. So maybe getting it done in one place would be more attainable, and serve as an advertisement. For me at least, I’m asking how we do it. Saying “we just have to do it” isn’t actionable advice.
A 57% majority of Americans say the government should ensure health coverage. Of course then 53% say the system should be based on private insurance, which is contradictory.
Another factor to consider here is people don’t vote directly for policies. They vote for legislators who then decide which policies are a priority, and can interpret for themselves, right or wrong, what it is their constituents voted them in to do.
I don’t think you’re being serious, but the idea isn’t to give everyone worse care. If you talk to people from the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, Canada, or any other country that has universal healthcare (all the green ones on this map) they would have plenty to say about things that could improve. You also wouldn’t find too many who would be willing to trade with the U.S.
Using the metaphorical (or maybe literal) model of ideas as living things - there should be conditions we can create to nurture an ecosystem of beneficial ideas. Like making a garden or farm....
This is good. Are you aware of any places explicitly doing solutions journalism? (I’m sure there are, more just interested to find places I’m not aware of)
This reminded me of “The Problem with Jon Stewart” which while not perfect seems like a move in the right direction. It just got canceled, and the article I had seen suggested it was because Apple had concerns over some of the subjects (ie, didn’t want to piss off china and have its operations in china highlighted, and didn’t want focus on AI which it may be using).
So then what are the conditions which would allow for more solutions journalism? Off-hand I’d say employee owned entities (or less optimally operations with wealthy patrons willing to give them leeway) would mean they’re less likely to be shut down. I suppose seeing examples of it being successful would inspire more individuals or groups to move in that direction.
The “we” thing is a good point, and even as I was writing this was thinking about the post the other day where someone was like “how can we get more redditors to lemmy” and a bunch of people were like, “we don’t want that.”
I’m thinking about anyone interested in the subject. There’s never going to be universal interest in some philosophical project, and there doesn’t need to be in order to have a positive impact. So I’m thinking of people who do have an interest in the sort of meta issue, how things “ought” to be.
I’m interested in practical, testable ideas, and at the same time I think there needs to be a philosophical underpinning to any type of project nurturing “beneficial” ideas, because otherwise how do you evaluate what’s beneficial?
My philosophy is that existence is desirable, continued existence is desirable, and ever more elevated ways of existing. So going from “anything existing,” to life existing, to animals, to conscious beings. The basic nuts and bolts are important then - is there enough food to live, is something going to kill me, and we’ve for the most part got these down (although not at a systemic level to eliminate homelessness, universal healthcare, etc). But I don’t think we have any kind of grasp on long term sustainability - we’re in serious environmental peril, the existence of any nuclear weapon is a threat, biological weapons, decline of democracy, even something like an asteroid impact.
So when talking about an ecosystem of ideas, for me at least its about ideas that will avoid or mitigate larger threats which are difficult for any individual to address.
You’re right, better schooling is important. What do you think are the obstacles to getting it? Why isn’t it happening already?
Does seem like there’s a loop of misinformation means less effective democracy, and less effective democracy allows for more misinformation. Seems like better democratic systems are called for, like ranked choice voting, but also better news or education outside formal public school.
I also think overpowered interests (ie. rich people) can veto education on subjects that most people would benefit from. So maybe one thing is better limiting the accumulation of outsized wealth or power?
Yeah, in the states a college campus center is a great place to hang out if you’re passible as a student. Some of the campuses are huge and there are multiple places that don’t require an ID card
What are the dangerous levels of friendship ?
In which situations a friendship can swallow us and destroy our life ?
What should be used for anonymous usernames?
More often than not, the best way to hide is to simply blend in with the crowds – this also encompasses one’s choice for a username. It is relatively simple to make a single throwaway account – just come up with a username, and off you go – however, if one makes throwaway accounts often, the task of thinking of a unique,...
How many patients can one doctor take care of per year? How many people can one farmer feed a year?
Was just thinking that there should be doctor clubs, where a bunch of people pool their money to hire a dedicated general physician. Or to have a shared tailor, or group cafeteria, or whatever....
Can't figure out how to download an embedded PDF
Ok so I want to download this embedded PDF/document in order to physically print it. The website allows me to view it as much as I want, but is asking me to fork over 25 + tax USD so i can download the document....
Sonic showers would clean dirt from you, but you'd still stink.
Was just thinking about this while taking a boring regular shower with water. A sonic shower just vibrates at high intensity to pulverize dirt and knock it from your body; but what about oils and lipids and all that other stuff that makes you stinky?...
What's the purpose of strategy statements and other "corporate plans" in office culture
What exactly is accomplished when corporate culture sits everybody down and has a power point about the strategy, business goals for the next year....
What is the most promising pathway to reach universal healthcare?
Let’s assume we want all people to have health care. What are the steps / methods most likely to get us there?...
People talk about ideas being living things. How can we do better at cultivating and propagating ideas that are helpful / sustainable?
Using the metaphorical (or maybe literal) model of ideas as living things - there should be conditions we can create to nurture an ecosystem of beneficial ideas. Like making a garden or farm....
What are some places you can spend time where you're protected from the elements and it doesn't cost anything to be there?
The classic example is libraries, but ideally I’m thinking of places you can have a conversation....