Is there a "healthcare" conspiracy?

OldWiseGuy · May 3, 2021

We don't seem to be doing very well considering we have the most advanced healthcare system in the world. One would think that basic healthcare would be taught in the elementary grades as well but they too are silent. Why is health not very important in America, especially among those who can least afford to be unhealthy?

GreekOrthodox · May 3, 2021

My own take is it is expensive to be healthy, when it comes to diet and lifestyle. During the recession of 2007-2010, we were on welfare and SNAP for 3 years and we did get to experience how difficult it can be. I had a two hour commute (30 minute walk followed by 90 minutes on the bus and subway) to work so my wife had the one car we could afford with three kids. Well, by the time I got done with my day I was exhausted. Exercise? Yeah, fuggetaboutit. My wife would have to get cheap food which generally was carb heavy and heavily processed. Well, I've had diabetes since then. Ten years down the road, we can definitely eat better and have a healthier lifestyle. But getting off of welfare is a rough patch to hoe because at a certain income level, you lose your benefits but the cost to replace them is more expensive that you can afford. At one point I get a $500 / month raise, but I lost my health insurance and had to get my own at $750 / month. Yeah, that doesnt help with the bottom line.

OldWiseGuy · May 3, 2021

GreekOrthodox said:
My own take is it is expensive to be healthy, when it comes to diet and lifestyle. During the recession of 2007-2010, we were on welfare and SNAP for 3 years and we did get to experience how difficult it can be. I had a two hour commute (30 minute walk followed by 90 minutes on the bus and subway) to work so my wife had the one car we could afford with three kids. Well, by the time I got done with my day I was exhausted. Exercise? Yeah, fuggetaboutit. My wife would have to get cheap food which generally was carb heavy and heavily processed. Well, I've had diabetes since then. Ten years down the road, we can definitely eat better and have a healthier lifestyle. But getting off of welfare is a rough patch to hoe because at a certain income level, you lose your benefits but the cost to replace them is more expensive that you can afford. At one point I get a $500 / month raise, but I lost my health insurance and had to get my own at $750 / month. Yeah, that doesnt help with the bottom line.

I'm surprised that you weren't able to maintain a healthy diet on the SNAP benefit, which seems to me to be quite generous.

GreekOrthodox · May 3, 2021

$646 for 5 people doesnt go very far. That's $646 per month, or $161 per week for 5 people or about $30 per week per person. If you can figure how to eat healthy for $30 per week, I'd love to hear that.

Take a look at a SNAP table for you and your family and then compare that to what you spend for your own budget. Or give it a try, with the following restrictions:

You cant make good use of bulk shopping mainly because you have nowhere to store stuff. So forget about Costco or BJs. No heated food such as a rotisserie chicken.
Any nonfood items such as:
- Pet foods
- Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household supplies.
- Hygiene items, cosmetics

Fortunately, ten years out, we're doing far better

I don't have to worry about getting a 30 percent raise not include my company stock while eyeing a nice 1975 Corvette for sale as a midlife crisis car. However, I am blessed in that I had a college degree and a bit of luck being in the right place at the right time for my current job.

OldWiseGuy · May 3, 2021

GreekOrthodox said:
$646 for 5 people doesnt go very far. That's $646 per month, or $161 per week for 5 people or about $30 per week per person. If you can figure how to eat healthy for $30 per week, I'd love to hear that.

Take a look at a SNAP table for you and your family and then compare that to what you spend for your own budget. Or give it a try, with the following restrictions:

You cant make good use of bulk shopping mainly because you have nowhere to store stuff. So forget about Costco or BJs. No heated food such as a rotisserie chicken.
Any nonfood items such as:
- Pet foods
- Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household supplies.
- Hygiene items, cosmetics

Fortunately, ten years out, we're doing far better I don't have to worry about getting a 30 percent raise not include my company stock while eyeing a nice 1975 Corvette for sale as a midlife crisis car. However, I am blessed in that I had a college degree and a bit of luck being in the right place at the right time for my current job.

For those with some earnings above the federal poverty level the SNAP benefit is reduced, meaning that you are expected to contribute to your food budget from those earnings. Were you receiving full benefits, and, what were the ages of your children during that period? Even small children get the full allotment even though they hardly consume what an adult does.

I rarely spend more than $100 per month on food (of course I'm a health, and savings, nut).

GreekOrthodox · May 3, 2021

Yeah we were receiving full benefits. I think the kids were 13, 11, and 4 when we were able to get off of SNAP. We did get some WIC supplements when the recession hit. So you dont spend over $25 on food per week? I just noticed you were single, so I'm guessing you dont have kids?

OldWiseGuy · May 3, 2021

GreekOrthodox said:
Yeah we were receiving full benefits. I think the kids were 13, 11, and 4 when we were able to get off of SNAP. We did get some WIC supplements when the recession hit. So you dont spend over $25 on food per week? I just noticed you were single, so I'm guessing you dont have kids?

My kids are grown up with kids of their own. I live a pretty spartan lifestyle so I keep food costs to a minimum. Food is probably cheaper here in Wisconsin as well as we are a big food producing state, especially dairy products.

GreekOrthodox · May 3, 2021

Yeah, Boston on the other hand is rather pricey. The other thing is that if you are in an large city, it isnt like us suburbanites to run to a grocery store with the car and get a weeks worth of groceries. It may be 1-2 bags that you then have to haul on a bus.

OldWiseGuy · May 3, 2021

GreekOrthodox said:
Yeah, Boston on the other hand is rather pricey. The other thing is that if you are in an large city, it isnt like us suburbanites to run to a grocery store with the car and get a weeks worth of groceries. It may be 1-2 bags that you then have to haul on a bus.

Back in the day my dad couldn't afford a car so once in a while my grandmother would take a taxi to the A&P and load up on groceries, literally filling up the cab's trunk with bags of food. We had our dairy products delivered by the dairy twice a week, and meat and eggs were bought as we needed from two small groceries stores within walking distance.

I have a physically demanding job and lifestyle so I can't afford to overeat, which harms health, strength, and energy. Spending more than I do would mean that I'm either overeating or overspending. I also have financial goals that benefit from a spartan food budget. Not for everyone of course but a win-win for me.

Larniavc · May 3, 2021

OldWiseGuy said:
Why is health not very important in America, especially among those who can least afford to be unhealthy?

For the same reason anything happens in America. There’s profit in keeping people unhealthy, undereducated and a feared.

Society being perpetually unhealthy makes some folks very rich: which is the American Dream.

OldWiseGuy · May 4, 2021

When I was a young man I abused my health but was willing to pay that price for the fun I was having. I would drag my hungover butt to my job knowing that by quitting time I would be ready to party again.

d taylor · May 5, 2021

OldWiseGuy said:
We don't seem to be doing very well considering we have the most advanced healthcare system in the world. One would think that basic healthcare would be taught in the elementary grades as well but they too are silent. Why is health not very important in America, especially among those who can least afford to be unhealthy?

Health care does not come from doctors, they are there to try and figure out what is wrong with you after a person gets ill from a life of poor health practices.

that could be from eating poorly, smoking, drinking to much, drug abuse, etc...

But many of the health problems come from a person becoming unhealthy. Then going to their doctor for help and the doctor placing them on a pill for their problem. When actually knowing the pill will not cure their problem and eventually down the line cause other problems from the pills stated side effects.

GirdYourLoins · May 10, 2021

Its quite simple. Its the same around the world, not just over there. Healthcare is generally based around selling drugs to treat teh symptoms of illnesses. Very little healthcare is about completely curing someone, where is the money in that? Maybe only life threatening illnesses seem to be about curing, anything non-life threatening is about keeping you dependant on drugs to treat the eymptoms as I said.

OldWiseGuy · May 10, 2021

The question is, is there a conspiracy of silence regard teaching good health habits in our schools?

While it is generally thought that it is the parents duty to see to this it is only in school where uniform knowledge can be passed down to a large audience without the drama that often happens in the home. This is true of other needed knowledge as well, about which the schools are also silent.

2BeholdHisGlory · May 10, 2021

Dont they teach the kids and their parents that pyramid food groups that seems to have made the nation a bunch of diabetics with all those carbs that are supposed to be good for you?

Same with when you graduate from highschool they never taught us anything bout credit cards but as soon as school was out there was all that free money offered to you in the form of them to go out and spend.

Maybe not intentional?

Is there a "healthcare" conspiracy?

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