tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post7020119681951539081..comments2024-03-28T16:58:17.705-04:00Comments on Grim's Hall: The love-hate relationship with Mom 'n' PopGrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-57475088818532116272012-07-11T10:30:17.295-04:002012-07-11T10:30:17.295-04:00Once those leftists get State run care, they are g...Once those leftists get State run care, they are going to be a bit perturbed. This is a classic case of "be careful what you wish for".ravennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-51111880757397208472012-07-10T18:24:11.543-04:002012-07-10T18:24:11.543-04:00"If your doctor is a Mom & Pop operation,..."If your doctor is a Mom & Pop operation, then when you are sick and dying you're just in the hands of some guy; but if it's the government, you can envision the whole tremendous power of Uncle Sam bent around saving your life."<br /><br />I think you're on to something here. I can point to several people for whom the government is like a god, though a god served by a few Judas-republicans. Once it is has been made ideologically clean, where could you be safer than in the arms of your god?jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-20236608697881682792012-07-10T14:21:43.410-04:002012-07-10T14:21:43.410-04:00Really? I haven't been that lucky. They'...Really? I haven't been that lucky. They're about like Academy, in my experience: cheaper but pretty likely to break, compared to what I can get if I pay more, especially on mail-order. But I'm happy buying things there like ink cartridges or blank CDs -- commodity stuff that's getting used up quickly anyway and is fairly standardized. I get tons of my clothes there, because I'm just going to tear them up and stain them immediately anyway, faster than their seams will wear out, so cheapness and convenience are all I care about.<br /><br />Mostly what I notice at WalMart is that I don't get much of a range of options, just the cheapest option available. Sometimes that's perfect.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-16423163435443494752012-07-10T13:53:28.899-04:002012-07-10T13:53:28.899-04:00I don't know what you're buying at Walmart...I don't know what you're buying at Walmart that "can't be expected to hold up long" because really, that hasn't been my experience with:<br />clothes<br />small appliances<br />garden supplies<br />electronics<br />various hardware bits<br /><br />And most of the above are *name* brands like Hanes, Burpee or Oster.Eric Blairnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-22015634658984168032012-07-10T13:20:18.151-04:002012-07-10T13:20:18.151-04:00On second thought, I don't have time for a mov...On second thought, I don't have time for a movie today. Instead, I'll just listen to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABloypYsPgo" rel="nofollow"> this fellow's rendition of Brazil</a> then go to Walmart for tonights supply of canning lids.bthunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15789441349826379510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-45270074088847262502012-07-10T13:04:47.784-04:002012-07-10T13:04:47.784-04:00I see the medical profession being subsumed as a D...I see the medical profession being subsumed as a DMV department and I despair. Then I remember our equine Veterinarian is pretty good and her fees are very reasonable. <br /><br />// the hun thinks we're really not much different than horses... =8^/ <br />decides to watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wh2b1eZFUM" rel="nofollow"> Brazil</a> one mo time for the conditioning aspect of the film //bthunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15789441349826379510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-4852842482931482282012-07-10T12:43:00.179-04:002012-07-10T12:43:00.179-04:00Yeah, in the hands of some guy whose business depe...Yeah, in the hands of some guy whose business depends at least to some extent on whether customers like me are made happy, vs. in the hands of a government bureaucrat whose hearts swells with nothing but disinterested love for me.<br /><br />I suppose it comes down to whether you think a bureaucrat is more concerned with the wrath of a voter than a businessman is with the wrath of a consumer. There are competitive pressures on both, perhaps, but they are more attenuated in the case of the bureaucrat.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-68540785242892373562012-07-10T12:16:06.161-04:002012-07-10T12:16:06.161-04:00It may be that retail is for fun, while medicine i...It may be that retail is for fun, while medicine is about life or death.<br /><br />There may be something comforting to leftists about being in the arms of the government. If your doctor is a Mom & Pop operation, then when you are sick and dying you're just in the hands of <i>some guy</i>; but if it's the government, you can envision the whole tremendous power of Uncle Sam bent around saving your life.<br /><br />In terms of having resources and expertise to bring to bear on the question of saving your life, there's something to that argument. The problem is mostly whether we (or any society) really can pay for every kind of care that every extant human being might want or need. The for-profit system provides an easy way of excluding some people from all but emergency care; and, coincidentally, they happen to be the least productive people. <br /><br />The moral objection to that isn't entirely blind. But the desired justice may not be within the realm of possibility. I don't think we really can afford all the justice they want. It's like with dogs and cats: lots of them end up being put to sleep at shelters. It's not that we want to put them to sleep. The people who go into animal rescue as a career want to save animals, not kill them. But at some point, that's all the justice we can afford.<br /><br />We're running the risk of putting everyone into animal shelters, in order to avoid putting anyone into one.Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.com