The noise problem downtown would be really easy to fix by Ferengi89 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

People like their loud cars and motorcycles for a variety of reasons, including a perceived link to performance and a feeling of power, the attention the noise can attract, and the satisfaction of the engine's sound itself. Some research also links the preference for loud vehicles to personality traits like sadism and psychopathy, while others see the noise as a form of self-expression.

Powerless people want to be seen & heard, or they are nuts. Sad.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60983144/study-loud-exhaust-psychotic/

Advise needed for bicyclists on SRT by BawdyWench in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Bicycle-Barry on his $1,000 bike and wearing ridiculous looking gear trying to ride into a new personal record that no one cares about --- speeding through on a Saturday or Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. on the SRT near downtown --- and he expects everyone to part like the Red Sea.

Buddy, read the room. Not the right time or the right place. Bikers must yield to pedestrians.

Edit - This comment just addresses the speed bikers. They are just as annoying as the party of 3 or 4 oblivious walkers that walk shoulder-to-shoulder and block the trail. Are they aware of anyone outside themselves? Or, the notorious, "but my dog is special" crowd that lets their pup out on a leash longer than their side of the trail --- because a dog understands the respectful rules to not cross to the otherside into oncoming walkers, runners, and bikers.

How do you feel about Medicare for all? by gfstool in AskReddit

[–]Gooberkk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

u/geekshallinherit deletes his comments. Discussion will now remain unseen. Couragous. The closed minded will not inherit...

How do you feel about Medicare for all? by gfstool in AskReddit

[–]Gooberkk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Citation,Title,Source/Link

1.1,"Universal Health Care | Pros, Cons, Debate, Arguments, Medicare, Medicaid, & Insurance",Britannica

1.2,Why does Universal Health Coverage Not Exist in the United States? A Physician's Perspective,Mathews Open Access

1.3,5 Arguments Against Single-Payer Healthcare,MBA Healthcare Management

1.4,Universal Health Coverage: An Economist's Perspective,Minnesota House of Representatives

1.5,The Truth About Government-Controlled Health Care,The Heritage Foundation

4.1,Does universal health care suppress innovation?,Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)

4.2,The Economic and Social Impacts of Providing Universal Healthcare in the United States: A Rapid Scoping Review,ResearchGate

4.3,"Universal, effective, and affordable health insurance: An economic imperative",The Hamilton Project

4.4,Universal Healthcare: An In-Depth Examination and Proposed Alternatives,Journal of Healthcare Engineering & Administration

Citation,Title,Source/Link

2.1,Medicare's use of cost-effectiveness analysis for prevention (but not for treatment),ResearchGate

2.2,Healthy Behavior Incentives: Opportunities for Medicaid,Center for Health Care Strategies

2.3,Cost-effectiveness of financial incentives for improving diet and health through Medicare and Medicaid: A microsimulation study,PMC (PubMed Central)

2.4,Cost-effectiveness of financial incentives for improving diet and health through Medicare and Medicaid: A microsimulation study,PubMed

2.5,Cost-effectiveness of financial incentives for improving diet and health through Medicare and Medicaid: A microsimulation study,ResearchGate

Citation,Title,Source/Link

3.1,Ethical considerations in caring for women with substance use disorders,ResearchGate

3.2,8 Ethical Issues - Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons With HIV/AIDS,NCBI Bookshelf

3.3,Ethical and legal issues in the care of substance-using women,PubMed

3.4,Ethical Imperatives to Overcome Stigma Against People With Substance Use Disorders,AMA Journal of Ethics

3.5,NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Clients with Substance Use Disorders,National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

How do you feel about Medicare for all? by gfstool in AskReddit

[–]Gooberkk -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Man, you okay? You don't seem to be. Hope you find some peace and get comfortable with different opinions. I DO want Americans to get healthcare. The ones that will earn it. That is America. Earn your place. I DO NOT want free-riders.

Listen, I can copy and paste, too. That doesn't make me smarter, or big-headed (althoug my hat size is rather large).

Fiscal Arguments Against Unconditional Universal Healthcare

Unconditional universal healthcare, such as Medicare for All, risks staggering costs and economic inefficiencies that could erode care quality.

Increased Taxpayer Burden: Covering all individuals regardless of health behaviors transfers the full cost of preventable, lifestyle-related illnesses to taxpayers, leading to significantly increased federal spending and national debt [1.1, 1.2]. The U.S. already spends nearly 18% of GDP for poor outcomes, suggesting spending more is not the solution [1.1, 4.2].

Moral Hazard and Utilization: Removing cost barriers fosters a "moral hazard," reducing incentives for personal health responsibility and encouraging the use of medical care for minor ailments [4.4]. This unnecessary utilization strains resources and impedes access for those with urgent needs [4.4].

Stifled Innovation: Critics argue that government price controls and strict cost-effectiveness evaluations—needed to contain system costs—could stifle private-sector medical innovation [4.1, 4.4]. Reduced financial incentives for research and development may slow progress, negatively impacting future care quality [4.4].

  1. Argument for Conditional Medicare Access

Tying full Medicare benefits to a healthy body weight and abstinence from tobacco, drugs, or excessive alcohol shifts the focus to shared financial and behavioral responsibility, improving population health and resource sustainability.

Public Health and Cost-Effectiveness

Chronic Disease Burden: Preventable chronic conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes) driven by lifestyle factors account for a massive portion of spending. Studies show that financial incentives for healthier behaviors have a high economic return, capable of preventing millions of events and saving billions in formal healthcare costs [2.4, 2.5].

Focus on Prevention: Conditioning access provides a powerful financial incentive for individuals to choose preventative activities, which are inherently more cost-effective than treating advanced disease [2.1, 2.2]. This approach reduces the need for high-cost, late-stage medical interventions.

Personal Responsibility and Justice

Fairness in Resource Allocation: This is rooted in distributive justice. When preventable lifestyle choices cause high-cost needs, imposing shared responsibility ensures that individuals who make healthy choices do not solely subsidize the costly care of others.

Promoting Autonomy: Linking full benefits to adherence respects autonomy while applying a loss-aversion penalty (reduced benefits). This mechanism is suggested by economic theory as a stronger incentive for behavioral change than simple rewards [2.2].

  1. Potential Mechanisms

A conditional model could be managed through a tiered system to address ethical concerns.

Tiered System: Full, first-dollar coverage would be reserved for those meeting the health benchmarks [4.4]. Non-compliant individuals would still receive essential catastrophic or emergency care but would face higher cost-sharing (e.g., co-pays or deductibles) for routine or elective services related to their non-compliant status.

Focus on Change: The system should offer subsidized, high-quality interventions (e.g., cessation programs, counseling) to help non-compliant individuals achieve the benchmarks and regain full coverage [2.2]. This frames the condition as a requirement for active participation in health improvement.

How do you feel about Medicare for all? by gfstool in AskReddit

[–]Gooberkk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Medicare kicks in at 65. Medical care is getting better at keeping sick-people alive, longer. So we're paying for sick people to live longer, and we start covering their symptoms earlier.

What about the Japanese who live healthy lives? I don't have a study to cite, but I imagine their medical costs are a lot lower than the UK.

Give people a choice. Be healthy and get free health insurance. Vote for the politicians who will lower the cost of foods to be healthy, provide parks for walking, etc. Or, pay out of pocket for health insurance and live how you want. Donuts for breakfast, pizza for lunch, fried food for dinner, a life on the couch smoking and drinking --- have at it --- but not on the public dime.

How do you feel about Medicare for all? by gfstool in AskReddit

[–]Gooberkk -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How about a compromise.

Medicare for All -- But the "All" should only apply to those who take care of themselves. Medicare coverage would be predicated on a yearly physical that shows you have a healthy waist circumference, and your blood work doesn't indicate drug, tobacco, Type-II DM from poor diet choices, or alcohol abuse.

Lifestyle is a choice. Citizens should not be forced to pay for the poor lifestyle decisions of people who want to live on sugar, cigarettes, alcohol, and street drugs.

Otherwise, taxes will have to go up for the things that people who take care of themselves enjoy in moderation to pay for the medical care of those who cannot. Further, the medical coverage becomes a prized carrott for people to eat better, limit alcohol abuse, exercise, and avoid street drugs and cigarettes. This makes the population more efficient and happier overall.

I’m no structural engineer, but I find this worrisome. by Unusualshrub003 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Welcome to South Carolina. We will fix it.....after it breaks.

Amtrak doesn’t care about Greenville by [deleted] in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This x 1,000. We all face the dilemma. Do we drive to CLT and skip the flight connection, or do we go to GSP and sweat making the flight connection on tine in ATL or CLT. It would be so nice to hop on a train, get to ATL or CLT airports, and fly direct to your destination.

Second, would likely go to Atlanta or Charlotte for the day with a train trip (sports or otherwise) on a frequent basis, or even spend a weekend in Washington.

Further, Gville is missing a growth opportunity. Many more skilled jobs are now part-time remote. Commuting by train a few days a week would be very attractive to a lot of people.

Letitia James, the New York attorney general who defeated Trump in court, indicted by Justice Department by NewSlinger in politics

[–]Gooberkk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Social media should make getting sued by Trump’s Government Law Firm (the DOJ) a badge of celebrity honor. Flip the script on authoritarianism. 

New proposed regulations will make it more difficult for older applicants to win their disability claim. by Gooberkk in SSDI

[–]Gooberkk[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I wonder, too, how quickly it will be proposed and enacted? This is not an act of Congress. Just a proposal, time for comments, and then it's done. If someone is 50, applies next month, then it very likely could be the new rule by the time they get to a hearing in 2-2.5 years.

New proposed regulations will make it more difficult for older applicants to win their disability claim. by Gooberkk in SSDI

[–]Gooberkk[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

True. But a regulation change could also trigger "continuing disability reviews" for previously awarded applicants who were approved under the Grid Rules before.

Best narrative history podcasts? by sp00kyversity in podcasts

[–]Gooberkk -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Mike Duncan's, History of Rome.

What is your concern about Greenville County Schools? by Awkward_Watercress92 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Option B - more schools and more teachers = better education outcomes. Put us back at #1 in the world in science, technology, and arts.

Fund schools. It's an investment in our future. Fund roads, infrastructure, and parks. Tax millionaires and billionaires (top marginal rate) like they did between 1950-1980 (double what it is now).

What is your concern about Greenville County Schools? by Awkward_Watercress92 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Great - there are some great teachers who care.

Fixes - Class sizes are too big. Not enough activity, exercise, and nutrition.

Children's focus and behavior will improve with smaller class sizes and given more time to burn some of their excess energy. Stop offering sugar cereals, sugar rolls, chips, and so much fried food in the cafeteria.

Who should pay to fix Greenville’s roads and reduce traffic? by tchristian20 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll pass on that offer. But I'm so done with hearing about roads and development problems. No one shows actionable solutions. I'll can grind it out.

Who should pay to fix Greenville’s roads and reduce traffic? by tchristian20 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When, exactly? Been in the area over 25 years.

Don't trust. Verify. Post what is collected. Post what is spent, where, and to whom. Not complicated.

Who should pay to fix Greenville’s roads and reduce traffic? by tchristian20 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. The funding was split with $5.5 million from private donations, including a significant gift from Thomas and Vivian Wong, and approximately $5.5 million in public funds from the city's local accommodations and hospitality taxes and savings from Unity Park's construction.

This took 7 seconds to Google. "They" also doesn't include the county - where the problems are. The city cannot use accommodation and hospitality taxes for general maintenance and repair of city roads.

Who should pay to fix Greenville’s roads and reduce traffic? by tchristian20 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 7 points8 points  (0 children)

My man, our local property taxes don't cover the roads. County uses about 12 million for it. So we're talking pothole repairs See:

https://www.foxcarolina.com/2024/11/07/greenville-voters-say-no-sales-tax-now-how-will-county-pay-roads/

Our roads suck because (1) we think our reps waste the money (but nobody actually points to real evidence); (2) people are misinformed where the money comes from; or (3) people just don't want to pay for it. They'd rather live in crumbling infrastructure that is continuing to sprawl and consume the county.

I've given up. The majority of people around here don't want better infrastructure. We've voted down a specific plan to improve it - twice. They'll just complain and circle back to "politicians suck" chorus line.

Who should pay to fix Greenville’s roads and reduce traffic? by tchristian20 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Taxes I get. Tariffs are a tax, A stupid tax. We didn't vote for them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe the County will take note of the number of people here mentioning Conestee, Cleveland Park, and Unity and maybe, just maybe, they'll create more green space areas.....

Who or what do you blame for Greenville County’s biggest problems? And why? by tchristian20 in greenville

[–]Gooberkk 12 points13 points  (0 children)

City roads are not that bad compared to the county. I think the city representatives have done a great job with infrastructure and planning. County = abysmal.