OT: Sens Lounge XCVII: "Zorf; 21 times!" Edition

[maclean]

Semiannual kids movie review: So I watched A Wrinkle in Time with the kids the other night. I read the book as a kid and recall quite liking it, and when I heard they were coming out with a movie for it I re-bought it and read it to my kids and from an adult perspective would rate it as decent. I say this because I don't want anyone thinking this book had some kind of special place in my heart and I would react negatively to any reinterpretation of it. Which I say because I have to say Oh My f***ing God, did they ever make a mess of this movie. The characterisation and acting was awful, they turned the whole thing into some kind of commercial shell of a movie with no actual content whatsoever. I am generally very forgiving with kids' movies. Not this one. Absolutely horrendous. Would not recommend to anyone, even if you're hung the f*** over and need to throw on something to keep your kids engaged for an hour and a half.

 

[Mingus Dew]

Well a NYC biglaw firm raised compensation today.

Only a matter of time before everyone else matches. There’s a lot I don’t like about this industry but the fervent dedication to salary oneupsmanship is pretty great.

 

[Harbinger]

I spent several minutes this morning trying to save a bird via cpr. the little guy did not make it. I am now sad.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

I can't believe this province is about to give Doug Ford a majority government. Wonder what this will mean for my OSAP and teaching career going forward.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

I can't believe this province is about to give Doug Ford a majority government. Wonder what this will mean for my OSAP and teaching career going forward.

Don't count your ballots until they're spoiled.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Don't count your ballots until they're spoiled.

Obviously anything can happen, hopefully a lot of liberal voters realize they're basically voting PC and switch last minute, but it's not looking good.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Obviously anything can happen, hopefully a lot of liberal voters realize they're basically voting PC and switch last minute, but it's not looking good.

Yeah, I'll agree there. It's so frustrating that my riding is more or less a conservative stronghold and we're likely getting an MPP who doesn't believe in man-made climate change. Not that it's going to stop me from voting, mind.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Yeah, I'll agree there. It's so frustrating that my riding is more or less a conservative stronghold and we're likely getting an MPP who doesn't believe in man-made climate change. Not that it's going to stop me from voting, mind.

Yep, living in suburbia my vote is almost useless, of course I'm still gonna vote. You know it's bad when my hardcore conservative father is still debating between spoiling his ballot or voting for the NDP (who he hates with a passion because of Bob Rae). I'm proud of him for not sticking with the PCs here though.

 

[Benjamin]

No party has every won my riding besides Cons. Still going to reluctantly vote NDP.

Why can't we have a moderate party?

 

[saskriders]

My riding rather surprisingly has an NDP MLA right now. Although there was less than 150 votes between him and the 3rd place candidate but over 4500 between him and 4th so thanks vote splitting I guess.

@Benjamin If you don't want to vote for any of the major parties how about declining your ballot?

 

[DrEasy]

Is there any party that has a plan for significantly:

- reducing wait times in hospitals,
- providing more beds,
- creating structures for the elderly who are stuck in hospital beds that could go to actual sick people,
- attracting more (preferably competent) doctors,
- making sure everybody has access to a family doctor,
- reducing the wait to see a specialist,
- reducing the wait for a surgery?

All I'm hearing is talk about dental, pharma and mental health. Not saying these things don't matter (they do), but I wonder if the priorities are right.

Our healthcare is bad even by 3rd world country standards.

 

[saskriders]

Is there any party that has a plan for significantly:

- reducing wait times in hospitals,
- providing more beds,
- creating structures for the elderly who are stuck in hospital beds that could go to actual sick people,
- attracting more (preferably competent) doctors,
- making sure everybody has access to a family doctor,
- reducing the wait to see a specialist,
- reducing the wait for a surgery?

All I'm hearing is talk about dental, pharma and mental health. Not saying these things don't matter (they do), but I wonder if the priorities are right.

Our healthcare is bad even by 3rd world country standards.

I am extremely skeptical of the bolded. I didn't find data that encompasses a wide variety of countries regarding numbers of hospital beds, or likelihood of surviving non-communicable diseases. I did find on Wikipedia the WHO 2016 report that has Canada at 12th for life expectancy and 10th for health-adjusted life expectancy (basically years lived without a significant disability that effects your health). Another Wikipedia WHO list ranks countries by numbers of physicians per 10000 people and Canada ranks 69th out of 188, but I would take that list with a grain of salt. While in general the countries ahead of Canada are richer countries and in general the ones behind are poorer countries there are plenty of outliers and correlation isn't very high and I suspect there are many other factors at play (such as how stringent the requirements to become a doctor are).

Of course pretty much everybody wants to see the points you raised happen, but they are not easy problems to solve at all. And even if we are able to come up with achievable solutions it will cost money and while I would be willing to pay more taxes many people will not be.

I don't think it is necessarily wrong to prioritize things like mental, dental, or pharma over "general" health. If for instance our "general" healthcare system could be rated 7/10 (no basis for this number, just a random hypothetical), but mental health is at a 2/10; than not only is mental health lagging far behind, but I think it would also be much easier to improve it my 3 or 4 points from bad to mediocre than it would be to raise general health care 1 point and change it from good to great. I think that the relative improvements we can make to mental healthcare can be more than what we can improve for general healthcare because in the former we are lacking much more basic infrastructure whereas in the latter the basics are mostly in place already, there isn't as much room for improvement, and the improvements that can be made require solving of more difficult problems.

 

[BonkTastic]

Our healthcare is bad even by 3rd world country standards.

As someone who has both visited and lived in many 3rd world countires, this statement is the biggest pile of horsemanure I've read in a decade.

No offence intended, and not trying to make it personal, but I can't let that degree of either exaggeration or ignorance go without calling it for what it is. It's utterly without merit, truth, or accuracy.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Is there any party that has a plan for significantly:

- reducing wait times in hospitals,
- providing more beds,
- creating structures for the elderly who are stuck in hospital beds that could go to actual sick people,
- attracting more (preferably competent) doctors,
- making sure everybody has access to a family doctor,
- reducing the wait to see a specialist,
- reducing the wait for a surgery?

All I'm hearing is talk about dental, pharma and mental health. Not saying these things don't matter (they do), but I wonder if the priorities are right.

Our healthcare is bad even by 3rd world country standards.

Whenever two-tier gets brought up it gets shot down by righteous fools who can only say "why do you hate the poor?" rather than explore the possibility.

Our brand of universal healthcare being a pillar of our national identity is worrisome, another strike against Canada and Canadians.

That being said, our system isn't horrible. It's heading towards a catastrophe with our aging population however.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

saw a couple of my cousins hockeys games.. hes young.. did you knwo some leagues stop keeping score when the difference in goals is 5 lmao. the best part is you cant fool the kids. they know the difference between 6-1 and 15-0.

They do this in my women's league. I honestly don't mind it.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

If Canadian healthcare is bad what does that make our healthcare here in the USA?

At least you get care, and your life isn’t in financial ruin as well as possible just ruined in general by healthcare.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

Now for my question of the day: I remember a while back there being a discussion here about gin - I'm looking for recommendations: favourite gins, interesting ones to try...

Dillon's gin is pretty decent! ItsI generally my go to.

Bell Fibe. Got a ridiculous deal as a new client and bundling with TV.

Also have Bell fibe. 220mbps crazy!

Obviously anything can happen, hopefully a lot of liberal voters realize they're basically voting PC and switch last minute, but it's not looking good.

Oh goodness my dilemma this year in the election!!! Its going to be a wild ride on Thursday. (Please no majority!).

Also re: our healthcare.

First, it isn't as bad as ppl think it is. Obviously there are definitely issues that need to be fixed. But I kind of chuckle when I hear about wait times and people on stretchers. First with wait times, ppl that complain about them... I'd be curious to know why they went to emerge. Yes some slip through the cracks but for the most part a large portion of ppl coming into emerge should be going to a clinic instead. And with ppl on stretchers... Well when did that happen. During the worst flu season we've seen?? You will always have issues like this because you can't staff hospitals for the outliers and pay hospitals to overstaff the rest of the time.

I could discuss this all day, but the issue far less due to the government funding but rather due to ppl not wanting to do what needs to be done for the greater good. Many doctors fight the increased use of NPs making it difficult for an NP to have their own practices (alieviating the great need for family doctors and freeing up doctors to focus on specialties but then doctors need to then have worse hours). RNs don't want LPNs coming in and doing half their work. Which would mean less RNs but more nurses in total leading to less patient loads (and the research out there for patient loads and patient outcomes is pretty convincing). So now we have nurses crying because of being over worked but when you mention bringing in the less expensive nurses --- unions go crazy and fight it.

But again our healthcare isn't bad, but could be better if we had people think more to helping others and less about their own selfishness. (Same goes with teachers... We could help teachers oro by providing ECEs to the classrooms but it would mean teachers would probably not get raises for a bit... God forbid that happens!!!)


Oh rant over

 

[BonkTastic]

This is my third 13h work day this week.

Running on fumes... but the OT pay will be nice.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Yeah, I used to think a two-tier or emergence of private healthcare was a good idea....but now that my parents are getting close to 80 and need almost daily care...yikes! No way a tiered system would work. A lot of working class folks like myself would be left in the cold, with virtually no help whatsoever. It's all about the money...most medical professionals would cater to whoever gives them the most money, and that won't be the universal tier.

The real problem is the boomers (not their fault, of course). Having such a large generation getting old at the same time, along with greater life expectancy, is what's killing the system. Governments should've been planning for this for a while now...but you know how it is. If you're honest with voters and talk about raising taxes for things that aren't "sexy", like sewers, healthcare, senior assistance & living, roads, etc....people won't vote for them. Even if spending a few pennies from your wallet saves hundred of dollars down the road. Now we're stuck in a helluva mess and will ultimately cost everyone more in the long run.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

My uncle had a heart transplant and owed nothing but parking and some small room fees. That would have bankrupted a ton of people in the US. I love our healthcare system. I'm sure it could be better but saying its worse than third world countries is just ridiculously wrong.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Yeah, I used to think a two-tier or emergence of private healthcare was a good idea....but now that my parents are getting close to 80 and need almost daily care...yikes! No way a tiered system would work. A lot of working class folks like myself would be left in the cold, with virtually no help whatsoever. It's all about the money...most medical professionals would cater to whoever gives them the most money, and that won't be the universal tier.

The real problem is the boomers (not their fault, of course). Having such a large generation getting old at the same time, along with greater life expectancy, is what's killing the system. Governments should've been planning for this for a while now...but you know how it is. If you're honest with voters and talk about raising taxes for things that aren't "sexy", like sewers, healthcare, senior assistance & living, roads, etc....people won't vote for them. Even if spending a few pennies from your wallet saves hundred of dollars down the road. Now we're stuck in a helluva mess and will ultimately cost everyone more in the long run.

France, one of the most left-wing countries in the world has a two-tier system.

This idea that two-tier automatically means the poor are left hanging is beyond silly. There a plenty of policy levers available that could help in that area, there isn't just one way to do it... I get so frustrated when people say it is a bad idea because it means poor people will have nothing.

Our brand of universal healthcare is not equipped to deal with the incoming age crunch. The longer we refuse to consider alternatives, the worse it's going to get.

 

[BonkTastic]

France, one of the most left-wing countries in the world has a two-tier system.

This idea that two-tier automatically means the poor are left hanging is beyond silly. There a plenty of policy levers available that could help in that area, there isn't just one way to do it... I get so frustrated when people say it is a bad idea because it means poor people will have nothing.

Our brand of universal healthcare is not equipped to deal with the incoming age crunch. The longer we refuse to consider alternatives, the worse it's going to get.

Two-tiered health-care systems are failing at the "lower" tier in almost every country that opts for that model.

The French system is more broken than ours is. Canada certainly has healthcare issues, but going to a French model is like trying to fix a foundation crack with 2x4s.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Two-tiered health-care systems are failing at the "lower" tier in almost every country that opts for that model.

The French system is more broken than ours is. Canada certainly has healthcare issues, but going to a French model is like trying to fix a foundation crack with 2x4s.

I didn't mean to take the French model. My only point is that outright disregarding two-tier is a mistake.

I mean France is an abomination on a lot of policy fronts if you ask me, I'd be the last one to say we should be more like them. They (and the Dutch) are the reason the European Constitution failed, bunch of idiots.

Besides, I am hardly an expert/well informed on the topic. I just think all options should be on the table when discussing the incoming age crunch and healthcare.

 

[BonkTastic]

I didn't mean to take the French model. My only point is that outright disregarding two-tier is a mistake.

And my point is that it's not a mistake.

There are no good models of two-tiered healthcare.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

And my point is that it's not a mistake.

There are no good models of two-tiered healthcare.

I find that hard to believe. Care to either back it up or point me to litterature on the topic?