Taxes?

[merolpn]

OE800_85....I hope you don't take me as argumentative. Even though I don't necessarily agree with all of your views, I like the way you write compelling arguments and I really enjoy taking the time to respond to them because it challenges me to get better at writing mine. (By the way, even if I did agree I try to write the other side for practice)

Maybe this forum should have a separate Debate section with different topic headings and make it subscriber only like the feedback section to keep these threads from becoming debates.

So, essentially they cannot give dividends to investors, but for some strange reason, they can offer multi-million dollar salaries to their administrators (while relatively giving little to doctors and nurses and other key staff)

This is called the "Labor Market" and the reasons are not "strange." Out of curiosity, what then, should be the maximum salary (you think) somebody working for a "non-profit" should be allowed to make? Does it occur to you that if employees of non-profits were bound to significant salary restrictions that they would seek employment elsewhere and all of the best employees would leave them? I happen to know many doctors and nurses (my mother for one)that work for non-profits and they are not underpaid. Everyone wants to earn more, but they earn a comfortable salary. The reason they stay is because they are paid fairly. If not, they would be working where the pay is better.

But this is a necessary service, one that should be nonprofit

Do you really believe healthcare should be non-profit or free? Again, if nobody could make a profit what would draw people to the healthcare industry? If no profit could be made,the collective health of U.S. society would suffer.

Estimates say (on prescription drugs alone) we would save as much as 40% simply by having the same laws and regulations of other developed countries in the world. Not to mention this disgusting culture of over medicating. One of the driving forces of this is the profit incentive pharmaceutical companies have in America. They make astronomical profits here while the margins are much much smaller abroad.

I love the other "Developed" or "industrialized" country argument. We commonly hear this but many of these other "developed" and "undeveloped" countries are better off due to our capitalist economy providing financial rewards to those who seek to find cures and create medicines. I know that there are scientists in other countries doing great work and I am sure they wish they could be here to profit from their ideas. The reason their profit margins are much smaller in other counties is because they are restricted by other governments. This is probably why 6 out of the top 12 pharmaceutical companies are based in the U.S. It makes perfect sense, they make money here. So, they earn a sizable profit here and not so sizable in other countries. Would it be better if they just didn't offer their products for sale to other countries instead of taking a reduced profit.

I do agree on the fact we over medicate but this is a personal choice someone needs to make with their doctor and take responsibility. We could do a much better job at this than we are.