Taxcode, Nafta, Net Neutrality. News update

Hello All, here's some headlines and updates on stories from the week in American News.

Healthcare/Tax Code

Senate Republicans seek to lift the Obamacare mandate that all citizens be insured. In a move to slash the tax plan down to the requisite budget increase of 1.5 trillion, which is necessary to pass a bill without the possibility of a senate Filibuster, the removal of the 300 billion dollars government spends on health care subsidies would lower the new tax plan below that threshold.
Speculation suggests that Passing such legislation could lead to the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-republicans-include-individual-mandate-repeal-tax-plan/story?id=51149346

Nafta or North American Free Trade Agreement

Negotiations between the three country members of the NAFTA agreement are once again struggling to pin down details on the agreements renewal. Some sticking points and their sectors include; Auto industry: America wants 85% of all auto's traded between nations to originate within the nations of Nafta. Meaning 85% of parts must be made and assembled in either Canada, USA, or Mexico.
Negotiations are in their 5th rounds of talk and are expected to continue through 2018.

Net Neutrality

A vote is expected to take place next month, involving the so called net neutrality laws that protect consumers from having their content and broadband speed affected by internet service providers. With the public comment portion of the review over, the FCC is expected to vote in December on whether or not to keep the Obama era rules in place. The current 5 member FCC board is majority republican.

Poetry to news articles #1

Here's a new thing Im trying, Snap poetry to news articles I find compelling and important.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/10/563286253/mysterious-radioactive-cloud-over-europe-hints-at-accident-farther-east?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2038

Still lurking underneath,

the monster is unleashed by your hand,

if all that lay beneath your feet,

were ever cast like dust in sand,

the world itself would cough and wheeze,

dust and ash and cough and sneeze

A world in sickness would last three days,

the doctor says to me.

You'll want to shudder the rough cough

cast the phlegm blob,

and cleanse your skin with volcano salts.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qkjnvw/kids-win-the-right-to-sue-the-us-government-over-climate-change?utm_source=vicefbus

Descent into the wormhole you

blade forged in a young adults novel

can the who is be be the we can who

pride so full of the people

I found them last year in the lost times

pink youthful mouths

decrying the status

sharp bugle sounds

this is our rally

http://www.newsweek.com/syria-assad-worst-war-over-isis-defeat-620332
(Old article)

Who was it that we were so for and,

in war what does it take not to be massacred by

the winning side?
Is it best to let it rest the facts of what was happened,

and let the public be mislead and the rest of it forgotten

O Syria, O Arab Spring, O reasons,

Please let all who fought the wall,

go home and be forgotten.

The most Expensive thing I never remembered

I was flying down the dirt road, my teeth chattering. In front of me i could hear the laughter of care-free festival goers. They were unknown compatriots, people just trying to help a guy as best as they thought they could. The dirt was left curling behind the car wheels, and even though i didn't check, I'm sure my bike was leaving it's own miniature dust trail behind us. Between the bike at the car was a narrow space- maybe 4 feet at the most. A long paracord line connected my bike handle bars to the shotgun side view mirror.
       "HEY!" I ask in staccato rhythm to the bumping ground.
"How fast are we going?"
      You may have asked yourself how did I get in this position? As much as I've thought about the answer, I still can't give myself a definitive one. Panic was a big reason, and being embarrassed too. As it turns out trying to hide an embarrassing thing usually ends with something even more embarrassing happening, along with the original secret you were trying to keep. Every stupid mistake will continue along it's path, until something strategic comes to mind to course correct.
     "Uhh, 28 miles-per-hour!". Not a reassuring number.
"Arf-Arf!" I bark out our established safety word, one arf for good, two arf's for bad.
     "I don't think this bike's tires can handle anything faster". A few more seconds as i watch the spokes whizz, their silver lines a blurring optical illusion, i'm looking for a pothole or pit that will be the utter doom of my band-aid bicycle solution. Like a black bag over a face, my vision goes dark and I'am utterly unconscious.
       
In America the easiest way to go from having a balanced bank account to falling into incredible debt is by going to the hospital.
 More than chronic illness or condition, people go into medical debt from one time, unpredictable visits to the hospital. This can be for a multitude of reasons. Many people who report medical debt are 'the insured' but their insurance didn't cover enough of their expenses, and what was left over was made into debt. Other people suffer from accidents that require special ambulatory services, and still others were insured but not in the right way. For instance, Life-Flight services take their own type of insurance. While not very expensive, (A year long policy might cost 65$) not having the insurance can be life changing.
        When I got into my accident at Eclipse Oregon I wasn't conscious enough to decide what was going to happen. I remember being warned that the lines into the Fest were going to be long, winding down a one way dirt road with no way out. I never thought those circumstances would sign me up for what would be the most expensive bill of my life. A lot of Med-flights cost around $35,000, compared against a 65$ yearly fee it seems like, once you know you're going on an isolated adventure then its best to get some. But then again maybe that's what these companies want all of us to think? Why else would the disparity between a yearly fee and a massive one time bill be so great? Most of these bills ended up being so huge, because it's expected that people will fight the cost. Like with other bills (generally medical) you can get a lot of the cost reduced. But industry understands this, so it's factored into the cost. Lots of people can argue a $35,000 bill down to $25,000. And still you can argue that your health insurance provider is supposed to cover medical transport (generally not specified), and have them cover say, another $10,000. Still, a $15,000 one time helicopter ride sits as a huge expense for any person.
        I'm glad that I was taken to a hospital and treated for some severe injuries. Who wouldn't be? I'm grateful for all the medical staff, the doctors and the nurses, and all the transport staff, from the helicopter pilot to the Taxi Cab who drove me back to the festival. But, I had a broken arm and a concussion. Arguably, these are not 'life threatening' injuries. Arguably, if I had been conscious and allowed to make a choice, I may found some other way to the hospital. Definitely, If I had looked into a crystal ball and seen the cost of the Medi-cab, I would have scrambled for any other option. But in all likely-hood, there really was no other option for me. Circumstance and destiny lent a heavy hand, one that can not be mitigated. My advice to you is, See if medicab insurance is right for your Situation.

Love

Arstin Viggin