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Half Of US Population Accounts For Only 2.9% Of Healthcare Spending; 1% Responsible For 21.4% Of Expenditures
With the topic of peak class polarization once again permeating the airwaves and clogging up NSA servers, and terms like 1% this or that being thrown around for political punchlines and other talking points, one aspect where social inequality has gotten less prominence, yet where the spread between the "1%" and everyone else is perhaps most substantial is in realm of healthcare spending: perhaps the biggest threat to the long-term sustainability of the US debt picture and economy in general. The numbers are stunning.
According to the latest data compiled by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in 2010, just 1% of the population accounted for a whopping 21.4% of total health care expenditures with an annual mean expenditure of $87,570. Just below them, 5% of the population accounted for nearly 50% of all healthcare spending. Just as stunning is the "other" side: the lower 50 percent of the population ranked by their expenditures accounted for only 2.8% of the total for 2009 and 2010 respectively. Perhaps in addition to bashing the "1%" of wealth holders, a relatively straightforward and justified exercise in the current political climate, it is time for public attention to also turn to the chronic 1% (and 5%)-ers who are the primary issue when it comes to the debt-funding needed to preserve the US welfare state.
The spending distribution in chart format:
Broken down by age - While the elderly represented 13.3 percent of the overall population, they represented 47.9 percent of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders:
Broken down by sex - While women represented 50.9 percent of the overall population, they represented 61.6 percent of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders:
Broken down by race and ethnicity - Individuals identified as Hispanic and black non-Hispanic single race were disproportionately represented among the population that remained in the lower half of the distribution based on health care spending:
More of the report's findings:
- In 2009, 1 percent of the population accounted for 21.8 percent of total health care expenditures and 20.5 percent of the population in the top 1 percent retained this ranking in 2009. The bottom half of the expenditure distribution accounted for 2.9 percent of spending in 2009; about three out of four individuals in the bottom 50 percent retained this ranking in 2010.
- Those who were in the top decile of spenders in both 2009 and 2010 differed by age, race/ethnicity, sex, health status, and insurance coverage (for those under 65) from those who were in the lower half in both years.
- Those in bottom half of health care spenders were more likely to report excellent health status, while those in the top decile of spenders were more likely to be in fair or poor health relative to the overall population.
- While 15 percent of persons under age 65 were uninsured for all of 2010, the full year uninsured comprised 26.1 percent of those in the bottom half of spenders for both 2009 and 2010. Only 3.4 percent of those under age 65 who remained in the top decile of spenders in both years were uninsured for all of 2010.
- Relative to the overall population, those who remained in the top decile of spenders were more likely to be in fair or poor health, elderly, female, non-Hispanic whites and those with public only coverage. Those who remained in the bottom half of spenders were more likely to be in excellent health, children and young adults, men, Hispanics, and the uninsured.
And the full report.
In 2009, 1 percent of the population accounted for 21.8 percent of total health care expenditures, and in 2010, the top 1 percent accounted for 21.4 percent of total expenditures with an annual mean expenditure of $87,570. The lower 50 percent of the population ranked by their expenditures accounted for only 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent of the total for 2009 and 2010 respectively. Of those individuals ranked at the top 1 percent of the health care expenditure distribution in 2009 (with a mean expenditure of $90,061), 20.5 percent maintained this ranking with respect to their 2010 health care expenditures.
In both 2009 and 2010, the top 5 percent of the population accounted for nearly 50 percent of health care expenditures. Among those individuals ranked in the top 5 percent of the health care expenditure distribution in 2009 (with a mean expenditure of $40,682), approximately 34 percent retained this ranking with respect to their 2010 health care expenditures. Similarly, the top 10 percent of the population accounted for 65.2 percent of overall health care expenditures in 2009 (with a mean expenditure of $26,767), and 39.7 percent of this subgroup retained this top decile ranking with respect to their 2010 health care expenditures. The data also indicate that a small percentage of the individuals in the top percentiles in 2009 and 2010 had expenditures for only one year because they died, were institutionalized, or were otherwise ineligible for the survey in the subsequent year.
In both 2009 and 2010, the top 30 percent of the population accounted for nearly 90 percent of health care expenditures. Among those individuals ranked in the top 30 percent of the health care expenditure distribution in 2009, 62.6 percent retained this ranking with respect to their 2010 health care expenditures (figure 1). Furthermore, individuals ranked in the top half of the health care expenditure distribution in 2009 accounted for 97 percent of all health care expenditures. Among this population subgroup, 74.9 percent maintained this ranking in 2010. Alternatively, individuals ranked in the bottom half of the health care expenditure distribution accounted for only 2.9 percent of medical expenditures (with a mean expenditure of $236 in 2009). Similar to the experience of the top half of the population based on their medical expenditure rankings, 73.9 percent of those in the lower half of the expenditure distribution retained this classification in 2010.
Given the high concentration of medical expenditures incurred by the top decile of the population ranked by health care spending (65.2 percent), identifying the characteristics of those individuals exhibiting significant reductions in health care spending in a subsequent year is also of interest. Among those ranked in the top decile in 2009 based on their high level of medical expenditures, 29 percent shifted to a ranking in the lower 75 percent of the expenditure distribution in 2010 (data not shown). Individuals ranked in the lower 75 percent of health care spending accounted for only 13.6 percent of all medical expenditures in 2010.
Individuals who were between the ages of 45 and 64 and the elderly (65 and older) were disproportionately represented among the population that remained in the top decile of spenders for both 2009 and 2010. While the elderly represented 13.3 percent of the overall population, they represented 47.9 percent of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders. For those individuals who remained in the lower half of the distribution based on health care expenditures over the two-year span, the elderly represented only 3.1 percent of the population. Alternatively, children (0-17) and young adults (18-29) were disproportionately represented among the population that remained in the bottom half of spenders (32.4 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively). In contrast, children and young adults represented only 2.1 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders. Individuals in the top decile ordered by medical expenditures in 2009 that shifted below the first quartile in 2010 were predominantly between the ages of 30 and 64.
Individuals identified as Hispanic and black non-Hispanic single race were disproportionately represented among the population that remained in the lower half of the distribution based on health care spending. While Hispanics represented 16.3 percent of the overall population in 2010, they represented 24.8 percent of those individuals who remained in the bottom 50 percent of spenders (figure 3). For those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders, Hispanics represented only 6.0 percent of the population. Individuals in the top decile ordered by medical expenditures in 2009 that shifted below the first quartile in 2010 were more likely to be non-Hispanic whites and other races (74.9 percent) relative to their representation in the overall population (66.6 percent).
Individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders in 2009 and 2010 also differed significantly by sex, compared with those who remained in the lower half of the distribution ranked by medical care expenditures. While women represented 50.9 percent of the overall population, they represented 61.6 percent of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders (figure 4). For those individuals who remained in the lower half of the distribution based on health care expenditures over the two-year span, women represented only 43.3 percent of the population. Alternatively, men were disproportionately represented among the population that remained in the bottom half of spenders (56.7 percent). In contrast, men represented only 38.4 percent of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders. Individuals in the top decile ordered by medical expenditures in 2009 that shifted below the first quartile in 2010 were predominantly female (58.3 percent).
Health status was a particularly salient factor that distinguished those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders. Overall, 2.8 percent of the population was reported to be in poor health in 2010, and another 7.8 percent was classified in fair health (figure 5). In contrast, of those individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders, 20.2 percent were in poor health and another 26.7 percent were in fair health. Furthermore, for those individuals remaining in the bottom half of spenders, only 0.5 percent were reported to be in poor health and 4.1 percent in fair health. Individuals in excellent health were disproportionately represented among those who remained in the lower half of spenders both years (41.2 percent). Alternatively, for those individuals remaining in the top decile of spenders, only 5.2 percent were reported to be in excellent health and 14.5 percent in very good health. Individuals in the top decile ordered by medical expenditures in 2009 that shifted below the top quartile in 2010 were predominantly in excellent, very good, or good health (25.8, 34.8, and 23.2 percent, respectively).
Focusing on the under age 65 population, health insurance coverage status also distinguished individuals who remained in the top decile of spenders from their counterparts in the lower half of the distribution. Individuals who were uninsured for all of calendar year 2010 were disproportionately represented among the population that remained in the lower half of the distribution based on health care spending. While 15 percent of the overall population under age 65 was uninsured for all of 2010, the full year uninsured comprised 26.1 percent of all individuals remaining in the bottom half of spenders (figure 6). Alternatively, only 3.4 percent of those under age 65 who remained in the top decile of spenders were uninsured. In addition, while 17.9 percent of the overall population under age 65 had public-only coverage for all of 2009, 32.6 percent of those who remained in the top decile of spenders had public-only coverage.
With respect to poverty status classifications, 36.2 percent of the overall population resided in families or single-person households with high incomes in 2010 (figure 7) and 15.2 percent had incomes at or below the poverty threshold. A lower representation of high income individuals (26.6 percent) and a higher representation of the poor (19.3 percent) were observed among those who remained in the lower half of spenders in both 2009 to 2010.
Source: The Concentration and Persistence in the Level of Health Expenditures over Time: Estimates for the U.S. Population, 2009-2010
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1% ARE FAT CATS!!
thank god for SOLOdarity...
but on the other hand... now I understand why Obama funded all those battery makers... IT'S WHAT DRIVES AMERICA THESE DAYS!!
They will be "Taken Care Of" by the Death Panels.
SURVIVOR RULE 1 IN ZOMBIELAND
Speaking of Zombie Survivor Rules, you need equipment too!
http://zombiesurvivalorlando.com/
DaddyO
Bright side: Half the population is either healty or at least considerate enough to suffer or die without seeking costly medical attention.
As in any health thread, I'll promote these two sites for teaching me about health and effortless weight loss.
www.MarksDailyApple.com
www.WheatBellyBlog.com
Since adapting to a grain-free lifestyle, I've shed nearly all of my body fat (nearly 40 lbs) while eating as much real food as I desire. I'm fairly active, but am not a gym rat (despite having a whole universal gym that came with my house).
All in all, I've never felt better as an adult.
+1 on grain-free, I am moving in that direction but the rest of the family loves their carbs and the house is always full of bread, pasta, cookies, death snack foods, etc. Meat and cooked veggies for me. Hard to do, requires extra effort, but worth it.
Also +1 on never feeling better as an adult. For me, never feeling better period. I AM gyming regularly, however.
I tried "lead by example" for years and years with the family, no joy. So now as far as that goes they're on their own and I am doing my own health thing.
Luckily for me, my teenage daughter latched on quickly as she had a whole host of health issues that modern "medicine" failed to alleviate, primarily migranes and other digestive issues.
Even luckier is that she's started her own bakery this spring, selling at the local farmers market, so she's constantly improving her gluten-free baking skills while developing a market for her goods.
My wife was somewhat resistant at first (still has the emergency ramen in the pantry, LOL), but after watching the changes in the two of us, she's coming along (though still falls victim to excessive convenience).
The biggest difference is having to make all of your own foods from scratch in order to assure quality. We've started cooking lots of different stuff all weekend long, then live off of it during the week. Today's lunch is a nice batch of sulphur shelf mushrooms ("chicken of the woods") sauteed with veggies out of my garden.
does that guys cart have the tip assist feature?
Hate to break it to you, but heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of death in America. Anything that reduces your chances of getting one......
(that's why the anti-tobacco movement failed to put a dent in healthcare costs. Coronary bypass surgery is expensive too.)
Both of which are lifestyle driven diseases that are mostly avoidable. Hell, I don't even grow my veggies out in the open since Fukushima happened, but have them under a high-tunnel hoop-house, in an effort to keep them as free of cesium as I can.
Barring some accident/sudden disease, I'm going to be far more healthy at 50 than I ever was at 30.
Cancer's biggest risk factor is age.
Agree with you on the grain free, especially wheat. Since eliminating poison (wheat) from my diet, along with other grains, processed foods, sugars, high fructose corn syrup, et. al., 3 months ago, and eating real food (organic vegetables, poultry, fish, meat, etc... low carb, high healthy saturated fats) I've shed 40lbs, eliminated daily aspirin regimen and lipitor, had my skin clear up, never slept better, much sharper mentally and have a lot more energy. I feel a good 20 years younger.
Here are two books I highly recommend that will change your health/life:
Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis (preventive cardiologist)
and the recently released
Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter (neurologist)
Problem I found when I went wheat-free three years ago was the cascade of other dietary/gut-related problems that wheat consumption covered up, which I then had to figure out and eliminate.
For example, I can barely drink alcohol anymore -- and I used to be a big drinker. Stopped eating wheat (or any other grains for that matter) and discovered about a month in that I couldn't tolerate even a couple of glasses of wine or more than a pint of beer. Then about a year into wheat-free, I discovered I couldn't cope with caffeine either.
And on and on it went. If I eat any kind of processed food by mistake, I now get seriously ill within the day. You stop eating wheat and your gut flora changes to the point where you just have to eat very clean.
The benefits are fantastic though. I stopped going grey, I shed over a stone, my hair and nails grow like wildfire ... but it just does not gel with modern existence. I was starving one day at work and bought a sandwich ... it nearly crippled me.
This pretty much sums up what I worry about with going wheat-free.
For the benefits, well, I can't go gray though considering I lost most of my hair by about 25. Also, I don't have much weight to lose because I already lead an active lifestyle and am around 8% BF. My nails growing fast would be more of an annoyance than benefit.
So why should I make the switch? Other than vague promises of 'feeling better' I really haven't seen anything to convince me to make the switch. I almost want to follow the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' mentality.
Every person is different. Do what works for you. One thing I DON'T DO, is assume what works for me must work for others, meaning I have no desire to convert or convince.
I remember my cousin trying to tell me to give up meat because of animal cruelty. I said "So if the cow dies of natural causes, then I can eat it?"
I know a few people who are doing the same thing you guys are (I cant kick carbs) And one thing they all swear by is kefir. I don't know anything about it really besides it comes in several forms. The kefir milk is kinda like yogurt and not at all appealing to my tastes but the water keifir just tastes like iced tea to me.
This is supposed to have a ton of benefits but the one related to this has to do with the number of strains of good bacteria it introduces (again, I think)
I asked someone who is into this stuff and they provided this as a good starting point
http://www.modernalternativehealth.com/2013/07/25/the-health-benefits-of...
Traditional kefir is dairy based, and many sources that seem reliable to me indicate that you should greatly reduce or eliminate dairy. Can't speak to the water kefir.
Have you looked into kombucha? For some, it is an acquired taste at best, but I like it. GT's is pretty good, or you can be more daring and make it at home, carefully. Beware, some of the companies jumping onto the kombucha bandwagon (ok, perhaps that's a bit of exaggeration) are trying to make it more soda-like and loading it up with sugar, which sort of defeats the purpose of something that is supposed to aid good health, not sabotage it.
Keep promoting. Reading Gary Taubes' book "Why we get fat" was an eye opener for me, and led me to Mark Sisson, Wheat Belly, Joel Fuhrman, etc. It blows my mind when I think about the destructiveness to the body of the Standard American Diet.
Had a knee injury that I was told would require surgery. I gave it time to heal. Didn't work. Changed my diet and within 2 months, the improvement was amazing. I haven't had problems with it in over a year.
While we haven't cut out grains completely, we've reduced them significantly, and switched to non-gmo sources, along with einkorn wheat for pasta.
OK, now we can all hate two "one" percents
You know about damned lies and statistics right?
90 % of the cost of taking care of you occurs in the last week of your life.
Obamacare and the drone program are here to take care of the 1% ers
And you'll get there regardless of how fast your mountain bike goes.
90 % of the cost of taking care of you occurs in the last week of your life.
Morphine is that expensive?
Whoda thunk.
Supporting data?
It is not that high, but it is up there. According to Medicare,
http://www.thirteen.org/bid/sb-howmuch.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-6747002.html
Actually, I think there was a study done some years ago, I think by MIT, that showed about 25% of all healthcare costs occur during the last year (end of life) care. That's why 0zer0care has the bureaucrat run Death Panels. It the only way they could justify the wild claims they made when they tried to sell 0zer0care with all the BS about reducing premium costs for everyone. 0zer0 himself alluded to it during the campaign when he replied to that one townhall question about how some 90 yr old grandma wouldn't have gotten her hip replacement, or whatever it was, with 0zer0care. 0zer0's response was something along the lines of "take the pain pill, instead of the surgery." The end result of 0zer0care will be lower life expectancy, few doctors, longer wait times for care, fewer insurance choices with worse coverage, higher costs, and no increase in the number of uninsured. In otherwords, another gigantic government program that will fail at everything it was supposed to do, and spends trillions of taxpayer dollars to accomplish nothing.
In a zombie scenario the equipment would be lying all over the place, not sure if packing anything would be necessary.
Read a fascinating book by Nortin Hadler, a doctor whose premise is that much of our current heroic "healthcare" does little to improve quality of life or longevity, but does an excellent job of transferring wealth from ordinary folks to the medical industry. Based on existing studies, he claims that 97% of coronary bypass surgeries are essentially useless for patients (but quite lucrative for the medical industry at $500k per pop). Mammograms are similarly grossly overhyped, and result in overtreatment and hollow "victories" over cancer [don't get me started on the Susan Komen foundation]. If half of what he claims is anywhere close to accurate, then the US could likely half its spending on healthcare, and have similar, if not better, outcomes.
MOAR RIBS!
This article is written to imply the 1% that use so much health care WANT to be sick.
No, but I bet their Dr's want them to be sick. Literal cash cows. For supposedly smart folks, dr's who can't figure out that putting someone on 7-10 daily medications (half of which are to counteract side effects from the first half) might be a little less than sensible...
A lot of stats thrown around, but still not super clear. OK it'd figure that old folks cost more, even moreso with that datum that the last 6 mos of life is where 50% of your lifetime costs are incurred. Having seen some ridiculous efforts made for "goners", I'd believe it. There's also a small but heavy abuser population of drunkard/junkie who uses the ER as their primary sleeping, eating, med clinic. One guy at Highland Hospital (Oakland's county hospital) used to come in nearly every day, costing over $300K for the year. He was into drugs/alcohol, had diabetes, high BP, etc. That $300K was probably worth annual check up and 1 office visit for about 1000 children. These characters will also end up doing this for 5-10 years before their habits finally kill them. So, this is a sticky question: should hospital ERs have the right to turn away these habitual losers?
Also to take up the picture in the article of the grossly obese person in the hoveround. Lordy, why isn't this being penalized to high heaven? 5 min w/some Dr who may hesistantly suggest you should lose a few lbs ain't gonna do it. The Dr takes the easy route of prescribing some BP meds, and he's covered his bases. Maybe we need some rates based on BMI measures (accounting for high muscle mass), rather than a group rating that's obviously penalizing that 50% that are costing us practically nothing.
A further question would be why does the govt subsidize tobacco and corn syrup producers, tho we know these are incredibly bad for you. Not saying to outlaw it, but people dumb enough to consume it should pay full price. This is the schizophrenia of living in this country, the worst producers and consumers are rewarded, while the hardest working temperate are squeezed further...
If we had low cost medical clinics run by nurse practitioners in underserved neighborhoods, the ER could steer the junkie there.
Regarding BMI, the medical establishment has acknowledged its major shortcomings. Differences in muscle mass and body frame size are not accounted for. Also, overweight and normal weight people have similar morbidity, while underweight and obese people have a higher death rate.
In addition to ending the corn subsidies (and the ethanol mandate) I think taxing sugar to pay for its health impact would be reasonable.
True, and cancer chemotherapy comes immediately to mind (which "helps" ~50% of patients and hurts the other ~50%, i.e. a net sum game, and is absolutely useless on stage IV, yet is very costly). Turns out most Americans have cancer cells in their bodies at death (per autopsy reports), yet few actually died from cancer, and many have better qualities of life without treatment.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/doctors-call-stop-chemotherapy-overuse-cut-cancer-costs/story?id=13688585
http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/cancer/to-the-cancer-patient/
I mean, isn't that what insurance is? There's a small chance you need to make a major medical expenditure so you pay your premiums. The lucky ones get peace of mind but don't need it. The unlucky ones get subsidized by the lucky ones. No question there are people who abuse the system but saying a certain small percentage accounts for the majority of expenditures over a 2 year period is not novel or particularly useful information.
Maybe it's time all the fast food chains paid a chunk toward the healthcare costs.
Why? Is there a "must eat processed fast food shit" mandate of which I am unaware? Are Wendy's workers chasing you down and shoving their burgers down your throat?
Thought not. And that goes for anything else YOU CHOOSE to consume. McDonald's didn't make you the unhealthy fat&lazy jackass you are. You did. It's kinda like being an economic half wit and them blaming it on the books or Kenneth Galbraith or Paul Krugman's columns. If you choose to consume that bullshit and not seek out the obvious truth then you are merely willfully ignorant.
Perhaps we as a nation might try not living off each other and be responsible for our own wants and needs. 50% of all "healthcare" dollars are spent by the government. In other words half of ALL MEDICAL SPENDING is done through theft from one group of people to pay for another.
You good with that? Cause if you are then you're nothing more than part of the problem. Mandating a restauranteur to pay " chunk toward the healthcare costs" is nothing more than theft and it is immoral.
I'm 44. I have not eaten a fast food product in decades. Any half wit can figure out what food is beneficial and what is not. Kudos to the posters that have the wheat thing figured out.
Americans think are taught that "effortless" is the path to happiness, when really it is the path to diabetes, hip and knee replacements, bankruptcy, no sex life, and MOAR DEBT!
1) Go run...
Born to Run- A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall $10
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/03072791...
and a pair of DIY Luna Sandals $60
https://www.lunasandals.com/products/5-diy-sandal-making-kit
For the person that could drop a few pounds and enjoy life more.
2) Eat well...
3) Get off the medications and mind-changing chemicals.
Okay. Who the hell junks that? BTW, bow season starts tomorrow Horseman.
Compound, recurve, cross, or long?
I have a Hoyt compound as my primary bow, but I also have a Black Widow recurve that I like to use and is my SHTF weapon.
+1 for using a Hoyt. Best bow I've ever owned.
2 junks on Horse for recommending healthy food and to exercise?
Wtf.
Oh yeah, they're right up there with fiscal and personal responsibility.
The junks are from guilt and jealousy laden nauseated mofo's who just choked down some food whose story from inception to BPA laced paper wrapper reads like War and Peace.
Junks courtesy of the waldo on the hoveround and his buddies.
Salmon fishing the Sacramento river and seeing the biggest average fish I have ever seen! Not only are the salmon plentiful, but the average size is over 20 pounds, and we’re landing 30-plus pound salmon every week. Waaa hooooo!
Fukushima radiation reaching the California waterways.
Precursor to Godzilla. Do they have extra eyes?
God I love Archary. Definatly something I have to get into properly with my son when he is old enough, and give me an excuse to get a decient bow.
Move a little further south and you'd be ahead of the curve...
http://myfwc.com/media/2147435/SeasonDates.pdf
The junks seem to be for no reasons these days, unless they're related to personalities rather than content.
DaddyO
personality related, mosdef
Paid trolls? Trying to spread dissension? All I know is, they give down arrows because they are afraid they will be ripped a new asshole if they reply!
Fucking government trolls, tht's who.
That 1%.
Okay. Who the hell junks that?
I didn't junk it but I beg to differ on all the raw veggies. Mostly they just go through. MOAR meat and cooked veggies. I am not a cow and do not have a cow's stomache.
Last week I was in Moab Utah... and we where hungry so we checked out the local place to eat...
KFC, BURGER KING, TACO'S....
so because there wasn't anything real where you could eat we took KFC....
and when I orderd some of the most filthy greaced ass chicken you've ever seen... I DECIDED TO ORDER THE SALAD ON THE SIDE!!!!
now that was funny....
THE GIRL BEHIND THE COUNTER HAD TO CALL THE MANAGER BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEANTH BY THAT!!!!
IT TOOK 10 MINUTES FOR THEM TO FIND SALAD!!!
I didn't eat it... it was like paper... and I took a bite from all the rest and decided it was a non eating day...
When traveling, we go to the grocer, buy some food, then make our lunch.
He said he was in Moab, UT
I doubt that the Shitty Mark-Up in Moab still has my photo posted, and a ban on me, but it is possible.
In some locales, liqueur stores are called markets. Jus' sayin'.
Moab is great! Hope you enjoyed it. I camped there with my siblings a couple years back, and we visited all the Arches with my family back when we were kids.
I loved it man. I was pretty damn sad when our vacation was over.
Normally I'm always happy when we're home after 3 weeks but not this time.
Giving back the rental car keys was a bad feeling.
I could already see myself retired and cruising through the US in a big ass RV :)
OK, he's from Belgium. Nuff said.
Indeed, very good food there. And beer.
You're going to tell us they banned you, without telling us why? Sounds like there's a good story there.
Broke college student + Coors + long week of mountain biking + bulk foods aisle + Coors + failed appeal to Mormon generosity + Coors + failed appeal to relationship with Prinster daughter + public nudity = gratitude for slow police response time
You were drunk and naked, threw up and passed out? LOL
Ditto. I was just about to write that. I travel with my knives and some gear in a chef's knife roll up. Fits in a back pack. Buy some diposable tupperware at the local supermarket and you're good to go.
>> I was in Moab Utah.
Were you lucky enough to make it over to Zion and Bryce?
Risk On in Moab!
Yep, did all the national parks starting from California, colorado, arizona, utah, ohio man it was super.
It was super, one of the most beautifull trips in my life. 24 days of seeing the most beautifull landscapes on earth.
Next year we'll do he east coast by car and I hope it will all be as good as this year.
>> 24 days of seeing the most beautifull landscapes on earth.
When I decided to shit can society, I closed my business, sold everything, bought an RV and spent 7 months doing the same thing. Florida to Mexico, California, up into Northern Canada, Alaska, then on back. It was the trip of a lifetime for me. Our RV was set up with a great solar system so we were able to dry camp mostly in National, State and Forrest Service camp grounds. The problem now, even though I've got a bitchin hobby farm going is I just want to hit the road again.
Ever notice the weight of a 4pc box of KFC? WTK is that, thing weighs like 5LBS- all grease
Growing kale and wheatgrass. Kale chips and wheatgrass shots are on the daily diet in our house. Feeling fit and strong.
Here's the US conundrum in a nutshell
Food stamps are directly supporting P&G and other mega food corps
Obamacare is directly supporting Pfizer and other mega drug corps
US rabbits are the test monkeys in the United States of Dumb.
Can't say they're trying to hide it from us.
Just a little plump, that's all...it's not her fault, bless her heart.
She's just suffering from a slow metabolism afterall...just ask her.
DaddyO
Holy shit. Does she really look like that or is it a photoshop hit job?
I haven't seen her since the first inauguration -- no TV. Back then she wasn't a pretty girl, but fairly slim/trim.
The trouble with health problems such as obesity, diabetis, etc. really started when sugar was replaced with corn syrup as a sweetener and using transfats instead of polyunsaturated fats. Both are highly addictive and highly destructive. But good for sales of soda and junkfood!
And to up the addiction levels, they put MSG in everything. Its even in Tim Hortons coffee up here in Canada!
Then they brainwash you with commercials, to 'remind' you of the social status you can have, just by consuming certain products (iPhone 5, any one).
MSG in coffee??? By a lack of taste of the coffee they add a taste enhancer?
Don't get me started on GMO...
Yes, after becoming aware of the issues with MSG, I started checking labels on some items I bought for those nights when I needed to fix food in a flash. I didn't expect to find it in instant mashed potatoes, mac n' cheese, soups, stuffing mixes, jerky, etc. Most things now are made from scratch, and prepared items must have a pretty simple ingredient list or it never makes it to check out.
No shit. How'd I miss that article? That's right up my interest alley.
High frucose corn syrup is up there on the evil coeff. but also wheat. I have Gluttun alergies in the family so avoid it and have expanded to remove wheat as well. Great idea.
Don't miss on some of those other Amino acids your body needs to mentally function as well. It doesn't have to be animal protein either. Head to a bulk barn and get Quinoa seed and plant some for the next year. Hard to kill (drought, cold snap, too much water). Complete protein. Tastes like oatmeal. Add it to burger mix/bread/stew/etc. Makes a better corn meal than corn meal. AND it's a nitrogen sink like clover which pulls nitrogen from the surrounding atmosphere.
When you've finished harvest, till it under and there's your shot of starter fertilizer for the next season after a winter. My experiment this year yielded around 3700 lbs of per acre averaging with a top end of 4300 lbs per acre and 2000 lbs because the deer got into a patch near the forest boundary.
That last part was my fault though, I didn't take the dog to walk the tree line enough to mark the territory. If you have problems with pests in a patch, you get a male dog to piss all around the area you want covered. The animals around the area smell 'wolf' and stay away from the 'wolf's' hunting area, doesn't matter if the dog is 150 pounds or 2 pounds. Male dogs smell like wolves to forest nibblers. For birds, the high technology of a pie plate tied on to a stick keeps most of them out.
Suppose it depends how aggressive you want to get. 2000 lbs an acre is still serious business and keep in mind it produces enough for nature to take it's cut and leave tonnes of food left over for the person growing it.
@ 3.00 a pound it's cheap in terms of seed cost. As a food it's half the price of hamburger and the same amount of protein so if you lift/workout you'll see the gains quickly if looking to gain. Leaner muscle gain and recovery seems to improve a bit, nothing spectacular though but better than nothing. If you've got IBS, it's easy on the guts to break down and process. If you get over the fact it's tasteless and know how to cook with spice, it's dead easy to use as a filler. Word to the wise though; Chili is disgusting with it unless you fry it up with meat and seasoning first. Soups/stew are great. Best though is Indian and Chinese cooking. Ginger, garlic and quinoa were just built to work together on a palette. Or rosemary, sage and onion.
Quinoa is also very pretty and smells nice, hard to describe 'clean/fresh' as a smell but that's what it smells like.
Good stuff, CPL. I always walk in the woods with my dog, and we tend to stick in the same areas. My basic idea is what you stated above, to let the critters know this is our territory.
I'm not afraid of wildlife, I just don't want to surprise them!
Lol!
Yes, Quinoa is a staple around here as well. Replaced potatoes and white rice.
Very informative CPL. Considering how much .22 ammo we've burn through on shooting rabbits I'm thinking I should try your method. We only have female dogs. Does human male urine work? ;-)
Miffed;-)
Train one of the bitches to run rabbits, most dogs are built to do it unless they are pocket sized. If pocket sized, they bravely face spiders, houseflies and laser pointers.
And unfortunately nope, people pee doesn't do much. Falls under the don't shit where you eat and sleep category.
Bought a vitamix a couple weeks ago, throw some spinach, kale, apple, cucumber, lemon, and stevia together, blend it, and drink that for lunch during the week. Good stuff. Too bad I am still a weekend warrior but a step in the right direction. That and excercise 5 days a week maintains chubby.
I do the same and vary the veggies to what's in season. The lemon is critical because it takes away the heavy green grass flavor most people can't get around. I was in a group when the conversation turned to bemoaning being over 50 and being constipated all the time. I told them this wouldn't be an issue if they juiced. " Why would you drink that icky drink when you can just take a pill?" was what I got. I had to leave the table and have a shit.
Miffed;-)
Good call on the Vitamix, we have had one for like 3 years. We make shakes for breakfast.
Our go to recipe:
Half to 3/4 pound baby spinach, a cup of blueberries, cup of seeded grapes, apple, strawberries or mango in season (not the seed), couple bananas, and a quarter cup of ground flax. The flax is needed to help with bio-availability of the fat soluble vitamins. Then we add some ice to cool and maybe a cup of juice. We have used OJ and now usually use a juice blend.
This will fill the 64 oz. I add the bananas after beating down the spinach as it is too full before.
pods
I like the Green Power juice extractor myself. Vitamix is great but I don't need to ingest all that fiber. I make poopies just fine without it.
Yeah there is a lot of fiber. We also use it to process the garden into sauce. We ran 75 lbs of tomatos into sauce in an afternoon. No skinning needed. And making nut milks as well as ice cream for the kids.
And in leisure time it makes margaritas in about 6 seconds.
pods
If you are feeling well and your body likes hanging onto a couple of extra pounds plus some excerise. Who cares. You really can't ask for better than that. It's just extra fuel for the sex machine. ;)
http://daddytypes.com/archive/suns_out_guns_out.jpg
One of the most dangerous men of all-time: Fedor Emelianenko, agrees with you.
Yup, we love our Vitamix too.
Throw a whole pineapple in there (excluding the skin) with oranges and bananas for awesome & fiber-filled smoothies. So many good & simple recipes.
You can even make tomato soup in it -- no cooking required, the blender heats it up all by itself through friction alone!
I've been touting on other forums the fact that Big Pharma meds are turning people into zombies, that they never actually cure and instead prolong illness, and that the side-effects (known and unknown) are more than likely worse than any condition currently being experienced.
Of course you get called the tin-foil-hat conspiracy theorist guy. So much the better though, since there are plenty of people who DO understand.
They make money from TREATMENT. Ongoing, continuous, treatment.
ADHD, diabetes, depression. They love that shit! They wish more people were diagnosed with those diseases!
Good advice, but animal protiens are visibly underrepresented in your 'eat well' picture.
What, no antibiotics, pink slime, aspar-tame? You want to destroy the health care industrie - that's unamerican.
I didnt junk you but i am not sure everyone is bred to run. Walk and hike, heck yes!!!!
Sure, another report from another .gov agency. MOAR pencil whipped statistics.
yes the nSSA is broke and broken, structural default takes many forms;
morally
culturally
politically
economically
socially
there is NO dream that's American because it's always been a Ponzi scheme, now that the pools draining we all get to see the floaters that have existed for decades just below the surface.
I'd pull up stakes and move to Canada, similar culture, lots of space........but that's just me
I visited Canadian relatives this year. From what I see, Canada isn't much better (except possibly morally), other than the fact that as an English colony it's a little farther from the seat of it's government...
double posted
"Exercise a little moar, eat a little less".
Problem solved (and title for my new book on nutrition).
Which is why I was actually surprized by the race/ethnicity chart.
Mexico is now the fattest country in the world.
AA's are overweight/obese as a default. Stats for Mississippi, Alabama and Louisians are the worst in the country (in just about everything) for a reason.
I guess age simply has a greater weighting.
Damn..It doesn't matter how you slice it. I can't seem to become a one percenter, although it's wouldn't be as hard nor near as fun to be in this group.
Doc- you and I are already in the 1%. Do you have a good paying full time job? You're in the 1%.
I guess the next step in these "findings" is to have a national debate on who we can eliminate. It would fit right into American Morals.
Already been done. Everyone's cool with it. Every lobbyist, politician and government bureaucrat. You know, the only people that really count.
There are many people that live healthy lifes, earn plenty of money but from no fault of their own require help for rare and costly health problems. That is what a universal health-care system should protect against. You should not be held ransom to a (treatable) ailement after you've looked after yourself.
However, that kind of system can be and is abused by people that don't look after themselves. Of those people you really have three options; a) you raise their contribution, b) you remove them from the system, c) you make them look after themselve.
Now, given the way the US penal system is going... I can see the latter being a posibility.
You have another option. People that are unfit to look after themselves get locked up in a facility where they get looked after until they're able to fend for themselves. Lock the fat up in proper camps and put them on the starvation diet or they get cut off. Alternatively put them on a train to nowhere with a shovel. What's the point?
Broiler chickens gorge themselves to death and need to be slaughtered after 7 weeks.
I think everyone has a right to be 400 lb land whale. The only issue for me is I don't want to pay for their life style choice. If Healthcare was simply pay for service and fatty carts and other obese support systems werent subsidized this whole issue would go away. Some would die, others would get off their ass and heal themselves. Trouble is, there are too many people who profit from obesity and are actively lobbying for the profits to continue.
Miffed;-)
Miffed- You are in the lab, but I am in the unit. I agree that these land whales have the right to be what they are. But, they are killing us to the point that we have had to put in overhead crane systems that can lift and shift up to 800 pounders. And yes, I have seen 800+ pounders a few times. We actually have had to place two beds together- very difficult to work around since everything we use is powered and hard to synchronize...
you're putting cattle into beds at your station?
800 lbs is unreal
they pulled the plugs on less burdensome creatures
Ceilidh_trail,
This was inconsiderate of me. I forgot about all you in nursing who are breaking your backs from these cattle.
A few years back I took a per diem job at another hospital in their micro lab. During orientation they insisted I learn to use the patient crane even though I was only going to be in the lab. It was rated to 1200 lbs ( this hospital specializes in bariatric surgery)! I damn near flipped. When it was my turn I good barely stop laughing hoisting this mannequin wearing a huge fat suit from a hospital bed to a chair.
The nursing staff really got ticked how much I was considering this a joke. Of course, from their prospective they were going to dealing with this daily unlike me. These people have hurt very fit male nurses in their prime. Even a strong man will get injured being crushed by a horse.
Miffed;-)
If you want to see where we're at and where we're headed, try search string "prison mental health crisis" and you'll see that jails and prisons are becoming our new mental health treatment system for the poor.
Way back when there was a movie about robbing a bank to get the money for a sex change.
It won't be long that people start passing bank-robber notes to tellers so they can go to prison and get the health care they need ... or want.
You know what that means right... the young will get raped once again. After the student loan rape, it's now time for health care rape. Thanks Obamacare!
In regard to student loans, young people (Millennials) did that to themselves. It's fine if you take out loans (I did), but the key is, only taking out what you can actually pay back.
Yes, back when you could walk out of college into a professional job. These days, you graduate and go back to bussing tables.
The student loans are a larger part of financial aid, they're higher interest, and the terms are far worse. It look my exwife twenty years to pay off hers (I dropped out a few times rather than go into debt) and this was public university tuition. These days, you can buy a middle sized car for a year at school.
Well, its funny what students will do when you show them charts (!!!) that indicate there will be plenty of well-paying jobs for them, 5 years down the line, what down to the economy booming and boomers retiring (this was the sell even back in 2006 or earlier). Remember the paradigm was still FIRMLY in place that 'secondary education = good job', thus 'no secondary education = no good job'.
Agreed, the young f'ed themselves with these loans...almost a natural selection of sorts. If you ccould figure out that $200k for most educations isn't worth, perhaps this debt will keep them out of being approved for mortgages they can't afford as well. but the boomers should have to work longer and received reduced gov't medical welfare. The boomers did it to themselves for voting these punks in office the past 30 years...they had 30 years to fix the problem and didn't. no retirement savings to speak of..but i'm sure lots of vacations, cars and larger than needed homes.
I wonder if personal responsibility could ever be revived?
Seniors spend more on health care than younger folks...stop the presses.
Women live longer and have to pay for birthing babies. Stop the presses! :)
Okay, so Death by Powerpoint can mean real death.
Or, were you not pointing a finger at a small part of the population as 'the problem.' Hinting away at an entitled group living off the fat of the land. Claims they're using the system to steal more than their share. Or, more likely, the pus of Thatcherism making the poor the enemy.
You've got a whole lot of primed haters out there, ready to scream about welfare queens buying vodka with food stamps and such.
Most of your target populations are pretty weak, without much connection, so leaving them to die to cut taxes is pretty easy. Might take some repitiion, but it's easy.
That said, the medical industry does absurd cost larding on simple procedures. It's the reason single payer systems are so much cheaper than the American commercial model, they don't have so much welfare for suits.
Divide and conquer, the strong responsible workers vs the few playing the system. Death by Powerpoint.
HATE the Drake!
HATE the 1%!
Kill the 1%!!
The Nazis killed the 1%.
They collected the mentally ill and the deformed (many with genetic cause or predisposition), and put them in institutions. Then, after some months, these 'patients' got sick and died... Of 'natural' causes or related complications. The families were first relieved to have them off their hands, as it was a heavy burden for most families, and after they got over the grief of their passing, almost w/o exception they were actually relieved that "God called them home".
What no one dared to say, was that it was the doctors who were "doing God's work". His 'dirty' work, that a "polite" society tries to avoid.
An ancillary benefit of all this, that polite people also avoid discussing, is that Germany had no "disabled" or deformed people for many years. These cases are now once again on the rise, "thanks" to the "humane" social policies that they've adopted (or been forced to adopt) from the Allies. The health and social costs are thus on the rise also.
And after they killed the first 1%, they moved onto the next 1%, etc.
The problem is we will all end up in that 1% at our end of life - cancer, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, dementia, etc.
Most of the 100% does not require extraordinary care during the year - and that is why they are in the 99%.
The 1% that require extraordinary care usually die within weeks, leaving behind an enormous tab.
Next year, a whole new 1% requires care, with most of them dying within weeks Eventually, you and I will be part of that 1%.
All this is solved by death with dignity. We need to educate ourselves not to fear death so much that we subject ourselves to torture and pain, just to last a few extra weeks.
What's the point of living if it just means lying comatose in a hospital bed?
The sticky part of the problem is who decides who shall live:
If you give that power to the children - they stand around watching their inheritance draining faster than a taxi meter. One of them will want to pull the plug ASAP so they can buy a 46" LED TV instead of a 42".
If you give that power to the spouse - well, just try to imagine Hillary's thoughts if BJ were on life-support.
If you give that power to the medical staff - they will keep someone alive until they need the bed or they can try an "experimental" therapy.
There just aren't too many Mother Theresas out there...
The future looks retarded.
For darwinian evolution to work, the sick and weak need to die.
That's now a government decision, just saying...
DaddyO
we all die, what we need is selective reproduction for evolution rather than the current devolution path that we are on. remove all Uncle Sugar benefits for breeding.
If you want to bring back the sick joke of Social Darwinism, note they got it exactly wrong. Where they saw exceptional individuals saving the world, it's really groups of people who have the survival advantage.
A group with solidarity will handle shocks to the system with more success than even the most uber ubermench. Voluntary cooperation builds social capital, including mutual care and support.
So a divide and conquer strategy like setting up a hated minority, which is really part of the majority, hmm...
Babyz and diabeetus. Shout out to my brother who is going for the cycle with gout, bad cholesterol, blood pressure, and type II diabetes at under 35 Y/O. His wife sits AROUND the house and is loaded up w/ pills. Covered and subsidized under ACA. 'Murica.
Resupply points when the SHTF...?!?
You have to get there early though, the stench from decay may be overwhelming at some point.
DaddyO
Not judging, but them symptoms sound curiously like way the fuck too much alcohol....
Been there done that, personal experience.
Even an affluent society can fight Darwinism/Nature only for so long.
Eventually, reverse-Darwinism sets in: The gene pool is weakened and health problems mount. Mother Nature is a real "Bitch" that way.
Extreme medicine needs to be eliminated, and the problem improves dramatically.
It's not just the 1%. Note the 80/20 Pareto: Eliminate the Top 20% of the cases, and half of your costs disappear.
Sudden Debt, welcome to the United States and yes, that is our cuisine.
When I am home in Central Illinois in the wintertime, I make due with the best fresh kill around. Beef cattle, bloody marys, baked potatoes. I stay half-bagged and I don't stay long/. Even the strip clubs have headed downhill.
The torpor and confused, silent anguish of this once-great nation is mind-boggling.
Lately I have been sparking up California's finest hash oil (transportable - no scent, looks like cologne in your kit bag) and tripping out in downtown zombified Peoria like I used to in 1977 ... it serves to remind me why I left ... cannabis is one of the good things going, folks. Even a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist like myself will allow for that.
Isn't this the fact that a huge amount of healthcare is provided in the last 6 months of life, as a serious illness or accident takes over a person.
This low spending by half of the market, even 90% is the reason high deductible true major illness insurance makes sense.
That's right folks, for most of you 97.2% of your healthcare dollar, on average, is outright stolen from you.*
*that's above and beyond what was stolen from you in order to get post tax dollars to pay for this healthcare
Relative to the overall population, those who remained in the top decile of spenders were more likely to be in fair or poor health, elderly, female, non-Hispanic whites and those with public only coverage. Those who remained in the bottom half of spenders were more likely to be in excellent health, children and young adults, men, Hispanics, and the uninsured.
No shit. So healthy people can live without insurance? And the unhealthy can't? More shocking revelations this Monday a.m.
They can have my hoveround when they pry it from my cold dead sausage-fingers ... any day now.
Why you impertinent sly deceiving little git! Climbing Alaskan mountains in a hoveround. I'd slap you silly if I could.
Miffed;-)
I am not fat!
I am gravitationally challenged!
You'd be vertically challenged if I catch you bespoiling the majesty of Alaskan countryside in a hoveround. We must put some limit where rolls of flab hanging over the seat humans perched on a groaning battery power chairs can go. Walmart and the various steamer tray, all you can eat establishments, seem reasonable to me. Therefore, I am sure to avoid them and keep my toes from being smashed.
Ok, now go sexually harass yourself at work before I taunt you some more.;-)
Miffed;-)
The 1% here is not the 1% in terms of wealth distribution.
Shannon entropy. Not their fault.
Half Of US Population Accounts For Only 2.9% Of Healthcare Spending; 1% Responsible For 21.4% Of ExpendituresDon't worry, I think Obamacare has a panel for that.