Strike at Deere plants in the US, more supply chain shortage to come

[PuffyC]

amen again!

i've seen so much waste in industry over the years but nothing compares to the medical field.

and you know why......nobody's paying for it.

Virtually everyone my age tells ......medicare is free.

It's not.

Could not agree more. People with insurance or Medicare have no clue what healthcare really costs so why should they care? $10? $1,000,000? What’s the difference? We see this exact same thing in the oil market. You undermine the free market by hiding the true cost for something and the whole system breaks down. You really want to fix healthcare? You only have two options: either everyone gets insurance or nobody gets insurance. That’s the only way it’ll ever work long term.

 

[oldballs]

You are right..........Medicare is not free. The government takes $148.50 a month out of my SS benefit check. My supplemental health insurance is $281,50 per month. Have been paying that for 25 years now....

If one wants to protect their home, car, health or life etc......they have to pay for it. What to do with those that don't want to pay for it.....I don't know.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Milo]

.....People with insurance or Medicare have no clue what healthcare really costs so why should they care?.....

As someone who's paid into SS / Medicare, as well as paid the employers portion for my workers, my entire working life I disagree. I ask what service costs and look at every bill. Now if you change it to "people on Medicaid" I'll agree.

Thinking further though you're probably correct in most cases, with any 3rd party pay scheme most patients will just hand their card and expect service.

 

[Torvy]

I think you are in a small group, maybe 10-20% who bother. Insurance, in general, tends to increase demand for medical services. Health care expertise is a limited resource, so increased demand leads to higher prices quickly. If 'anyone' could be a doctor, we would just see an increase is supply to meet demand.

I compare it to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Many, more likely most, people eat way more food there than if they just ordered and paid in a traditional restaurant. I know a few people with the self control to eat carefully at a buffet, but they are the exception. People feel they have to get their money's worth. Healthcare is no different. Some are prudent, most are not. That is 100% why co pays exist.

If we want cheaper healthcare, we need to reduce insurance and malpractice payouts.

 

[ruffdog]

Healthcare costs are high and my wife and I are always trying to save money. Be it the costs to the insurance or unnecessary procedures, we are careful. Nothing is "free" and it all adds to the bottom line for everybody. It may not add to the cost of MY bill but it will be added to everybody's healthcare costs if we act like it is free.

 

[ultrarunner]

An interesting note is ever increasing foreign born doctors… not in any way saying less proficient.

American born Docs have been known to discourage kids from following in the family practice.

Are chief set up his sons in Real Estate and boasting his boys are earning more in their twenties than he is as an established Doctor…

Interesting the shift and a lot had to do with the regulations in medicine and being an employer…

 

[ultrarunner]

Read somewhere Deere strike involves 15% of workforce which could easily mean more production offshore which could further improve profits?

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Then, because humans aren't that smart and we never learn, we'll go back to trying all those other things that we already know don't work and never evolve at all.

I would change the word never learn to never change. Most people don't like or want change.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

No question a CEO should be well compensated, but when is it too much? And if the job is so demanding nowadays that only four people on earth can do it, maybe it's time the job responsibilities are split up.

Someone posted asking what risks the JD workers are taking to earn higher profits. That same question can be asked of any hired CEO. I have much more respect for the risk a sole proprietor takes with their house on the line than some well educated MBA with a golden parachute.

Keep in mind it's not just the CEOs that are cashing in. The top seven JD employees pulled down a combined $58.4 million dollars in total compensation for 2020. Seven employees shared $58.4 million dollars for one year of work! They didn't start the company. They don't own the company. They are simply the hired help who were compensated for their labor. Are those seven people so uniquely skilled that no other group of people could perform as well as, or better, than them for less cost to the company? Again I'll ask, how was it possible that companies were thriving when CEO's made only 20 times the average worker?

As you well know, money doesn't fall out of the sky. And as with all things, the consumer pays in the end, so when you buy a JD product and grumble about the price, remember that you are paying for those executives lavish compensation packages.

A close relative was a vice president at a Fortune 500 corporation when he retired in the late 1980's. He said the way businesses operated started going sour in the 1970s when MBAs started being put in control. Before that business could be conducted with a handshake. As the superstars of the business world at the time, MBAs shot up the ranks. The joke was that they blamed anything that went wrong in their first 6 months on their predecessors and that they were promoted up the ladder before the negative consequences of their actions became apparent, but there was never any accountability. I guess the MBAs got the last laugh since they control everything and shareholder equity is now the number one priority.

Perhaps they are overpaid, I'm not going to argue on that point but I can tell you it's not a 9-5 m-f job. It's their life. It's a massive amount of responsibility and a few bad moves could wreck the lives of many people. It looks simple from the outside looking in but I assure you it's not. Every hour of their life is accounted for on a calendar. They probably even have to get their secretary to schedule when they take a dump. They are ball and chained to that job and there is next to no freedom. I personally wouldn't like any of that. The money is not worth the amount of stress I would have to take on and the amount of freedom I would have to give up to do it.

 

[plowhog]

An interesting note is ever increasing foreign born doctors… not in any way saying less proficient.

American born Docs have been known to discourage kids from following in the family practice.

I know two physicians that encouraged their children to become veterinarians, not doctors. Equal or greater earning power with substantially less liability.

Besides, wouldn't you prefer to care for a friendly dog compared to a grouchy litigious patient?