13-second punk rock song

[medals in the chute]

Hey, y'all.  Here's my extremely short, original, punk rock song.  It deals the complex problem of health care in the USA.  What do you think?  Specifically I'd love to hear feedback about how the brutal brevity strikes you.  Did I still make my point in 13 seconds?

 

 

 

[Snowman]

The voice does not sound punk rock at all, sorry. Needs more grit. Your song poses more of a dilemma. 

 

Don't go to the hospital, go to a Doctor. 

 

People have a tendency to run to the emergency room for every little ache and pain, and yes,  emergency room visits are thousands. A Dr. visit starts at like a $150. 

 

I'm an old geezer (almost 60) and the last two times I went to the Drs, was when I was 40 and 45 for check-ups. Before that I was in my twenties. 

 

When I was 40 I had full health insurance through a contract position I had, so I thought it was time to see if I had any problems. The Dr said to me, I have good news and bad. The good is you have a healthy heart and are in generally good condition. The bad news is your bad cholesterol is off the charts. I want to put you on medication. I told him I didn't want to take pills. What could I do to try to change it myself? His first thing was my diet. I asked what I couldn't eat. He named every thing I LOVE. Yolks of eggs, the skin of chicken, coconut. But, he started with bacon. Our exchange over bacon went on for almost five minutes. I kept phrasing the question differently, trying to make sure I was getting exact information on my favorite food item. He finally said "If you ask about bacon one more time, I'm sending you to a psychiatrist". We agreed I could have one piece of turkey bacon once every couple of months. That worked for 6 months, till we went on vacation to New Orleans. I said "F*** it. If I'm gonna have a heart attack, I'm going to enjoy life to the fullest". I have 4 - 5 pieces of bacon a week for close to twenty years since. I eat the skin off the chicken, and damn I love runny eggs, scrambled eggs, eat every type of coconut candy, beer and whatever. I will probably die of a heart attack one of these days. Maybe sooner then later. But, I've enjoyed life and all it has to offer in tastes, views, and especially music. I've seen every major great artist over the past 40 years (that I enjoy). My wife keeps saying "you're going deaf. You can't hear anything." YEAH, I've been to over a thousand loud rock concerts without hearing protection, I'm sure I'm half deaf. Duh!"

 

What I did do that he said, I bought a tread mill and started out at 3 miles in 50 minutes, within weeks I was doing 4.5 and now when I jog I'm over 5 an hour, which is pretty good for my age. My 45 visit had my bad cholesterol still bad, but the good was much better, and they cancelled each other out.

 

There's a PC thing that you should love your body no matter what. While in theory that's true. The fact is, if you don't exercise, it will eventually catch up to you. With people sitting at computers for their entire day, playing video games instead of playing in the yard, the future is not pretty from a health stand point. If you saw a photo of me when I was a child, I was considered chubby. If I was that child now, you'd think I was under weight. 

 

If you go to the Dr constantly they'll find something wrong with you. Put you on medication, and keep you there for life. That will drain your finances. Though there are many things poor people can do to get free health care. They just have to look. 

 

But, if you go to the hospital instead of a Dr initially, your bills will be astronomical. Though every state has Catholic Charity hospitals for the poor. They're basically free. The church does a lot wrong. But, they also do a lot of good. 

 

 

[medals in the chute]

Thanks for listening and providing feedback and a lot of background for you feedback, Snowman.  Your opinions are valid, and I appreciate all the context you shared.  I think our country (the US) has a problematic system where insurance costs employers so much that they'd rather have someone work 35 hours a week and never go full time (never get insurance).  If that person has a baby or gets cancer or needs an ambulance / air evac helicopter, they could easily go broke from one visit to the hospital.  I agree that taking care of your body is extremely important; I also run or bike every day.  It keeps me fit and relieves my stress.  But I still think we have issues.  Anyway, we're allowed to disagree and I'm thankful for your feedback and stories!  Enjoy your life the best way that you can!

[Snowman]

On 12/15/2019 at 7:14 PM, medals in the chute said:

Thanks for listening and providing feedback and a lot of background for you feedback, Snowman.  Your opinions are valid, and I appreciate all the context you shared.  I think our country (the US) has a problematic system where insurance costs employers so much that they'd rather have someone work 35 hours a week and never go full time (never get insurance).  If that person has a baby or gets cancer or needs an ambulance / air evac helicopter, they could easily go broke from one visit to the hospital.  I agree that taking care of your body is extremely important; I also run or bike every day.  It keeps me fit and relieves my stress.  But I still think we have issues.  Anyway, we're allowed to disagree and I'm thankful for your feedback and stories!  Enjoy your life the best way that you can!

" I think our country (the US) has a problematic system where insurance costs employers so much that they'd rather have someone work 35 hours a week and never go full time (never get insurance). "

 

It absolutely does. The problem is, the only person that actually has a valid idea is Trump. He signed an executive order allowing insurance to be bought over state lines. That opens up the free market. But, all sides are fighting it. That's why costs haven't gone down. It's the same principal as car and house insurance. It's not a perfect way, it's the best that anyone has come up with. 

 

There are many videos of Obama saying "If you like your Dr, if you want affordable healthcare, and AFFORDABLE FOR ALL" are out there. I believed him. I voted for him twice. I blamed the Republicans for the mess. But, when I went to get my affordable health insurance it would be $600 a month when I was unemployed. My wife COULDN'T keep her Doctor or insurance, because the rates rose dramatically. The same insurance she had for over 20 years was gone. Now she pays over $200 more a month for half the coverage. OBAMA LIED, and SCREWED everyone. Oh, not the poor for a time. They got free health insurance for a while (which they would have gotten anyway through what I knew as medicare when I was a kid). But, now, that'll be gone because Obama and his people lied. This is not the Republicans mess, any failure for Obama's lies fall on his shoulders. Companies and small business won't hire full time, because they can't afford it.  You can't steal from one to give to the other and expect for it to last forever. That's wrong on every level. 

 

Healthcare for ALL? For Free? For EVERYBODY including people in this country illegally! Are you f*cking kidding me? FACTS: Republican or Democrat aren't going to let that pass in the Senate or House. Not a shitting chance in hell. So, what Sanders and Warren and the others Dems are saying is flat out BS. 2. Nothing is FREE. Someone's paying for it, and it ain't gonna be the rich. Because of the tax loopholes. So, not only do you have to change the healthcare laws through the houses, you have to change the tax laws. Do you see that happening? Seriously, do you? 3. Look at the scandals that have rocked the VA. That's free medical care in the US. What happened? People die waiting for a procedure. So, lets take that model and apply it to every person in the US legal or not. 4. Every person who goes to medical school and racks up hundreds of thousands in student loans, will be making a federally rated standard. How many will stay or how many more will go to school? Doctors like everyone else, want to live a certain standard.  Doctors work hours are roughly 70% of their time. My wife's brother is a Pathologist and he's consistently working. Do you think Doctors who make millions now, are going to take a fifty to eighty percent cut in salary for the same amount of time? This is not fantasyland. 

 

There is no Utopia. Free medical in Canada, UK and all the other places, you don't have private rooms, you don't have 24 hour access to a healthcare provider. You don't have the same quality healthcare. In many you get put on a list and get to wait. If you die, oh well. The other countries, taxpayers pay for that healthcare. It's not free, it's just bottom of the barrel. The rich from those countries when they can, come to the US for the best available healthcare in the world. For the few places it does work, the population is a tiny fraction of the US. 

 

"If that person has a baby or gets cancer or needs an ambulance / air evac helicopter, they could easily go broke from one visit to the hospital."

 

Children will make you go broke regardless of healthcare. Kids are an expense. Most children's healthcare is free. Hell, there are commercials asking for $19 a month for some of these places. 

 

Ambulance is a minor expense. It's usually under a grand. Which is hard. But, not life-breaking. 

 

Air Evac - is the majority of time used for car accidents. If the person caused the accident, I honestly don't have sympathy. It's serious business driving a car. Not many take it seriously. If it's not your fault, then the person that caused the accident will end up paying. But, both sides should have car insurance that pays part one way or another. 

 

There are many ways to go broke with healthcare. Some can be avoided and some can't. But, no one has the answer to the problem right now. The closest is Trump's free market (which is not his idea. It's the one he's championed). People spend money each month for things they seriously don't need to survive, like a cell phone. It used to cost a quarter to drop in a booth to make a call, that needed to be made. Now people spend $40 or more a month for the access to text and call 24 hours a day for sheer stupidity "to keep in touch". We've truly become a nation of "I deserve this and everyone deserves the same thing" instead of "I deserve this because I earned it". 

 

One last thing: Because so many believe that illegal immigration is great, and we need more people in this country illegally. These immigrants go to the emergency room for their healthcare and never pay. Because an emergency room can't turn you away, and you don't have to pay anything right away. Seeing a private physician you either need insurance, cash or a credit card. Sometimes both. Who pays for those unpaid medical bills? If you don't know, or don't care, or think they're here and deserve healthcare, then your opinion on healthcare in the United States and it's costs mean nothing to me, and you deserve to go broke with healthcare costs. Because you're literally the problem. 

[medals in the chute]

Thanks for the spirited debate, @Snowman!  I love hearing from those with different opinions and backgrounds than mine.  It's a very complicated issue and I'm confident that our dysfunctional congress is not up to the task of solving it.  My wife and I had some of the same issues with the Obama Insurance Marketplace when we were under-employed.  I think he made some things get better (like insurance companies not being allowed to deny you coverage for pre-existing conditions), but it obviously didn't solve everything.

 

Personally, what I would like is for a system where health care is paid for by everyone's income tax, sales tax, and/or property tax--the same way we pay for our public schools, public fire departments, public military, NASA, etc.  Obviously that would increase our tax burden, but I think it would help more than it would hurt (because we wouldn't be paying directly/indirectly for insurance through work / the marketplace / Obamacare / etc). 

 

I know it wouldn't be a perfect system, because nothing ever is.  I understand that you disagree, and that a lot of people disagree, but I think that's what makes our country great--we have a diversity of opinions and backgrounds and ideas about how to tackle our issues.  Thanks again for engaging with me on the topic and I'm going to leave it there.  Have a great day and feel free to link me one of the songs you've made recently!

[Snowman]

4 hours ago, medals in the chute said:

Personally, what I would like is for a system where health care is paid for by everyone's income tax, sales tax, and/or property tax--the same way we pay for our public schools, public fire departments, public military, NASA, etc.  Obviously that would increase our tax burden, but I think it would help more than it would hurt (because we wouldn't be paying directly/indirectly for insurance through work / the marketplace / Obamacare / etc). 

 

 

Because of the way the US economic system is set up that could never happen. That's what all the countries with free healthcare do. US Doctors wouldn't work for the same pay as a cop or fireman. You and I can't pay $25 a month while my wife pays $100 and expect her to pay for our healthcare, it's fundamentally unfair. There'd also be no reason to go to college, get a good job and work like a dog, when there are others sitting around doing nothing and getting the same things. 

 

It is nice to have a conversation without screaming and yelling. BTW: My last post wasn't directed at you, it was directed at those who think that Free Healthcare is a right, without the knowledge that nothing is free. So, if there was anything offensive there, I apologize. I can be quite offensive without meaning to be.

 

I agree Obamacare did a good thing with the 'can't be refused coverage" that's just wrong on every level of humanity. 

 

I can guarantee this, healthcare in the US will be settled before I drop dead. It will be with a slab of bacon hanging out of my mouth. 

 

[MikeRobinson]

All right ... choosing now to respond only to the song ... my assessment is that "it is much too thin."  There's no bass.  Frankly there are almost no instruments.  "The available frequency spectrum got a crew-cut!"

 

So ... how about another thirteen-second pass, this time with some orchestration.  What might you do if you had a symphony orchestra sitting politely in the room?  (Because ... you do!)  How about a rock band?  (Ditto.)  Yes, you've got a fine idea and you probably would do well do stay within 13 seconds.  But, there sure as heck is a lot more that you could manage to do in those thirteen seconds!  Have a go ...