You make too much money!

[Ladeeda]

I can't imagine living in a place where anyone would have to put off going to the doctor because it will cost them an arm and a leg, and a place where people justified that cost in one way or another.

I live in America, and haven't been to the doctor for 18 months, since the health insurance for my last job ended after I got laid off. I only spent the $25 copay because it was an infection. I dashed to the dentist before that insurance ended as well, because I knew I wouldn't be able to go again unless I ended up in a miracle job with dental insurance, or that paid enough for me to visit the dentist. Not on birth control, since I can't afford it on my own (and I'm single), haven't' been to the ob/gyn since an STD scare: too expensive. I have a job, so can't NOT pay at Planned Parenthood, and no doctor I know of would write off the cost of a visit because someone's too poor to pay for it.

Doctors are prohibitively expensive, so I'm just hoping I don't get cancer or a broken leg or anything. Rather not have to try and set it myself.

[DrFaroohk]

And I don't have a problem with covering costs. That's awesome. But these people aren't living on food stamps either (not that they should have to). They might not make as much as a stock broker or something but many of them are still pretty well loaded and I just ask - do they have to be? Do they have to be loaded? Some of these guys live a million dollar lifestyle. Whatever their expenses are, jesus....if your business costs 10 million a year to run, why do you have to charge people 20 million for your services?

It's rather frustrating, I've mentioned this several times and no one notices. Was my wording not clear? I don't understand. I'm not concerned with their expenses - covering expenses isn't an issue. Of course cover your expenses! I just question the profit margin.

[linguist]

I find it strange when people talk about doctors and healthcare in the same terms as every other business. It's really not the same thing, healthcare is an essential service, not the same as something like a bakery or department store. And yes, doctors train for years and pay a lot of money to go to school, but the attitude that they deserve to make a ton of money by making it so people can't afford to even go for a basic doctors visit seems, just, wrong to me.

I can't imagine living in a place where anyone would have to put off going to the doctor because it will cost them an arm and a leg, and a place where people justified that cost in one way or another.

I'll second what AA said, and add that it goes beyond the amount of schooling (and the hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt that puts doctors in at the beginning of their careers), it's also all the related costs of running a successful practice. Running a medical practice is hugely expensive. Not only do doctors have to carry insane amounts of insurance (upwards of $1 million in many cases), there's also the costs of hiring skilled staff (nurses, technicians, office assistants, etc.) as well as equipment costs. A well-equipped practice can have millions of dollars in equipment (an MRI machine alone costs in the $1-3 milliion range, plus the additional cost of constructing a suite to house it).

On top of all that, there's the fact that most doctors, essentially, are on call 24-7. Even in private practice, most doctors have answering services who will call them with patient concerns after hours, and the really good doctors will often give patients they have long-term relationships with their own private numbers to call them directly. Two years ago I was hospitalized, and my wife called my doctor at 3am just to let her know what was going on. She was at my bedside within the hour. She even cancelled a vacation to oversee my treatment through to the end (and I was in the hospital close to a month). My mom's OB/GYN told her while she was pregnant with my brother that he had not had a vacation or any real time off in over 8 years, because he didn't want to be gone or unreachable when one of his patients delivered. Doesn't this kind of dedication deserve compensation?

Additionally, I don't know of any doctor who isn't willing to work with patients who are unable to pay, up to writing off their charges all together. Unfortunately, doing so doesn't relieve the doctor of the expenses of treating those patients, and so they have to raise costs on the patients who can pay.

[AdminAssistant]

Well, muses, you have the luxury of living in a country enlightened enough to provide those basic services for all citizens.

[muses_nightmare]

I find it strange when people talk about doctors and healthcare in the same terms as every other business. It's really not the same thing, healthcare is an essential service, not the same as something like a bakery or department store. And yes, doctors train for years and pay a lot of money to go to school, but the attitude that they deserve to make a ton of money by making it so people can't afford to even go for a basic doctors visit seems, just, wrong to me.

I can't imagine living in a place where anyone would have to put off going to the doctor because it will cost them an arm and a leg, and a place where people justified that cost in one way or another.

[protege]

If I want to better my life and have the good things, I can't be sitting back and thinking, "Oh dear, I can't charge $40 for this cake because they have a child who may need shoes soon."
I have to look at what it cost to make that cake and factor in my time, and go from there, thinking, "I can get $40 for this cake, and that will help pay my bills."

That's exactly it. You have bills to pay, it's not *your* problem that someone can't afford your product. With that said, should I complain to Tamiya (a plastic model manufacturer) that I can't afford their 1/12 scale Lotus 7 kit...which cost just under $360? If I did that, they'd give me the standard brush off (aka the "get lost") letter. Instead, I went for the cheaper 1/25 scale kit. It's not as detailed, but it'll fit in with my other sports cars better. I like my models as much as the next guy, but I refuse to pay silly prices for them.

Along those lines, some years back I picked up a 1/8 1932 Ford street rod for my collection. Now, 1/8 scale is pretty big (this '32 is just under 2 feet long) and are usually expensive. This one wasn't because it was in horrible condition. "Parts car" would be more accurate. Anyway, I thought that I could repair what I had, except for the body. At the time, I was going to see if I could find someone who could cast a resin shell for me. Those are currently selling for well over $100...if you can find one. Again, did I bitch? Nope. Instead, I did a deal with one of my fellow modelers. Seems he had a plastic '32 shell he was willing to send me. One Austin Mini kit I had lying around and some other parts, and the deal was done.

When I still built models for people, I got to deal with all sorts of complaints. People would bitch about having to either supply the kit (or have me buy one), the cost of some of the materials...or simply because it took "too long." Sorry folks, it's not my fault that most kits are boxes of raw castings, nor is it my fault that said castings need cleaned up. You want something that looks like shit, or something that looks awesome? I don't sell shit

[Amanita]

I do leathercraft as a hobby, and while I may give a few price breaks to friends of mine, when I'm selling through a local store, I charge a decent price. Usually about $50 for one of my ornate spiked collars. (I don't do the plain black band with 10 spikes, or the single bondage ring, mine are more elaborate designs with tooling, unique hardware, and other interesting features)
That $50 is just what I charge, the store adds its own markup on top of that.

I remember when the store I sell through opened (It's a local Pagan/Goth store), and somebody complained about the prices, saying it was too expensive for Pagans to afford. I guess they forgot that:
-They're not dealing with Walmart and its volume discounts
-the store sells many imported goods, which cost money to bring into the country
-in the words of the proprietress "I sell wants, not needs".

Likewise, I justify selling my leather goods at a profit. I craft and sell wants, not needs. Nobody ever dropped dead due to lack of a steampunk styled collar or gothic wristcuffs.

On the other hand, we have another Pagan shop here in town, and one local Pagan is incensed that the place is run as a for-profit business. Like how dare the owners profit from the Pagan community that their business serves! I guess he forgets that this business is the primary source of income for the owners, and if they couldn't make a living from it, then they would not be doing it at all, and the Pagan community would then have no store serving them, period.

[Andara Bledin]

I strongly suspect that what the OP is most on about is the huge disparity in what the day-to-day worker makes versus the CEO or other upper management.

In 2007, the average CEO made $10,000,000. I can't even conceive of what I would do with ten million dollars. At my current rate, it would take me nearly 40 years to even make a tenth of that.

^-.-^

[Ree]

So, Dr. Faroohk, you are telling us that, if you had the same qualifications and abilities to run an operation that provides an essential service, had put in the necessary years of education and had the same expenses, and then, were able to start your own business, you would look at your overhead, and then operate at the minimum profit you could?

I am thinking no.

The point of running one's own business is to earn a decent living.
Sure, doctors should be in it to help sick people, but they should also be paid according to their abilities, and they should be able to earn a profit so they can have a nice life.

I do cake decorating on the side.
It's not an essential service, but it is a service for people who need a cake for a special occasion.
Right now, if I were to start my own business at what I charge people, I would be broke within the first year.
I feel guilty as heck charging more, though.
Unfortunately, the reality is, if I want to turn a profit, and benefit from the skills I have learned, and the talent I have, I have to charge people a lot of money.

If I want to better my life and have the good things, I can't be sitting back and thinking, "Oh dear, I can't charge $40 for this cake because they have a child who may need shoes soon."
I have to look at what it cost to make that cake and factor in my time, and go from there, thinking, "I can get $40 for this cake, and that will help pay my bills."

[blas87]

It irritates me to no end, when we're on blanket overtime that lasts several months (or years, as it has before), when people who don't work with me say "You must be rolling in the dough!" or like my parents "You shouldn have plenty of money with all that overtime you've been doing!"

I'm not going to lie, that money is good. Extra hours at time and a half is great. But guess what? The last blanket overtime session that was a year straight, most people I work with (including me) spent our OT money on fixing old debts and getting ourselves out of trouble from when we were laid off or on reduced hours from when the company wasn't doing so well in 2007, briefly in 2008, and spring 2009. Those few furloughs and reduced hours for a few months really killed a lot of our financial standings. With the exception of a few retards (like Drunken Victim), most of us just caught up or barely caught up with all that OT.

And at tax time, it ended up biting us in the ass anyway. More than x many hours of OT worked is taxed to kingdom come, and we also figured out that after so many months in a row of x many hours per week, you jump into a new tax bracket and it's enough to keep you in that bracket long enough so that you either end up paying IN for your taxes, or not getting as much back as you really think you should be.

I do miss the money, but I love the freetime right now. And I won't lie, OT really helped me take some chunks out of my car payment when I first got my car, and it got me out of collections with my medical bills and it also got rid of some other debts. But I was never living the large life, I never could just spend money the way some of my friends (who ironically made less money than me or had roommates or still lived at home) did and still continue to do so.

And I also won't lie, I rewarded myself quite frequently by going to the mall (I really should have just went to Mall of America before gas went up over $3 a gallon and saved myself the sales tax on clothing as well, but what's done is done) and getting good deals.

[Racket_Man]

I kinda got the same crap from my Ex-wife.

first off she is on disability. second even before that she was loose with the cash even during periods of me being unemployeed (me being the primary income earner).

after the divorce I actually was able to start putting money back. once the grand child was born I was beaten over the head with "WELL you have a JOB and earn money and get a paycheck"

Yeah I DO have a job and get a paycheck, BUT I have expences (not inflated either) related to my job such as car payments, insurance, gas, repairs, regular bills and expences. I may have way more $$$'s than when we were married (and my current finances and savings are none of her business anymore) but that does not mean I can not try and save for whatever future there is. or I may just be saving money for some nice thing I want. YES it is called SAVING

I do not lead the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with optional Champainge Dreams". I live within my means I am NOT extravigant in my stuff I do not have the latest and greatest stuff. I live comfortabily

[Greenday]

My friend is a doctor. Just to be an ER doctor or GP, you have to do four years of med school, plus rotations, and more. If you want to be a specialist, you could do up to 4-6 years extra med school. So by the time you are making money, you are in your 30s and you've already gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. And it's really only the specialists who make a lot of money.

[Eisa]

I'm working toward getting my PhD in psychology because I want to be a therapist and help people. Not quite the same as med school, but still pretty damn difficult.

So I can see what you're saying...things are inflated. But probably not as much as you'd think.

[protege]

Here's another link for you all.

[crashhelmet]

The biggest of these gougers are the oil companies like ExxonMobil.

This article here shows an example of how much they rip us off.

They could easily knock their prices down and lower their profits, but they choose to instead continually raise their prices every time a camel farts in the middle east.

In 2005, ExxonMobile recorded a US Record Quarterly profit of $10 Billion Dollars AFTER raising prices due to Hurricane Katrina.

From this article on cnet

"They were a bit disappointing, but this a temporary phenomenon," said Paul Kuklinski, an analyst with Boston Energy Research/Soleil Securities. "This is largely attributable to hurricane effects."

Record 10Billion Dollar profit and they're disappointed?

I remember reading something during that time where they made an open threat to the US Government along the lines of "Try and get our money and see what we do."