Health Insurance is Simply too Expensive

Jeffrey Young, Huffington Post

It seems as if every year, the cost of health premiums is exponentially decreasing and that there is nothing people could do about it. Many blame these rise in costs on the people who come into the country illegally and receive free health care. It does not matter what the reason is, health insurance is slowly becoming unaffordable. It is projected that in 2037, health insurance will cost more than the median income of an American household! This is simply ridiculous since people will die because they can not afford health care in the "most advanced country in the world." Wages nearly stay the same yet health insurance costs are sky rocketing. The costs of health care are increasing so fast, that even with Obama-care,  people will not be able to pay for health care. At this rate, the average American might have the financial means to pay for health care until 2033. After than that, insurance is out of reach. Also, fewer workers are not getting insured from their jobs along with getting cuts on their benefits. President Obama's health reform contains policies designed to slow the progress of rising health care costs by cutting Medicare payments to hospitals and other medical providers and created financial incentives for health insurers, doctors, hospitals, and others to band together to reduce waste, improve care, and save money (Young). This health reform will also impose a tax in 2018 on the most expensive insurance plans in an aim to encourage people to buy cheaper coverage and tax the wealthy who can afford those expensive health premiums. No matter what measure's are taken, this country's health care system is soon bound to collapse and cause an internal economic meltdown. America's future is in danger as all signs lead to "the fall of the American Empire."

Boston Marathon Bombing Hero Receives Over $360,000 In Online Donations

Harry Bradford, Huffington Post

On April 20, 2013 an article was posted by Harry Bradford recognizing Jeff Bauman's accomplishments. Jeff Bauman was a participant of the Boston Marathon who lost both his legs due to the bombing. Thanks to his cooperation with the federal government, the suspects were identified and have been neutralized. People consider him a national hero and wish to return the favor. About 10,000 people have donated to Bucks for Bauman to help him pay for the devastating medical expenses caused by the amputation of both his legs. Approximately $360,000 have been raised so far.His coworkers at Costco have tried to help but there is only so much they could do. According to NBC News, the injuries of all fourteen victims are expected to exceed 9 million dollars. This includes the estimated amount of days victims would stay in intensive care and prosthetic limbs which cost about $50,000 each.  One Fund Boston, a charity set up by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino, has already raised more than $7 million. The costs of health have risen drastically and that is evident as victims strive to receive care due to an act of hatred out of their control.

U.S Postal Service in Danger

Joe Davidson, The Huffington Post

Over the course of many years, many changes to the current postal system of America has changed. Due to advancements made in technology and particularly the internet field, bills are now being paid online, funds are transferred online,  and letters are sent via email. The U.S Postal service has lost most of its revenue from the sale of stamps and has come near the face of bankruptcy for a couple of years now. However, after making many budget cuts and laying off thousands of workers, they are still hemorrhaging twenty-five million dollars a day! Despite the daily loses, The U.S Postal Service lost 1.3 billion dollars in the last quarter of 2012.On Wednesday  Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe blamed the government for preventing the post office from adapting to technological changes in the business world. He said, "Our financial problems are due to the restrictive laws that prevent us from fully responding to changes in consumer behavior," Donahoe said while testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee"... and that "The U.S. Postal Service could become “a significant burden to the taxpayer” if it does not get needed flexibility to change its business operations." According to Donahoe, cutting Saturday delivery will save the company an average of two billion dollars annually and can potentially save the company or at least keep it running for a couple of more years. By doing so, they mailing system will be the same as it was in 1983.It is a shame that a company that was created by one of our founding fathers in 1775 is now near the verge of bankruptcy due to a failure to sustain the current technological needs of the people. 

President Obama Recieves Poison Letters

Huffington Post

On April 15, 2013 a poison tainted letter was sent to Senator Roger Wicker. Luckily, the letter was intercepted. A day later, a letter of the same kind was intercepted. This time, the letter was intended for the President."The letter was intercepted at a facility away from the White House after they had suspected the the letter contained a suspicious substance." said  the Secret Service Spokesman. Chad Pergram from Fox News claims that the sender of both the letters are the same. Tensions have been high in Washington and across the country since the deadly bombings on Monday at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured more than 170. Now that the lives of influential government officials have been threatened, Many Americans fear the safety of this nation. Others say that we are under attack by terrorists. Either way, the people are looking for answers and so far, none have been given. The Police say they have a suspect in mind but that has not given the American people they are looking for. It is time for the President to brief the people on the current situation since everyone looks up to him and need to be comforted.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes are everywhere, but does that accurately reflect reality?  Racial remarks, sexual remarks, and gender remarks are the biggest stereotypes. The actions of a small group of people are assumed to be the actions and habits of all the members of a group. That is how stereotypes are generated. Stereotyping is not fair since people who do not possess the poor traits of a few people who belong in their group receive credit for them anyway. Now the question, "What factors contribute to such prejudice and how?" comes into the equation. There are many sources of stereotypes in society. One major source is jealousy against a race, gender, religion, because their success. Often times we hear members of society go on about how Asians take up all the space in the universities. However, they fail to equate the effort and time they have expended to reach these goals.Another question that might be worth asking about stereotypes is, "Is it possible to grow to adulthood without harboring at least some prejudice toward certain groups. It is not possible to not have at least one stereotype hidden in the subconscious. Especially with the extensive role the media plays in people's lives, it is very difficult to reject the stereotypical information given to you the the brainwashing methods of the media. Unfortunately, there is no such world without discrimination and prejudice. People are judged like a book with a poor cover. Again, people do not stop and give the book a chance in case they might like it. They judge and move on with their next book. A stereotype is only successful if all members of society collectively join in on what they think is a harmless joke. People do not stop to think about how stereotyping can lead to genocide, the worst crime against humanity. Evidently, it happened with the Armenians, Jews, and many other people we probably do not know about.

Facebook Likes Reveal Secrets

Alexis Kleinman, Huffington Post.

On Huffington Post, Alexis Kleinman wrote an article called "Your Facebook 'Likes' Can Reveal If Your Gay, How You Vote: Study" on March 11, 2013. In this article, the dangers of Facebook like were revealed. One might think it is extremely harmless but those likes reveal more about an individual than they realize. The National academy of Sciences analyzed the Facebook accounts of more than 58,000 users who have volunteered access to their likes.. Researchers make guesses about their personalities and behavior, and even whether they drank, smoked, or used drugs. Facebook had released the like button in 2009 and since then, about 2.7 billion people use the like button everyday. All the surveyors took a personality test. After the guessing was over, the answers given on the test and the guesses made about the likes were very similar. It was also then made clear that some like were more revealing than others. Many linkages were also made during this time for example, " Men who liked TV song-and- dance sensation 'Glee' were more likely to be gay than those who watch professional wrestling. All this information is put willingly by Facebook users not realizing how a simple Facebook like could reveal their entire personality to a certain extent. People should start proceeding with caution while they use Facebook because one day, the information users willingly make available to everyone could be used against them.

Job Applicants Test Positive for Drugs at HIghest Rate

Caroline Fairchild, Huffington Post

On March 7, 2013 Caroline Fairchild wrote an article called "U.S. Job Seekers Test Positive For Drugs At Highest Rate Since 2007, Study Finds" in the Huffington post. Job applicants are testing positively for drugs at rates not seen since 2007. According to a medical lab research company, job applicants are having a hard time passing their pre-employment urine tests. The rate of which job applicants have failed their drug tests has increased by 5.7% since 2011. The most common drug used by American job seekers is marijuana. This suggests that maybe, Marijuana should be legalized. Last year, Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana restricting it to permitted use by adults over twenty-one. As time progresses and more propositions are voted for, Americans seem to even more supportive of the legalization of this product. It seems that Americans cannot keep themselves away from Marijuana and it is costing them their job. Employers are having trouble finding employees that pass their drug tests. The way America is heading, employers might have to look at their policies, and decide if they want drug testing or not.It is quite frightening to see the people's dependence on drugs and how they compromise their future and financial stability in order to indulge in illegal drugs.