this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2024
118 points (100.0% liked)

United States | News & Politics

2003 readers
1029 users here now

Welcome to [email protected], where you can share and converse about the different things happening all over/about the United States.

If you’re interested in participating, please subscribe.

Rules

Be respectful and civil. No racism/bigotry/hateful speech.

Post anything related to the United States.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 24 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 65 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Boomers:

Why don't I have grandkids?

Millenials/Zoomers:

You got cash up front for that?

We fucking don't.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

“Why is there a fertility crisis?”

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Other than "line go up" economics, which I don't care about, I don't see a "crisis." Overall, less people is good for people and, more importantly, all the other life we are supposed to share the planet with.

[–] friend_of_satan 10 points 2 weeks ago

100% for the wellbeing of life on earth. 0% for publicly traded corporation stock prices, at least in the medium term. That line can't go up forever.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Less people is good for people, but decreasing people isn't. Japan and Korea are currently suffering from this and it's affecting a lot more than line go up economics.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You don't get to less without decreasing, lol. Less economic growth and a temporary issue with too many old people. That's not a bad trade off for a better future for all.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You don't get to less without decreasing, lol.

Yes, which is exactly the problem.

Less economic growth and a temporary issue with too many old people. That's not a bad trade off for a better future for all.

Okay good luck convincing anyone else of that with how things are looking in South Korea.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I don't have to convince anyone, it is happening regardless. Yes, people will bitch and moan, but temporary hardships for the elderly who allowed this to happen is a small price to pay.

[–] friend_of_satan 12 points 2 weeks ago

And why do states care so much about the birth rate crisis? Because it hurts them financially. https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/22/missouri-mifepristone-lawsuit-andrew-bailey-teen-pregnancy/

[–] MsPenguinette 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

We’ll just do what Russia does and outlaw anything that even encourages not having kids

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

Wait - that means outlawing this pre-pay system. Effectively slapping regulations on the free market. In fact, you could argue the costs of delivery, in general, encourages not having kids. Guess if conservatives want to emulate pooty poot we have to have deliveries subsidized. This alignment with Russia won’t take long to start making conservatives heads explode.

[–] expatriado 31 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

sorry Ms Jones, the credit card bounced, we're going to need to put it back

[–] Snowclone 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

My grandpa said the hospital told him they wouldn't release grandma and my aunt, their first kid, until he paid the bill in full. They were poor, clearly, and he said he could make payments but that was about it and they refused. He spent an hour feeling hopeless, then realized they were full of shit, walked back in and said ''OK, you can keep them.'' And tried to leave again. Turned out they COULD accept payments.

[–] friend_of_satan 21 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Fuckin USA healthcare. I don't care what anybody says, Kaiser Permanente having the insurance company and the health care provider unified is good for human wellbeing because it aligns the incentives of the insurance company and care providers.

My first kid was born at KP and cost like $300 out of pocket. My second kid was born with Blue Shield and cost like $20,000. Both were c-sections with a multi-day recovery due to complications, and the complications on the first were life threatening. Even the food in the Kp kitchen was amazing. I literally would've just gone there to eat.

[–] papafoss 9 points 2 weeks ago

Hell yes brother! I paid 20k for my first born on Blue Cross Blue shield platinum! 10k before she was even born.

My son's birth with Kaiser was $250.

[–] chemical_cutthroat 19 points 2 weeks ago

It's the ol' dilate and dash scam. Seen it a hundred times. I keep telling the hospitals they gotta get their money up front. It's a lot harder to rip people off if they've already gotten what they wanted.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Hospital called us outta the blue to try this. We weren't gonna pay some random caller over the phone that much money. Asked the lady if there was a different way to get a hold of her through the hospital system. She gave me her number, refused to give her name. Were like, how are we supposed to confirm you're with the hospital if we just directly call you back, on whatever number you provide us. After another minute of arguing and frustration about this, the lady finally gave in and gave us the name of the hospital department. Tried calling it back through the hospital system, nobody ever answered, so they never got a prepayment. We asked the OB and later hospital staff if this was standard practice, just to make sure it wasn't a scam. We never got a straight answer from either party.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

The sketchiest bill I've ever received was from an ER visit. Their website looked so fake that I looked up their phone number and called them directly to figure it out.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Fun fact:

In China, people are expected to pre-pay for treatments, including emergency treatments. Its actually a common trope in TV/Movies where a poor person is dying and unable to afford an expensive emergency surgery, and call a rich relative/friend that they haven't talked to for years to pay for them.

Well looks like the US is heading the way there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Now, with such policy, as long as medical costs stay low and medical facilities improve, with more investment, surely there should be some improvement (after all, we all live in first-class countries, unlike China or Russia)

[–] allidoislietomyself 7 points 2 weeks ago

I had to pre pay for my first child due to my shit insurance at the time. This was about 12yrs ago but they took the cost of the delivery and appointments and broke it into a $300 payment every OBGYN appointment my wife needed. Unfortunately the last 8 weeks she had to go in weekly for stress tests, that was an expensive few months. About a year later I got a check in the mail from the OBGYN office for about $900, they said it was for overpayment on the account, so that was nice I suppose.

[–] CMDR_Horn 6 points 2 weeks ago

Can confirm this happened to my me last year.

[–] affiliate 6 points 2 weeks ago

would you like to create a payment plan for this birth?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Just take it out of their college funds. You did start the college fund prior to conception no?