"One just never knows what the old ticker might do."
You are so right. My mother-in-law died of a heart attack in 1991. She was 76 years old and the picture of health. She never drank or smoked. She belonged to a local group of ladies who walked 4 miles 4 times a week. She held membership in a health spa where she swam twice a week. She watched her diet and had regular check-ups. She was actually in the pool when she had her heart attack. Gone in a flash.
Her older sister was the complete opposite---over weight, poor eating habits, smoked cigarettes, never exercised, and never went to the doctor. She lived to be 90. Go figure.
If doctors were fairly paid for those Medicaid patients, the rest of us might not have to pay such large bills. Four times in the last two years, the government has notified my sister and BIL that return payments for Medicaid patients had been cut. News is that Medicare payments may be next to be cut. A doctor can't run a practice under such condiitons. I can't tell you the number of times that my sister and BIL have given free medical care to people. They never turn a sick person away from their door.
Though it is true that many doctors make a great deal of money, they start their careers relatively late in the scheme of things: 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 2 years of specializing, and one year of internship. If you begin college at age 18, you're not ready to practice until age 29 at the earliest. This puts your earning power seven years behind many professionals. When you begin, you've got to order all of the medical equipment and set up an office. The equipment is expensive and it takes a few years to pay it off. You have to pay both a nursing staff and a clerical staff. It's no wonder that many medical school graduates today either go into reseatrch or work for large hospitals.
You mention the accountability of doctors. What about the patients? You have some who waste the doctor's time when they have no real problems. You have others who wait until death's door before they venture into a doctor's office. There are also others who don't take their medications as directed. IMHO, it's a two way street. All parties should share the responsibility.
The hip replacement and the two packs of cigarettes are like apples and oranges. They aren't even treated by the same type specialist. With 24% of the population smoking cigarettes, i grow weary of being treated like billy bad [non-permissible content removed]. You're talking about a pretty big minority group here. What about the drunks who kill people on the roads? If they received as much attention as smokers do today, perhaps our roads woud be safer. There are lots of ads which promote the ills of smoking, but where are the ads to quit drinking? While I certainly agree that a person shouldn't smoke, I think that there are other issues which should also be promoted and noted.
hear classmates and at one time, friends, make comments about all doctors making $400k a year
For some unknown reason doctors pays get reported as the total gross they bring in. The people collecting these figures do not realize that doctors often pay for rent, assistants, insurance etc.
We have a friend and she is a doctor and works a full week, does a lot of work after hours with reports. Her actual ne salary is about $65000 a year. That is a lot of work and a huge responsibility for that much money. And we pay sports celebrities and movie stars $millions!!!!! :sick:
"Would have cost $0 (Zero dollars) in Canada..." Yes, if you didn't die while waiting in line or on a waiting list.
It happens, but very few people die while waiting in line. Usually emergency cases get moved up to the front of the line....occassionally the system fails - but very infrequent. Many people are pleased they get their operations done so quickly.
With 24% of the population smoking cigarettes, i grow weary of being treated like billy bad [non-permissible content removed]
I don't think of people who smoke in a negative way or as bad a$$s. In fact they contribute a lot of money to the government. Statistically, however, smoking and being overweight are two of the biggest factors for people needing additional medical care...where the person has some control, in the matter.
It happens, but very few people die while waiting in line. Usually emergency cases get moved up to the front of the line.
Absolutely true. Back in 03 I went to the ER feeling terrible. I'd had low sodium two weeks before and a history that included a seizure. I had a bed just like that. Good thing, too. I had a seizure in the ER!
Great part is the reason I had that seizure was the low sodium which was a side effect from my anti-seizure medication.
At least this time since they knew just what caused it they had me back to my old self in days. No more seizures, no more anti-seizure medication.
While I was in the hospital the NJ doctors were on a three day strike to protest the cost of malpractice insurance. On TV you would catch them all saying they were eating beans because of this heavy burden but right next to the gathering was a parking lot for of high end luxury cars with MD plates. Strange sight.
The doctors strike only involved closing their offices those days. They still came to the hospital and all that.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Your point is well made. I was talking with my sister this morning. She and her husband took in about $450,000 in 2010. After staff salaries, over head, and taxes, they took home about $200,000 last year. That figure represents BOTH of them. For the long hours and paper work, that's not a lot of money for two trained professionals. My wife's brother was a senior pilot for Delta Airlines. He made that much per year on his flights to Europe.
Is not what it used to be. Between the malpractice insurance & other aforementioned overhead, being a medical practitioner is more like being a small business owner. They put in extremely long hours & the majority don't make what doctors made 20 & 30+ years ago. Doctors do truly care and want to help people, but their hands are tied many times.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
This doctor talk is depressing; my wife is a resident physician so I come to this site to hear about things other than the medical industry. All I will say is malpractice insurance is a really big chunk of money.
Going back to my ongoing search to replace my leased Pilot, I looked at a TSX wagon last weekend...too small. Surprisingly so; I'm 6'2" and even with the seat down all the way, my head was brushing the headliner. Disappointing, as the car looks great. And for all the press you read about how Americans will not buy station wagons, I say bunk. This dealer had 2 wagons in stock, and each one had 6 parties there at the same time checking it out. I expect MSRP to hold on these for awhile.
I did look at some other vehicles that weekend from my original list and never had a 'gotta have it' feeling. But fear not, the week did bring a sales story.
Good thing that malpractice insurance still allows you that wagon even though it's the wrong size unless you can lop a little off your head.
On the malpractice thing - yeah, when they quote the numbers it is staggering.
On the wagon front - what the heck is it with these folks? I and a load of other folks would love a wagon. Probably my favorite car I've had was my old Maxima wagon.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Add me to Fezo's list. Still my favorite car was my 626 5 door (not a wagon, but pretty close). And I would love a nice compact wagon for my next car. Just not a lot of options out there.
In the middle of the night with less than 12 hours before the new General Assembly took office and after many closed door meetings where arms were twisted and out going legistlators were promised state jobs they increased the state income tax by 2%.
If I could I would put this state in my rearview mirror tomorrow. (hows that for a car reference?)
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
When Mrs. farmer had her stroke in 2006 we had no insurance at all. Talk about an experience. The bill was over $50K just for the hospital. They demanded I give them all our retirement money and sell our house to pay the bill. Fortunately I was able to borrow the money and we saved the farm. Many of the doctors were very generous in reducing their bills when they found out we were uninsured.
The only entity I was truly angry at was the state of NY who slapped a 5% tax on my entire bill to pay the hospital bills of uninsured illegal aliens.
I asked one hospital billing clerk that, if instead of working 60-70 weeks for the last 30 years I had become a drunken bum who had wasted all my money, how would that have effected my bill. She responded "Oh, if you had no money, everything would be free". That's when I almost had a stroke. :mad:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Wait until it's time for the nursing home. They won't demand; they'll just take it all.
It is best to stay in your own home for as long as possible...probably costs less to get help in than it would cost to be in a nursing home.
I like that email that went around. For about $100 a day you could go on a cruise ship and have fabulous meals and entertainment and it would cost a lot less than a nursing home.
No problem, I have it covered. I'm planning on retiring feet first.
To drift back on topic, I took my nephew out to look for his first car yesterday. We looked at a nice little Ford Escort with under 100K miles on it.
I ended up reccommending that he pass on it though. There were too many questions about who actually held the title (open title sale) and the car had almost no brakes (probably a bad master cylinder). There are a lot of title flippers putting cars on Craigslist these days so this being his first car I thought erring on the side of caution was best.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
You know, people do that cruise ship thing and it's true!
A person can't stay in a Holiday Inn for that kind of money.
Nice room, great food, non stop entertainment and an ever changing view.
I heard the cruise hsip people have a term for these people and generally aren't too happy with them because they usually stay out of the bars and the casinos and don't take any of the expensive shore expiditions.
Craigslist is loaded with bogus car ads and is a favorite place for curbstoners to hang out.
I just read about a woman reporter (should have known better) who rented a hotel room in Paris, and she found it on Craiglist. It was just $100 a night, and the pictures showed a beautiful room that looked like it was out of a designer magazine. They said their Pay Pal wasn't working so she should send the full payment for one week by Western Union.
When she got to Paris there was just an old apartment building on the site. There are better ways to rent a room. She should have known when it was only $100 a night (that won't happen in Paris) and when they insisted on her sending the money by WU.
The lesson is if someone is listing their car on Craigslist, there is probably an ulterior motive. You could get an alright car, but I think there is a good chance something could go very wrong.
he cruise ship people have a term for these people and generally aren't too happy with them because they usually stay out of the bars and the casinos
Saw a documentary about cruise ships on MSNBC and it was fascinating. The cruise ship company knows they must get an average of $7.50 from each passenger a day just in drinks, to make their bar quotas for the day. They really make their money from the extras, usually 20 to 40% on art, jewellery, tours, store merchandise that they can sell on the cruise.
This ship was 90% full and they just barely made a profit. Ideally, they like to have 104% occupancy, meaning every room is sold and a few rooms with kids making 3 or 4 in a room. One big challenge is getting the ship full before it leaves, because you can't pick up passengers along the way.
Profit margins are slim and are not easy to get. I can see why they don't want people who don't spend extra on buying things on the way. It would make one great retirement home though.
On our last cruise a couple of years ago, a Budweiser was 7.60 with the tip included.
The shore expedition companies kick back a lot of money to the cruise ships and I've heard that the shops in town that the cruise ships steer you to do too.
I have no problem with any of this. People don't have to spring for any of the extras.
That line made me think (especially since we were talking about medicine lately), have you ever wondered is there any truth to whether homeopathic medicines work?
The Canadian consumer TV show had an excellent no holds barred program on that topic.
"...if someone is listing their car on Craigslist, there is probably an ulterior motive..."
I don't think it's quite that bad. Craigslist is a great alternative to sell older cheaper cars. Yes, you do have to watch out for the curbstoners and title flippers but a lot of the real scammers get ID'ed by the CL community and you'll see postings scattered among the ads which say "watch out for this guy". Usually I'll type in a search for the phone number in the ad and if 5 other ads are linked to that number you can be pretty sure you have someone who is really a dealer unloading his clunkers.
My nephew's $2000 limit makes it hard to find cars anywhere else. I've occasionally found some just driving around but those are subject to the same mechanical problems that the CL cars have.
The first thing I told my nephew was that no one ever puts their car up for sale because it was running TOO good. :lemon:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Speaking of high prices, we were watching a tv show on that channel that shows people shopping for houses in various parts of the world. This 30's something divorced mother was moving from N.J. to Tel Aviv (she was Jewish).
She found a nice fixer upper that required a lot of renovation for $2 million. I did not realize the cost of real estate in Israel.
I have no problem with any of this. People don't have to spring for any of the extras.
I agree up to a point. Listening to a guy wanting to sell you a carpet for 2 hours when you could be walking around in Turkey, or being huckstered for drinks and sales all the time gets to be a bit much....and it is getting worse.
I understand they have to do it to make the price seem low, but it just grinds me down after awhile. I will say Norwegian was a lot worse for this than Royal Carribean, so I tend to favor RC for another cruise, so it does have an affect on some people.
Not my experience at all with Norwegian although we do like RC better.
Nobody ever "huckstered" us for drinks or to buy anything.
Sitting in a show or lounge act, of course, they come by and ask.." cocktails". Once you say "no thanks" they don't come back.
And, nobody ever pushed us into a casino or hard sold us on art or a watch.
We do enjoy the art presentations but we've never bought anything.
In the old days, I could visit the Duty Free shop the first day out and buy a bottle of booze at a great price to take back to the room. Not anymore. You can certainly buy it anytime but you don't get it until the last night.
For some reason, it seemed to take them awhile to learn that.
Snake, the only thing the tax hike has done is increase the attractiveness of NW Indiana, which is NOT an easy thing to do!
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name. 2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h) Review your vehicle
And, nobody ever pushed us into a casino or hard sold us on art or a watch.
I find it more aggressive than that. They give you a free tour of the spa....but it turns into a real sales pitch about all the things they can do for you, at a price.
I laughed when I saw people lining up to get the drink of the day at the bar...and they were really excited until they found out that the drink was $8, which they could put on your room of course.
It is almost impossible to sit anywhere inside the ship, unless it is a lounge area, and a bottle of water is $4. And, on Norwegian they gave you a bottle of water when you went on an excursion, on RC they sold you a bottle of water as you left the ship for a trip.
Not a big deal, and you can avoid most of the extras, but I don't have much tolerance for that stuff. I don't want to be conned and huckstered on a vacation trip - rather pay $200 more and just give me the basics.
"...I don't want to be conned and huckstered on a vacation trip..."
That seems to be the business model for many tourist attractions these days. A while back I took the kids to a local amusement park and paid $40 a head to get in. All rides were included, or so they said. When you got to the really popular rides it was an extra 5 bucks to stand in line for those.
Even cities are getting into the act. I've heard that for a few extra dollars some roads have "preference lanes" where the great unwashed are not allowed to hold up the rich people.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
because you can't pick up passengers along the way.
Actually they can however there is a fedral law dating back 150+ years that says any ship taking passengers from one US port to another US port must be registered in the US with a US crew or pay a heavy fine for each passenger. They can pick up and return to the SAME port if they do not have a US registration. Since cruise ships are not registered in the US they have to drop you off at the same US port that they pick you up in or pay a penalty. To avoid possible issues they usually don't pick up people along the way.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
1). Gov @#$& stated that he would veto any tax hike that would be more than 1%
2). The tax hike was very unpopular in this state with many saying that the overspending should stop before any taxes are increased.
3). That the deal was done in the last 12 hours of a lame duck session in the middle of the night with no chance of it passing in the new legislation session.
4.) Many outgoing legistlators were promised high paying state jobs in order to get a yes vote.
Now the governors of both Wisconson and Indiana have publically staed that this will help them attract businesses and people to their states.
I have a few friends that are small business owners that are looking into either moving out of state or closing down completly due to the higher corporate tax.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I've never felt pressured into anything on any cruise we've ever taken.
They do have upscale restaurants that cost extra IF you decide to go. Last time we paid, I think an extra 15.00 each to go into a wonderful steak house where the admission was well worth the price.
It's kind of funny. It seems that on every cruise we have taken our departure bill is almost exactly 400.00. We don't mind that at all.
I suppose we coupld just be hermits and just sit in our cabins too.
I'm sure it's a tough, cutthroat business just like the car business.
They could charge more for the ticket and push the extras less I suppose.
Comments
You are so right. My mother-in-law died of a heart attack in 1991. She was 76 years old and the picture of health. She never drank or smoked. She belonged to a local group of ladies who walked 4 miles 4 times a week. She held membership in a health spa where she swam twice a week. She watched her diet and had regular check-ups. She was actually in the pool when she had her heart attack. Gone in a flash.
Her older sister was the complete opposite---over weight, poor eating habits, smoked cigarettes, never exercised, and never went to the doctor. She lived to be 90. Go figure.
Richard
Though it is true that many doctors make a great deal of money, they start their careers relatively late in the scheme of things: 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 2 years of specializing, and one year of internship. If you begin college at age 18, you're not ready to practice until age 29 at the earliest. This puts your earning power seven years behind many professionals. When you begin, you've got to order all of the medical equipment and set up an office. The equipment is expensive and it takes a few years to pay it off. You have to pay both a nursing staff and a clerical staff. It's no wonder that many medical school graduates today either go into reseatrch or work for large hospitals.
You mention the accountability of doctors. What about the patients? You have some who waste the doctor's time when they have no real problems. You have others who wait until death's door before they venture into a doctor's office. There are also others who don't take their medications as directed. IMHO, it's a two way street. All parties should share the responsibility.
Richard
Yes, if you didn't die while waiting in line or on a waiting list.
Richard
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Richard
Good for you, here in IL Gov. $#@& stole it from us.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Richard
For some unknown reason doctors pays get reported as the total gross they bring in. The people collecting these figures do not realize that doctors often pay for rent, assistants, insurance etc.
We have a friend and she is a doctor and works a full week, does a lot of work after hours with reports. Her actual ne salary is about $65000 a year.
That is a lot of work and a huge responsibility for that much money. And we pay sports celebrities and movie stars $millions!!!!! :sick:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Yes, if you didn't die while waiting in line or on a waiting list.
It happens, but very few people die while waiting in line. Usually emergency cases get moved up to the front of the line....occassionally the system fails - but very infrequent. Many people are pleased they get their operations done so quickly.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I don't think of people who smoke in a negative way or as bad a$$s. In fact they contribute a lot of money to the government. Statistically, however, smoking and being overweight are two of the biggest factors for people needing additional medical care...where the person has some control, in the matter.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Twice I was broken and they fixed me with minimal pain and minor cost.
I pay $436/mo for BC/BS and get excellent care when needed.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Absolutely true. Back in 03 I went to the ER feeling terrible. I'd had low sodium two weeks before and a history that included a seizure. I had a bed just like that. Good thing, too. I had a seizure in the ER!
Great part is the reason I had that seizure was the low sodium which was a side effect from my anti-seizure medication.
At least this time since they knew just what caused it they had me back to my old self in days. No more seizures, no more anti-seizure medication.
While I was in the hospital the NJ doctors were on a three day strike to protest the cost of malpractice insurance. On TV you would catch them all saying they were eating beans because of this heavy burden but right next to the gathering was a parking lot for of high end luxury cars with MD plates. Strange sight.
The doctors strike only involved closing their offices those days. They still came to the hospital and all that.
Your point is well made. I was talking with my sister this morning. She and her husband took in about $450,000 in 2010. After staff salaries, over head, and taxes, they took home about $200,000 last year. That figure represents BOTH of them. For the long hours and paper work, that's not a lot of money for two trained professionals. My wife's brother was a senior pilot for Delta Airlines. He made that much per year on his flights to Europe.
Richard
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I read in the paper that they pay the guy who is in charge of a local Tribal Casino 480,000 a year plus bonuses that add up to a lot more.
Doesn't seem right.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Going back to my ongoing search to replace my leased Pilot, I looked at a TSX wagon last weekend...too small. Surprisingly so; I'm 6'2" and even with the seat down all the way, my head was brushing the headliner. Disappointing, as the car looks great. And for all the press you read about how Americans will not buy station wagons, I say bunk. This dealer had 2 wagons in stock, and each one had 6 parties there at the same time checking it out. I expect MSRP to hold on these for awhile.
I did look at some other vehicles that weekend from my original list and never had a 'gotta have it' feeling. But fear not, the week did bring a sales story.
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
On the malpractice thing - yeah, when they quote the numbers it is staggering.
On the wagon front - what the heck is it with these folks? I and a load of other folks would love a wagon. Probably my favorite car I've had was my old Maxima wagon.
I had to look up a TSX to find out what it was. I don't think you can get those as wagons in Canada. Makes a nice looking wagon.
Wagons make a lot of sense, just as much room as most SUVs and better handling and gas mileage.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
If I could I would put this state in my rearview mirror tomorrow. (hows that for a car reference?)
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Clever!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
When Mrs. farmer had her stroke in 2006 we had no insurance at all. Talk about an experience. The bill was over $50K just for the hospital. They demanded I give them all our retirement money and sell our house to pay the bill. Fortunately I was able to borrow the money and we saved the farm. Many of the doctors were very generous in reducing their bills when they found out we were uninsured.
The only entity I was truly angry at was the state of NY who slapped a 5% tax on my entire bill to pay the hospital bills of uninsured illegal aliens.
I asked one hospital billing clerk that, if instead of working 60-70 weeks for the last 30 years I had become a drunken bum who had wasted all my money, how would that have effected my bill. She responded "Oh, if you had no money, everything would be free". That's when I almost had a stroke. :mad:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I really did miss you when you didn't post for a while.
Wait until it's time for the nursing home. They won't demand; they'll just take it all. :sick:
Richard
It is best to stay in your own home for as long as possible...probably costs less to get help in than it would cost to be in a nursing home.
I like that email that went around. For about $100 a day you could go on a cruise ship and have fabulous meals and entertainment and it would cost a lot less than a nursing home.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
No problem, I have it covered. I'm planning on retiring feet first.
To drift back on topic, I took my nephew out to look for his first car yesterday. We looked at a nice little Ford Escort with under 100K miles on it.
I ended up reccommending that he pass on it though. There were too many questions about who actually held the title (open title sale) and the car had almost no brakes (probably a bad master cylinder). There are a lot of title flippers putting cars on Craigslist these days so this being his first car I thought erring on the side of caution was best.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
A person can't stay in a Holiday Inn for that kind of money.
Nice room, great food, non stop entertainment and an ever changing view.
I heard the cruise hsip people have a term for these people and generally aren't too happy with them because they usually stay out of the bars and the casinos and don't take any of the expensive shore expiditions.
The first questions should include asking how long the seller has owned the car and if they have the title in hand.
If something smells fishy, it probably is.
I just read about a woman reporter (should have known better) who rented a hotel room in Paris, and she found it on Craiglist. It was just $100 a night, and the pictures showed a beautiful room that looked like it was out of a designer magazine. They said their Pay Pal wasn't working so she should send the full payment for one week by Western Union.
When she got to Paris there was just an old apartment building on the site. There are better ways to rent a room. She should have known when it was only $100 a night (that won't happen in Paris) and when they insisted on her sending the money by WU.
The lesson is if someone is listing their car on Craigslist, there is probably an ulterior motive. You could get an alright car, but I think there is a good chance something could go very wrong.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Saw a documentary about cruise ships on MSNBC and it was fascinating. The cruise ship company knows they must get an average of $7.50 from each passenger a day just in drinks, to make their bar quotas for the day. They really make their money from the extras, usually 20 to 40% on art, jewellery, tours, store merchandise that they can sell on the cruise.
This ship was 90% full and they just barely made a profit. Ideally, they like to have 104% occupancy, meaning every room is sold and a few rooms with kids making 3 or 4 in a room. One big challenge is getting the ship full before it leaves, because you can't pick up passengers along the way.
Profit margins are slim and are not easy to get. I can see why they don't want people who don't spend extra on buying things on the way. It would make one great retirement home though.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Yes, she should have and so "should" the bargain hunters that fall for the phony deals because of an artifically low price.
This is why these scams continue.
The shore expedition companies kick back a lot of money to the cruise ships and I've heard that the shops in town that the cruise ships steer you to do too.
I have no problem with any of this. People don't have to spring for any of the extras.
That line made me think (especially since we were talking about medicine lately), have you ever wondered is there any truth to whether homeopathic medicines work?
The Canadian consumer TV show had an excellent no holds barred program on that topic.
Cure or Con
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I don't think it's quite that bad. Craigslist is a great alternative to sell older cheaper cars. Yes, you do have to watch out for the curbstoners and title flippers but a lot of the real scammers get ID'ed by the CL community and you'll see postings scattered among the ads which say "watch out for this guy". Usually I'll type in a search for the phone number in the ad and if 5 other ads are linked to that number you can be pretty sure you have someone who is really a dealer unloading his clunkers.
My nephew's $2000 limit makes it hard to find cars anywhere else. I've occasionally found some just driving around but those are subject to the same mechanical problems that the CL cars have.
The first thing I told my nephew was that no one ever puts their car up for sale because it was running TOO good. :lemon:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
She found a nice fixer upper that required a lot of renovation for $2 million. I did not realize the cost of real estate in Israel.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
I agree up to a point. Listening to a guy wanting to sell you a carpet for 2 hours when you could be walking around in Turkey, or being huckstered for drinks and sales all the time gets to be a bit much....and it is getting worse.
I understand they have to do it to make the price seem low, but it just grinds me down after awhile. I will say Norwegian was a lot worse for this than Royal Carribean, so I tend to favor RC for another cruise, so it does have an affect on some people.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Nobody ever "huckstered" us for drinks or to buy anything.
Sitting in a show or lounge act, of course, they come by and ask.." cocktails". Once you say "no thanks" they don't come back.
And, nobody ever pushed us into a casino or hard sold us on art or a watch.
We do enjoy the art presentations but we've never bought anything.
In the old days, I could visit the Duty Free shop the first day out and buy a bottle of booze at a great price to take back to the room. Not anymore. You can certainly buy it anytime but you don't get it until the last night.
For some reason, it seemed to take them awhile to learn that.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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I find it more aggressive than that. They give you a free tour of the spa....but it turns into a real sales pitch about all the things they can do for you, at a price.
I laughed when I saw people lining up to get the drink of the day at the bar...and they were really excited until they found out that the drink was $8, which they could put on your room of course.
It is almost impossible to sit anywhere inside the ship, unless it is a lounge area, and a bottle of water is $4. And, on Norwegian they gave you a bottle of water when you went on an excursion, on RC they sold you a bottle of water as you left the ship for a trip.
Not a big deal, and you can avoid most of the extras, but I don't have much tolerance for that stuff. I don't want to be conned and huckstered on a vacation trip - rather pay $200 more and just give me the basics.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
What????? You didn't buy a watch???
That seems to be the business model for many tourist attractions these days. A while back I took the kids to a local amusement park and paid $40 a head to get in. All rides were included, or so they said. When you got to the really popular rides it was an extra 5 bucks to stand in line for those.
Even cities are getting into the act. I've heard that for a few extra dollars some roads have "preference lanes" where the great unwashed are not allowed to hold up the rich people.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Actually they can however there is a fedral law dating back 150+ years that says any ship taking passengers from one US port to another US port must be registered in the US with a US crew or pay a heavy fine for each passenger. They can pick up and return to the SAME port if they do not have a US registration. Since cruise ships are not registered in the US they have to drop you off at the same US port that they pick you up in or pay a penalty. To avoid possible issues they usually don't pick up people along the way.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
1). Gov @#$& stated that he would veto any tax hike that would be more than 1%
2). The tax hike was very unpopular in this state with many saying that the overspending should stop before any taxes are increased.
3). That the deal was done in the last 12 hours of a lame duck session in the middle of the night with no chance of it passing in the new legislation session.
4.) Many outgoing legistlators were promised high paying state jobs in order to get a yes vote.
Now the governors of both Wisconson and Indiana have publically staed that this will help them attract businesses and people to their states.
I have a few friends that are small business owners that are looking into either moving out of state or closing down completly due to the higher corporate tax.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If you want to see the end game of this corruption I have one word for you--Tunisia. :mad:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I've never felt pressured into anything on any cruise we've ever taken.
They do have upscale restaurants that cost extra IF you decide to go. Last time we paid, I think an extra 15.00 each to go into a wonderful steak house where the admission was well worth the price.
It's kind of funny. It seems that on every cruise we have taken our departure bill is almost exactly 400.00. We don't mind that at all.
I suppose we coupld just be hermits and just sit in our cabins too.
I'm sure it's a tough, cutthroat business just like the car business.
They could charge more for the ticket and push the extras less I suppose.