Walmart Supercenter At 111 Yale St.

[ricco67]

There was a report or study (of which I can't find) several years ago, that made the case that people that buy things in bulk, have a tendency to gain weight.

The argument was that if you feel compelled to finish off that huge item in its entirety before it goes bad (chicken, fish sticks, other perishables). If you have a large family, or 5, it's doable since kids are basically walking stomachs, but wouldn't not gain as much weight of say, a family or 3 or 4. The variables would also be in the various ages as well.

In contrast, if you purchased normal items from grocery stores, you mainly purchased "as needed", then the weight gain would still occur (due to our sedentary lifestyle, no doubt), but not nearly as much as one would shop at Sam's.

[Marksmu]

It is directly Walmart's fault. But it is much more the fault of big Ag and big grocers. The reason grocery stores are packed with highly processed foods is because they have a very long shelf life. Grocers can pack their shelves to the rim with junky cereals, snacks, sodas and other garbage because they will always sell before they go bad. Add in the corn subsidies, and you get aisle after aisle of cheap garbage. Families on a budget with parents that work multiple jobs or late shifts will buy the processed crap because it won't go bad, it will fill them up for a fraction of the cost of fresh produce and lean meats and doesn't require any preparation time beyond opening the box or popping it in the microwave. Walmart exacerbates this problem by using its buying power to get the best discounts on things like chips, pop tarts and other highly processed junk. Thus, when a family shops at Walmart, they can get junk like chips, soda, pop tarts and frozen crud (hot pockets, pizzas, etc.) for a fraction of the cost as eggs, milk, fresh produce and lean meats. And the junk never has to be thrown out because it went bad, and there is no prep time for junk when the parents are working late and the kids have to make their own food or when parents come home late and don't have time to cook. You can wag your finger at people all day for not exercising and making bad decisions, but that won't do anything to solve the problem.

Are you really that ignorant and do you really need to blame someone else for everything so badly? Do you really think that someone else SHOULD decide what is good for you? I know you do, because I read the rest of your posts, and you believe the government and regulation is the solution to everything.... but I dont and neither do most Americans. Whaf it the powers that be decided too much environmental waste is created by eating fresh food because its thrown out before its used??? Then they tell you that YOU can only buy processed food...you would probably switch sides then....So you have no more right, duty, or prerogative to tell people how to eat than you do tell someone else how to vote.

Walmart buys processed food because it sells, not because it has a long shelf life. If it does not sell, they stop buying it...They want to make money, not fat people. Processed Food sells because people are lazy. It is not your right or duty to tell other people how to eat and how to live their life. WalMart sells fresh produce and unprocessed meats that do not go bad in the freezer isle. People's life style choices are to blame, and it is not your right, nor should it be your right to be able to tell people that they need to change their lifestyle.

Both my wife and I work full time jobs....she works on average 12 hours a day, while I work about 9.5....we have a daughter, who goes to daycare. I leave early in the morning so I can pick her up...my wife leaves later so she can drop her off.....we both have no time at all in the evenings yet, because it is important to us we eat quality food...we cook...we plan our meals.... We eat fresh veggies....we make a menu every Sunday, we buy a weeks worth of food, and we freeze/unfreeze it as we use it...its not hard, it just takes getting off your butt.

Buying processed food does not save these families any money either...I am sure if you added it all up, it actually cost substantially more than eating healthy. When you dont have quick processed foods in the house there is nothing to snack on, so you dont snack...when you do not snack constantly you are less prone to getting fat, and you save money! If the families would adjust their lifestyle to eating healthy (something they are too LAZY to do) then obesity would not be a problem. Even the families working multiple shifts and whose parents are SOOO busy have the time to put together a casserole and stick it in the fridge...its healthy it just needs to be microwaved, and its ready to go. They dont because they are lazy, not because they are poor, or because they work too much.

Everything in moderation is a great theme to live by. We dont need you or some other bureaucrat telling us what to eat....we dont need it! We dont want it! For someone to be successful they have to want to change....fat lazy people dont want to become skinny and productive....they are happy being fat and lazy. When they pass that onto their children we get more fat and lazy....

Wal Mart is not in any way to blame for any of it. Neither is bag ag or big grocers. You really do believe everything Michael Moore tells you dont you? Get a brain, learn to use it without regard to what the tv tells you.

[barracuda]

Speak of the devil...

Wal-Mart Shifts Strategy to Promote Healthy Foods

Some people are always going to buy junk food, but making healthier food more affordable is a good step.

[ricco67]

Are you really that ignorant and do you really need to blame someone else for everything so badly? Do you really think that someone else SHOULD decide what is good for you? I know you do, because I read the rest of your posts, and you believe the government and regulation is the solution to everything.... but I dont and neither do most Americans. Whaf it the powers that be decided too much environmental waste is created by eating fresh food because its thrown out before its used??? Then they tell you that YOU can only buy processed food...you would probably switch sides then....So you have no more right, duty, or prerogative to tell people how to eat than you do tell someone else how to vote.

Walmart buys processed food because it sells, not because it has a long shelf life. If it does not sell, they stop buying it...They want to make money, not fat people. Processed Food sells because people are lazy. It is not your right or duty to tell other people how to eat and how to live their life. WalMart sells fresh produce and unprocessed meats that do not go bad in the freezer isle. People's life style choices are to blame, and it is not your right, nor should it be your right to be able to tell people that they need to change their lifestyle.

Both my wife and I work full time jobs....she works on average 12 hours a day, while I work about 9.5....we have a daughter, who goes to daycare. I leave early in the morning so I can pick her up...my wife leaves later so she can drop her off.....we both have no time at all in the evenings yet, because it is important to us we eat quality food...we cook...we plan our meals.... We eat fresh veggies....we make a menu every Sunday, we buy a weeks worth of food, and we freeze/unfreeze it as we use it...its not hard, it just takes getting off your butt.

Buying processed food does not save these families any money either...I am sure if you added it all up, it actually cost substantially more than eating healthy. When you dont have quick processed foods in the house there is nothing to snack on, so you dont snack...when you do not snack constantly you are less prone to getting fat, and you save money! If the families would adjust their lifestyle to eating healthy (something they are too LAZY to do) then obesity would not be a problem. Even the families working multiple shifts and whose parents are SOOO busy have the time to put together a casserole and stick it in the fridge...its healthy it just needs to be microwaved, and its ready to go. They dont because they are lazy, not because they are poor, or because they work too much.

Everything in moderation is a great theme to live by. We dont need you or some other bureaucrat telling us what to eat....we dont need it! We dont want it! For someone to be successful they have to want to change....fat lazy people dont want to become skinny and productive....they are happy being fat and lazy. When they pass that onto their children we get more fat and lazy....

Wal Mart is not in any way to blame for any of it. Neither is bag ag or big grocers. You really do believe everything Michael Moore tells you dont you? Get a brain, learn to use it without regard to what the tv tells you.

To blame Walmart as a whole for our national weight gain would be as simplistic as simply referring the sky is one color.

As much as people like to throw around the "sheeple" word out there, that's basically what we are, whether we like to admit it or not.

We fall into the trap of buying something that is cheap and easy.

As a single person, I can afford to buy whatever I want as far as food goes, but I'm busy as hell, so I have to make smart choices that fit my lifestyle.

A family of four with a tight budget doesn't have the time, means, or energy, to constantly be "healthy" in their food choices. Sometimes it just has to do with put something to feed those "walking stomachs" I referred to in another post. But to be fair, sometimes it is also ignorance that keeps people from making proper choices, but then again, it goes back to time.

Time will unusually win out to feed the family with budget and time constraints.

[samagon]

I went to this place, I like it a lot, chill crowd. The bouncer said he thinks they will be moving into the former Italian place across from HOB.

Went to the new location last Friday for a friend's birthday, much bigger than the original, and a ton of people considering it was opening night. Music was too loud to talk to anyone though.

[Marksmu]

To blame Walmart as a whole for our national weight gain would be as simplistic as simply referring the sky is one color.

As much as people like to throw around the "sheeple" word out there, that's basically what we are, whether we like to admit it or not.

We fall into the trap of buying something that is cheap and easy.

As a single person, I can afford to buy whatever I want as far as food goes, but I'm busy as hell, so I have to make smart choices that fit my lifestyle.

A family of four with a tight budget doesn't have the time, means, or energy, to constantly be "healthy" in their food choices. Sometimes it just has to do with put something to feed those "walking stomachs" I referred to in another post. But to be fair, sometimes it is also ignorance that keeps people from making proper choices, but then again, it goes back to time.

Time will unusually win out to feed the family with budget and time constraints.

I fully understand the time constraint. I am a family of 3, 5 if you count dogs (I dont count the dogs) ...add another kid next year and it will be even harder....but instead of watching the football game on Sunday, watching your nightly news or television shown, sleeping in, or whatever it is that people do with their free time, they need to make the conscious decision that they are going to put a healthy lifestyle above these other things. If you do do a little something every day it will make it all much easier. If you set a menu on Sunday, buy all of the food for the week, then its very easy. When I start doing the dishes from my dinner each night, I look at tomorrows menu, get the things I need out, and set them aside, thaw them, marinade them, or whatever it is that needs doing. Its not hard and it it does not take more than a couple minutes each day...I had to make a big life adjustment to get dinners ready after our baby came along...it was tough at first but once its been made a part of a nightly routine, its easy. If its routine it will get done, if its an exception then its an inconvenience and it wont get done.

There will be always be exceptions when you need to buy something processed, or when you eat fast food...but those exceptions should not, and would not matter if you were eating properly.

Every family has time to provide a healthy alternative for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...it just comes down to putting the time and effort in. Its much easier to be lazy and go the unhealthy route. People are lazy. There are affordable options for every family with every set of time constraints....they just take some effort.

People who want to blame WalMart are just idiots. Its not the store's fault...they did not force you to buy it, they did not force you to serve it, they did not force you to eat. They gave you an option. I would prefer to have cookies and ice cream for every meal, but it is not healthy or practical. If you let kids decide what they are going to eat, they are never going to decide to eat healthy. That is the parents responsibility...not the neighbors, not the grocery store, not the bureaucrats....its YOUR responsibility to eat healthy and provide healthy food for your family. PERIOD.

People who want to blame someone else are just weak minded!

[Original Timmy Chan's]

MarkSMU = angry militant hippy?!?

[DrLan34]

Went to the new location last Friday for a friend's birthday, much bigger than the original, and a ton of people considering it was opening night. Music was too loud to talk to anyone though.

seriously? sucks that the music is so loud but i'll stop by anyways and see how it is

[Marksmu]

MarkSMU = angry militant hippy?!?

Just tired of other people thinking that they actually get to dictate to me what I should do with my life....whether or be what I do with my money, where I shop, what I eat, or what I do to the property I own....All of these people who think that they, or some elected bureaucrat should get to decide these things for me, make me sick.

Hippy though? No, I dont think so, pretty far from it.... Just highly protective over the rights I still have, and not willing to give any more of them up, so that people like S3MH can decide what I get to eat, or what the outside of my house looks like because they have nothing better to do with their life.

[samagon]

Wal Mart is not in any way to blame for any of it. Neither is bag ag or big grocers. You really do believe everything Michael Moore tells you dont you? Get a brain, learn to use it without regard to what the tv tells you.

damnit, sorry, wish there was a way to un-rep something, I meant to hit + not -

[J008]

Just tired of other people thinking that they actually get to dictate to me what I should do with my life....whether or be what I do with my money, where I shop, what I eat, or what I do to the property I own....All of these people who think that they, or some elected bureaucrat should get to decide these things for me, make me sick.

There is always Somalia... no taxes, no government regulations, no EPA\FDA\USDA, no Amtrak, no USPS, no Dept of education, no socialized health care, no telling you what to eat, just survival of the fittest.

[samagon]

It is directly Walmart's fault. But it is much more the fault of big Ag and big grocers. The reason grocery stores are packed with highly processed foods is because they have a very long shelf life. Grocers can pack their shelves to the rim with junky cereals, snacks, sodas and other garbage because they will always sell before they go bad.

bull fing poop.

as with everything, you have no idea what you are talking about.

you know what is more convenient than the soft drinks packed on your grocers shelves (or walmart's shelves)? getting water off the tap, and it is infinitely cheaper, hell, if you don't trust tap water, you can boil it, that still takes less time than going to the grocery store and stocking up on soft drinks.

you know what else? you don't have as much waste involved either, whether recycled or not, the idea is to reduce, reuse, and then lastly, recycle. so buy one bottle of water, and reuse that bottle over and over again filling it from the tap.

with all that going for it, people have to try really hard to buy coke instead of getting water off the tap.

what's the difference in price between going to the produce section and getting some green beans vs going to the canned food isle and getting a can of green beans (french cut, or whatever)? It just takes more effort to deal with fresh green beans, so people don't want to deal with it.

what's the difference in price between a box of cereal and a box of oatmeal, and some raisins for flavor (unless you're allergic)?

yeah, basically, you're full of it. below is the real story.

people buy what they do because it is what they choose to do, there are alternatives, they can even find the alternatives in walmart, they just choose not to get them. cite whatever reasons you want, taste, prep time, whatever, but it sure as hell isn't for a lack of the product being on the shelves.

Hell, I suppose because a person buys their TV from Walmart, that Walmart is to blame for them not getting exercise. Even though they sell bicycles at Walmart too, in fact, they're cheaper than a TV, and the cost of ownership is much lower as well.

But it certainly isn't because a person chooses to plop their *** down in front of a TV rather than getting some exercise, it must be because Walmart sells TVs.

*self moderated, and deleted the rest*

Edited January 20, 2011 by samagon

[Marksmu]

bull fing poop.

as with everything, you have no idea what you are talking about.

you know what is more convenient than the soft drinks packed on your grocers shelves (or walmart's shelves)? getting water off the tap, and it is infinitely cheaper, hell, if you don't trust tap water, you can boil it, that still takes less time than going to the grocery store and stocking up on soft drinks.

you know what else? you don't have as much waste involved either, whether recycled or not, the idea is to reduce, reuse, and then lastly, recycle. so buy one bottle of water, and reuse that bottle over and over again filling it from the tap.

with all that going for it, people have to try really hard to buy coke instead of getting water off the tap.

what's the difference in price between going to the produce section and getting some green beans vs going to the canned food isle and getting a can of green beans (french cut, or whatever)? It just takes more effort to deal with fresh green beans, so people don't want to deal with it.

what's the difference in price between a box of cereal and a box of oatmeal, and some raisins for flavor (unless you're allergic)?

yeah, basically, you're full of it. below is the real story.

people buy what they do because it is what they choose to do, there are alternatives, they can even find the alternatives in walmart, they just choose not to get them. cite whatever reasons you want, taste, prep time, whatever, but it sure as hell isn't for a lack of the product being on the shelves.

Hell, I suppose because a person buys their TV from Walmart, that Walmart is to blame for them not getting exercise. Even though they sell bicycles at Walmart too, in fact, they're cheaper than a TV, and the cost of ownership is much lower as well.

But it certainly isn't because a person chooses to plop their *** down in front of a TV rather than getting some exercise, it must be because Walmart sells TVs.

*self moderated, and deleted the rest*

I wanted to see the rest - I completely agree with everything you said. People are just lazy.

[s3mh]

Just tired of other people thinking that they actually get to dictate to me what I should do with my life....whether or be what I do with my money, where I shop, what I eat, or what I do to the property I own....All of these people who think that they, or some elected bureaucrat should get to decide these things for me, make me sick.

Hippy though? No, I dont think so, pretty far from it.... Just highly protective over the rights I still have, and not willing to give any more of them up, so that people like S3MH can decide what I get to eat, or what the outside of my house looks like because they have nothing better to do with their life.

I am not deciding what you can eat, but the government sure is. Grain subsidies make fatty, salty processed foods very cheap and inflate the price of produce by pushing farmers out of the business of growing vegatables in favor of grain and meat production (meat production is indirectly subsidized by grain subsidies as most farms use grain to feed animals even though it makes cattle very sick and requires piles antibiotics to keep them from dying). And the fact of the matter is that people in this country are getting fatter and fatter. It is increasing our health care costs and is actually putting our national security at risk because so many showing up for military service are too fat and out of shape. You can blame people for their own bad choices all day long, but they are still going to make them, especially when so many aspects of their life that are beyond their control (work hours, lack of walkable space/recreation, subsidized junk food, etc.) require a herculian effort to maintain minimal fitness and health. Walmart makes big bucks off of the garbage food they pedal. The can out discount other grocers on junk in order to get people in the door. And it is no coincidence that Walmart has put health clinics in their stores and heavily markets their pharmacy. They make money off of people when the get sick and make money getting people sick. If nothing changes, the obesity epidemic will bankrupt this country. Diabetes is one of the most expensive chronic conditions in terms of yearly medical care. This problem is not going away and it will affect people who make the right choices just as much as those who make the bad choices. So, you are left with a decision to make, you can get rid of grain subsidies, go in the complete opposite direction of supporting local producers of fresh vegatables and stop subsidizing Walmart with tax deals and government benefits for their underpaid employees, or you can watch the country bankrupt itself with obesity related disease. Individual responsibility comes up short when individual decisions have impacts beyond the individual. Slogans like "you just want to tell me what to do" are just a cover for preservation of the status quo on behalf of those who profit from the misery of obesity and the garbage food that Walmart peddles at low prices.

[Lotus]

I'm all for the free market and WalMart building wherever they want. The Heights people are about as activist as they come so if they want, they can organize a boycott, which I would already be aligned with as an advocate of local businesses and American products, but not because a store wants to build nearby, although I support their right to protest for that too, or for whatever reason.

[samagon]

I am not deciding what you can eat, but the government sure is. Grain subsidies make fatty, salty processed foods very cheap and inflate the price of produce by pushing farmers out of the business of growing vegatables in favor of grain and meat production (meat production is indirectly subsidized by grain subsidies as most farms use grain to feed animals even though it makes cattle very sick and requires piles antibiotics to keep them from dying). And the fact of the matter is that people in this country are getting fatter and fatter. It is increasing our health care costs and is actually putting our national security at risk because so many showing up for military service are too fat and out of shape. You can blame people for their own bad choices all day long, but they are still going to make them, especially when so many aspects of their life that are beyond their control (work hours, lack of walkable space/recreation, subsidized junk food, etc.) require a herculian effort to maintain minimal fitness and health. Walmart makes big bucks off of the garbage food they pedal. The can out discount other grocers on junk in order to get people in the door. And it is no coincidence that Walmart has put health clinics in their stores and heavily markets their pharmacy. They make money off of people when the get sick and make money getting people sick. If nothing changes, the obesity epidemic will bankrupt this country. Diabetes is one of the most expensive chronic conditions in terms of yearly medical care. This problem is not going away and it will affect people who make the right choices just as much as those who make the bad choices. So, you are left with a decision to make, you can get rid of grain subsidies, go in the complete opposite direction of supporting local producers of fresh vegatables and stop subsidizing Walmart with tax deals and government benefits for their underpaid employees, or you can watch the country bankrupt itself with obesity related disease. Individual responsibility comes up short when individual decisions have impacts beyond the individual. Slogans like "you just want to tell me what to do" are just a cover for preservation of the status quo on behalf of those who profit from the misery of obesity and the garbage food that Walmart peddles at low prices.

you do not cease to amaze me.

how much does it cost for a weeks worth of bananas for breakfast vs how much it costs for those pop-tarts?

Yeah, the government and walmart are shoving pop-tarts down your throat, for sure!

I'm very interested to see what the difference in price is between some fresh green beans from the produce isle vs canned green beans.

of course it doesn't matter, cause the government (through their subsidies) and walmart through putting them on the shelves are the reason people buy canned vs produce.

What was the difference in price again between a can of coke and pulling some water off the tap? hell, even throw in the cost to make iced tea.

I didn't see you address that, just some pie in the sky conspiracy theory about why Walmart is to blame for people being fat

Not to mention it is people like YOU who enable the people who are overweight and out of shape that there is nothing they can do about it. If you spent half as much time encouraging people that they are strong enough to take care of themselves as you do saying it isn't their fault, you would single handedly be able to help hundreds to lose weight and get in shape.

Edited January 21, 2011 by samagon

[Marksmu]

I am not deciding what you can eat, but the government sure is. Grain subsidies make fatty, salty processed foods very cheap and inflate the price of produce by pushing farmers out of the business of growing vegatables in favor of grain and meat production (meat production is indirectly subsidized by grain subsidies as most farms use grain to feed animals even though it makes cattle very sick and requires piles antibiotics to keep them from dying). And the fact of the matter is that people in this country are getting fatter and fatter. It is increasing our health care costs and is actually putting our national security at risk because so many showing up for military service are too fat and out of shape. You can blame people for their own bad choices all day long, but they are still going to make them, especially when so many aspects of their life that are beyond their control (work hours, lack of walkable space/recreation, subsidized junk food, etc.) require a herculian effort to maintain minimal fitness and health. Walmart makes big bucks off of the garbage food they pedal. The can out discount other grocers on junk in order to get people in the door. And it is no coincidence that Walmart has put health clinics in their stores and heavily markets their pharmacy. They make money off of people when the get sick and make money getting people sick. If nothing changes, the obesity epidemic will bankrupt this country. Diabetes is one of the most expensive chronic conditions in terms of yearly medical care. This problem is not going away and it will affect people who make the right choices just as much as those who make the bad choices. So, you are left with a decision to make, you can get rid of grain subsidies, go in the complete opposite direction of supporting local producers of fresh vegatables and stop subsidizing Walmart with tax deals and government benefits for their underpaid employees, or you can watch the country bankrupt itself with obesity related disease. Individual responsibility comes up short when individual decisions have impacts beyond the individual. Slogans like "you just want to tell me what to do" are just a cover for preservation of the status quo on behalf of those who profit from the misery of obesity and the garbage food that Walmart peddles at low prices.

Do you get all of your facts from Michael Moore Movies? Seriously? Do you?

Let me do some enlightening for you, since this is actually a topic I am guaranteed to be 100x more experienced than you are in, since I am involved in this daily. I run a ranch part time, and I actually receive a grain subsidy. Do you know how much grain I plant? None. Not a single acre. I am actually being paid not to plant grains because the price of grain is too low and the USDA does not want more competition in grain farming....I farm grass, not the type that you go buy at Home Depot, or Houston Garden Center, but good ole native coastal variety grass...the kind that was here before people started changing everything up. Why do I farm grass? Because I have cows. Lots of em. I love working with cows, I love raising cows, I enjoy being around cows.

Now, lets get to your alleged points. First and foremost being that all cattle are raised entirely on grain. Wrong. Very Very Wrong...just another stupid Michael Moore inaccuracy. There are grain raised cattle, but they do not in any way make up the majority of cattle marketed and sold in the United States. The majority of beef cattle (I am excluding dairy since they are not beef cattle), as in somewhere along the lines of 80-85% are raised on grass. They are born to their mother on pasture. They are left to nurse off their mother for an average of 242 days (recommended weaning date) After +/- 242 days they are weaned off their mothers milk. By that time they are usually approaching 550-700 pounds, depending upon breed of cattle. Up until this point, only 2 vaccinations are given. BOTH are required by law if you intend to market them for consumption. 99/100 farmers/ranchers do not use antibiotics because antibiotics are expensive, and farmers/ranchers are usually cash poor(not actually poor).

It is at this weaning date that cattle go one way or the other....(1) most of these cattle (80%) goto pasture again and are allowed to approach 1000 pounds, at which point they are about 1 year old and are moved to a feed lot and fed grain mixed with hay for 30 days to add fat to their meat....Grass raised beef is far leaner than grain raised. These cattle are not given antibiotics like you suggest. That is all BS you see on movies. A sick cow is given antibiotics, but the FDA prohibits the slaughter of a cow if it has been given any antibiotics, and that includes medicated feed (creep feed). The FDA requires that cattle given antibiotics be held for 30 days after the antibiotics administered and prior to slaughter. Feed lots do not want to hold a cow for an extra 30 days, it costs about $6/day per animal to feed them....that adds about $180 to the cost of animal, whose profit is about $100/animal. The antibiotics are only given when a cow becomes ill....it is cheaper to save the cow then allow it to die. But when antibiotics are given, the feed lot will lose money on that animal.

The second option and the one you like to pretend all cattle in America follow, is the grain feed yards. This represents about 20% of cattle in America, and this usually represents the more expensive, much higher quality cuts of meat. These cattle are still raised on pasture for 242+/- days and weaned from their mothers. They are given a medicated creep feed when they are weaned to stimulate certain microbes in their rumens to aid in the digestion of the grains...some of the creep feeds contain a steroid to make the cattle gain weight faster. These cattle are moved to feed lots, and fed out a high quality mix of grain/hay. They are not medicated unless they become sick, except during those first 30 days that they are on a medicated creep feed. These cows do eat mostly grain, about 65% of their diet, and they have a higher fat marbeling as a result of it. These cattle are off of medicated creep for at least 60 days prior to slaughter to allow the antibiotics to run their course. Again, these cattle make up about 20% of all cattle in America and are by no means considered the cheap cuts of meat. This is the meat you get at a fine steak house...this is not what you will find in a Wal-Mart.

The only intelligent statement in your entire post above is that health care costs are out of hand. I agree with that. Though I do not agree with the methods we are using to tackle those costs. Its not your right or the governments right to dictate what we eat, even if your neighbor being fat effects you. You want cheaper health care? Cap medical malpractice verdicts. Cap the percent a personal injury attorney is allowed to recover in a med mal case. Allow employers to get together with other employers and pool their employees so they can leverage their group size against the insurance companies. Allow insurance to be bought across state lines. Those are ways to drastically reduce costs....but the government does not want to do those things because that hurts their labor unions...so they come up with the crap we have now.

I actually do agree with one other thing you said. We do need to eliminate all farm subsidies....they are artificially driving the prices of goods. Even though I receive a subsidy I support ending them. But I support ending all subsidies. The free market will find a good equilibrium. Food Prices in the US do not represent the true costs of production because of subsidies.

Bottom line - people will make poor decisions no matter what you do....cheap processed foods are not to blame. If you eliminate processed food, people will just start frying chickens and eating donuts....that is not any better....just because you eliminate one source of fat, does not mean they are not going to find it somewhere else if they want. You can not eliminate fat from the world. Its not possible. Its about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Its the individuals responsibility not yours. I take great offense to your notion that you need to control what I can purchase and eat.

[J008]

Y

ou want cheaper health care? Cap medical malpractice verdicts. Cap the percent a personal injury attorney is allowed to recover in a med mal case.

I thought Texas already did this. I am not in the medicine business (nor a lawyer) but I thought Texas leads the nation in limiting malpractice and capped pain and suffering at $250,000 and damages in case of death at $1.6 Million or something like this.

The result being more doctors in the state, but no meaningful reduction in medical expenses.

[s3mh]

I thought Texas already did this. I am not in the medicine business (nor a lawyer) but I thought Texas leads the nation in limiting malpractice and capped pain and suffering at $250,000 and damages in case of death at $1.6 Million or something like this.

The result being more doctors in the state, but no meaningful reduction in medical expenses.

This is spot on. Med mal lawsuit filings dropped by over 90% in Texas after tort reform passed. In order to file a med mal case in Texas, you need an affidavit from a doctor who has reviewed the case and concludes that the doctor breached the applicable standard of care. It usually costs anywhere from $25k to $100k to get that affidavit, depending on the volume of the records, complexity of the case and need for different specialists to opine in a single case, and the total bill for medical experts, economists, etc. through trial will usually get up to $250k on average. All that cash is fronted by the plaintiff's attorney and charged back to the plaintiff as an expense upon recovery. Thus, it is no coincidence that the cap on soft damages is $250k. It prices the typical med mal case out of existence. Unless there will be significant damages in terms of lost wages, consotrium, etc. beyond medical bills (which just go back to the insurance company or hospital), people who are harmed by a bad doctor can't find a lawyer in Texas unless they are willing to front tens of thousands of dollars in expert witness fees. So, if you are left in horrible pain and discomfort as a result of a bad doctor, but can still do your job and care for your family, you are basically SOL in Texas. And in return, health insurance premiums for a family in Texas have gone from @6,000 a year to @12,000 a year from 2000 to present. Tort reform went into effect in 2003 and had no discernable impact on premiums. And it is no coincidence that health care premiums keep going up as people keep getting fatter and fatter and need more and more treatment for chronic conditions associated with obesity. And it is no coincidence that Walmart has greatly expanded its market share in the grocery industry in Texas since 2000.

[Marksmu]

This is spot on. Med mal lawsuit filings dropped by over 90% in Texas after tort reform passed. In order to file a med mal case in Texas, you need an affidavit from a doctor who has reviewed the case and concludes that the doctor breached the applicable standard of care. It usually costs anywhere from $25k to $100k to get that affidavit, depending on the volume of the records, complexity of the case and need for different specialists to opine in a single case, and the total bill for medical experts, economists, etc. through trial will usually get up to $250k on average. All that cash is fronted by the plaintiff's attorney and charged back to the plaintiff as an expense upon recovery. Thus, it is no coincidence that the cap on soft damages is $250k. It prices the typical med mal case out of existence. Unless there will be significant damages in terms of lost wages, consotrium, etc. beyond medical bills (which just go back to the insurance company or hospital), people who are harmed by a bad doctor can't find a lawyer in Texas unless they are willing to front tens of thousands of dollars in expert witness fees. So, if you are left in horrible pain and discomfort as a result of a bad doctor, but can still do your job and care for your family, you are basically SOL in Texas. And in return, health insurance premiums for a family in Texas have gone from @6,000 a year to @12,000 a year from 2000 to present. Tort reform went into effect in 2003 and had no discernable impact on premiums. And it is no coincidence that health care premiums keep going up as people keep getting fatter and fatter and need more and more treatment for chronic conditions associated with obesity. And it is no coincidence that Walmart has greatly expanded its market share in the grocery industry in Texas since 2000.

I get tired of you spouting off something ridiculous, having it refuted with facts, just to have you not even acknowledge how stupid you sound and then change topics and spout out something equally ridiculous! It's asinine. Its like arguing with a brick wall....Last post its big Ag and Big Grocers fault that Wal Mart sells unhealthy food, and stupid lazy people buy it...You are met with facts showing how you dont actually know anything other than what you saw on a documentary by Michael Moore, and what do you do? You jump topics and spout out something that sounds just as dumb. A quick google search on med mal in Texas instantly proves you wrong though.

Texas does not have a cap on attorneys fees at all in a med mal case. (http://www.mcandl.com/texas.html) As long as an attorney has a winning case he will get paid what he deserves. That is he will get a reasonable fee for his services! Will he get $4,000,000 because a doctor made a small mistake? NO - but you know what? We have doctors here, and I would much rather have doctors than Personal Injury lawyers! I do not think personal injury attorneys deserve even a fraction of what they receive so I have no problem at all at preventing an attorney from collecting a huge sum of money when his client gets hurt. The lawyer gets what he deserves, a reasonable fee for a reasonable service. Does he have to roll the dice and take a chance he gets nothing? Yes he does, but that is what causes him to actually make sure that you are actually injured BEFORE he takes your case....its what separates the frivolous suits, from the legitimate ones. Legitimate suits still get filed, every single day.

And you are incorrect about how a recovery works in med mal case too....the attorney gets fees and costs of court - that includes expert testimony, documents, etc. That does not come out of the clients settlement. When fees are bifurcated from the recovery as they are in med mal in Texas, the attorney will collect his reasonable fee and the costs of court will be included in that. The client gets up to the statutory maximum, and the attorney gets what he earned and nothing more. Are there some patients who are not going to be happy about their recovery? Yes, but having millions of dollars is not going to fix their injury....its just going to make them feel better about it. Doctors do not hurt people intentionally...bankrupting them over an accident does not fix anything..it just means we have one less doctor when we need them.

Finally, much of the increases in health insurance premiums are a direct result of hospitals and doctors not getting paid for treating people without insurance. An overwhelming number of those without insurance in this country are illegal immigrants. They use our hospital resources, and they skip the check. That cost gets passed onto the people who actually pay their bills...those with insurance. Each person with insurance is being forced to cover the tab of those who feel its their right to get good care without paying for it.

A hospital is not going to operate a loss. When they lose money treating illegals because it is against the law to turn them away, they have to raise the cost on those who do pay to cover for it....the super majority of those who pay have insurance. Insurance companies are not going to operate at a loss either, so they raise the rates to cover the new premiums....its a vicious cycle. But that cycle does not come full circle back to Walmart like you seem to think.

Do you ever get tired of sounding like a fool? What is your next topic of idiocy?? I wait with anticipation....its not big ags fault you are fat, its not big grocerys fault you are fat, its not the televisions fault you are fat....its your poor choices. You are fat, you are lazy, and you are unwilling to change. Now lets blame all those things on someone else....who has lots of Money??? Oh OH Walmart does! Its their fault! Maybe we can get being fat and lazy declared to be a disability and you can collect more money for doing nothing! Heck you can probably find an attorney to take that case for CHEAP, since they cant make any money doing medical mal, there should be plenty of them sitting there just waiting to sue someone like Big Ag, or Big Grocery! They have lots of money!

[Marksmu]

I thought Texas already did this. I am not in the medicine business (nor a lawyer) but I thought Texas leads the nation in limiting malpractice and capped pain and suffering at $250,000 and damages in case of death at $1.6 Million or something like this.

The result being more doctors in the state, but no meaningful reduction in medical expenses.

More doctors in the state sounds like a good thing to me....

[J008]

More doctors in the state sounds like a good thing to me....

Unless they are incompetent ones who are too risky to practice in any other state.

[Marksmu]

Unless they are incompetent ones who are too risky to practice in any other state.

That is nothing a licensing board can not easily deal with.

[samagon]

That is nothing a licensing board can not easily deal with.

well, it isn't their fault they are incompetent, it all really comes back to Walmart.

[s3mh]

And you are incorrect about how a recovery works in med mal case too....the attorney gets fees and costs of court - that includes expert testimony, documents, etc. That does not come out of the clients settlement. When fees are bifurcated from the recovery as they are in med mal in Texas, the attorney will collect his reasonable fee and the costs of court will be included in that. The client gets up to the statutory maximum, and the attorney gets what he earned and nothing more. Are there some patients who are not going to be happy about their recovery? Yes, but having millions of dollars is not going to fix their injury....its just going to make them feel better about it. Doctors do not hurt people intentionally...bankrupting them over an accident does not fix anything..it just means we have one less doctor when we need them.

If you are going to call people an idiot, you might want to make sure you know what you are talking about to avoid sounding like an . . . .

First, doctors are not liable for accidents. A plaintiff must show a departure from the professional standard of care. If a doctor's hand slips during surgery, he is not liable. If a doctor fails to keep a sponge count and leaves one inside of you, he has departed from the professional standard of care and is liable. Accidents are not malpractice. And if your claim is against an emergency room worker, you have to show that the negligence was "wilful and wanton", or, essentially that they knew they were screwing up while they were screwing up (here is a nice story about how tort reform has made emergency room drs virtually imune from liability: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/us/19tttort.html)

Second, every medmal plaintiff's lawyer in the state works on a contingency fee. They will typically get 40% of the patients recovery whether by settlement or by judgment if a lawsuit is filed AFTER the plaintiff reimburses the attorney for all the costs incurred (experts, transcipts, copies, faxes, etc.). The only time the court gets involved is if the plaintiff is awarded future damages. The court will reduce those to present value in order to assess attorney's fees.

Of course, the party that is entitled to full recovery is the hospital/insurance company or any one who has a medical lien for any treatment needed as a result of the malpractice. The plaintiff's lawyer has to negotiate down the lien in order to have enough for his client to have something left after attorney's fees and expense are taken out of what is left after the liens are paid out of the recovery.

There is no "bifurcation" of attorney's fees. The fees and expenses come out of the plaintiff/client's recovery.

The defendant does not pay the plaintiff's attorney's fees or expenses. Those are always taken out of the plaintiff's recovery.

Third, the statutory max is on soft damages: pain and suffering. There is no max on future earnings, past present meds, and so on. Thus, if you are old and retired, good luck finding a medmal attorney.

Fourth, Drs are insured and are rarely bankrupted, muchless financially inconvenienced by lawsuits. The insurance covers attorney's fees, expenses and indemnity. Unless a doctor is underinsured, they will usually only be out the deductible.

And, finally, some doctors do hurt people intentionally. There are cases of OBGYNs raping women, drs operating while they were drunk or on cocaine and drs ignoring patients' problems in order to keep their social schedule. Doctors are people. Most are good, but some are bad. Malpractice lawsuits are the only way to keep the bad ones out of practice. Licensing boards are made up of doctors and never pull licenses.

[samagon]

Walmart is also to blame for climate change, the 9/11 attack, the JFK assassination, faulty wiring in dirigibles, unintended acceleration in Toyota's cars, and I heard they are behind Paula Abdul no longer being a judge on American Idol.

although that last one is unconfirmed, but there are so many sources that point to it, it may as well be fact.

[samagon]

If you are going to call people an idiot, you might want to make sure you know what you are talking about to avoid sounding like an . . . .

First, doctors are not liable for accidents. A plaintiff must show a departure from the professional standard of care. ....

I didn't read that much of what you wrote beyond this, but you could have very easily just cited the Texas Good Samaritan Law....

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CP/htm/CP.74.htm

CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE

TITLE 4. LIABILITY IN TORT

CHAPTER 74. MEDICAL LIABILITY

Without wasting my time reading what you wrote, I'm sure you have made completely baseless assumptions, and then blamed it all on Walmart.

[VicMan]

Some people are always going to buy junk food, but making healthier food more affordable is a good step.

And another step is to tax junk food and/or to make it ineligible for purchase using Lone Star cards

[Marksmu]

And, finally, some doctors do hurt people intentionally. There are cases of OBGYNs raping women, drs operating while they were drunk or on cocaine and drs ignoring patients' problems in order to keep their social schedule. Doctors are people. Most are good, but some are bad. Malpractice lawsuits are the only way to keep the bad ones out of practice. Licensing boards are made up of doctors and never pull licenses.

Well your in luck - we dont need med mal to punish those doctors who rape women, operate while intoxicated or drugs...we have criminal statutes that deal with all of those situations.

I dont know enough about it all to fully go line by line proving how wrong you are about everything you have written, but basing it on your history of being emotional, irrational, and flat out wrong 99% of the time, I am going to assume everything posted above is complete and utter rubbish...

[Jesse]

Fourth, Drs are insured and are rarely bankrupted, muchless financially inconvenienced by lawsuits. The insurance covers attorney's fees, expenses and indemnity. Unless a doctor is underinsured, they will usually only be out the deductible.

Utter nonsense. Most Dr's these days are actually put out of business by a single lawsuit, if the malpractice premiums don't get them first.