Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wednesday Op-Ed Piece

Good Morning spine bloggers, now that America gets to take the proverbial mornin' after pill, and nurse an election hangover, as the pundits backtrack and attempt to rationalize their poor prognostications, there is a need to express a few words to our readers.  The 2012 election was a referendum by "We the People." Those words signify the very essence of what has made, and will continue to make these United States of America unique and special. This country was built by the blood, sweat, and tears of immigrant people long gone but not forgotten.  Yet, America is no longer a mirror image of our European ancestors. The landscape has dramatically changed. Ironically, a Republican politico declared that for the first time in this country's history, the election was decided by minorities.  He needs to be corrected, "it's the first time that minorities have become the majority in the U.S. electoral process, affecting the final outcome. Americans need to learn and accept the foundation on which this country was built upon. "We the People," symbolizes everyman and woman regardless whether they are, Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Tea Party member, Young, the Elderly, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Homosexuals, Catholics, Presbyterians, Jews, Bible Thumpers, Agnostics, or Aetheists' to name a few. It includes the rich, the middle class, and the poor. The gateway to this country has a credo that says, "give us your tired, your poor and your hungry." This is what made this country great. Yet, until we learn to respect ourselves, respect one another's opinions, respect our differences as people, we will never be a United States, we will be a divided country. Yes fellow bloggers, this election was a referendum, that  the People have the Power in a Democracy.  No amount of money, not even the Supreme Court could influence the out come of a Presidential Election. We can learn to adapt or we can perish. Life isn't a 30 second sound bite spewing some ridiculous commentary about either candidate. This isn't Egypt, or Iran, Russia, Syria, China, or India for that matter. That's what makes this the greatest country in the world.  Don't believe it?  Why do the Indians, the Chinese, or Middle Easterners send their children to our schools? Why do they want to be like us?  Why do they desire a pedigree education? Why do people want iPhones or iPads? Why do people love blue jeans, rock n'roll, the blues, gospel, or jazz? Why do they like the Almighty Dollar?  Because contrary to  some of our beliefs, they believe that this is a better place, that maybe the streets are lined with gold.  

Maybe this is the start of something new?  Is that wishful thinking? Is that being idealistic?  TSB leaves that up to your own illusions. The spine industry and business in general needs to stop behaving like the spoiled children that they are. The sky is not falling, you will still be able to earn a living in America contrary to what you hear, even if Obama is the POTUS.  It's not you the people that need to change, it is the people that run this country. The CEO's  in our industry need to tighten their own belts and stop blaming the ordinary workers that have built their companies for the state of the healthcare union. It's time to tell the Street and your shareholders that you need to take a little less to achieve some long-term results, if any of you have the balls to do it? Your short-term mentality, and lack of planning has brought you to this crossroad. Don't believe it? I recommend that you listen to Alex Lukianov's last conference call with the analysts. "Sequential decline?" How can we not laugh our asses off.  It's called immediate gratification. It's called greed. It's called manipulating the information to increase the valuation of your stock portfolio. If the oracles of the industry spent as much time on developing their people and their products, you wouldn't need to rationalize your failures or make excuses. Leadership means leading by example, not chewing up and spiting out your employees. For once, stop spouting off the irrational and ridiculous commentary that you have been making for the last four years. How absurd and treasonous is it to hear someone say that a 2 plus% medical device tax is going to cost people their jobs. Really?  Haven't we heard that for the last twenty years?  "Remember the good old days?"  "Remember when we made serious money?" Individually each and everyone of you has that opportunity, it comes down to hard work and a lot of luck. So what will be the outcome of this election and how will it effect your success or failures?  That's up to you.  Do you want to lead or do you want to be sheep? Obama is not going to affect you earnings, your companies product portfolio, your companies ability to adapt, and your desire to succeed will be the ultimate factor. Do you want to do it the right way or do you want to take more short cuts?  The companies in our industry and other industries tout that they will look to expand in foreign markets?  Really? Go sell your products in Europe or in China, and then tell us what your margins are.  How absurd is it to hear a CEO of a shitty pizza company say that he is going to have to raise the price of his pizza 15 cents in order to provide his employees healthcare?  Really? How absurd is it to have to listen to another physicians complain about ObamaCare when it hasn't even been implemented?  Maybe if we spent as much energy on rolling up our sleeves and coming up with innovation and solutions, working hard and working smart, we would stop worrying about the other guy. Stop worrying about the shareholders, and start worrying about your people, your most valuable resource.

So in closing, its another day in the Crystal City and TSB is healthy, happy and  I have a job in the greatest country in the world.  America, you gotta love it, or go try building a casino and skyscraper in Somalia.  Peace!

218 comments:

  1. How many centuries can you take "the tired, poor and hungry" before everyone is " tired, poor and hungry"?
    Oh, and yes, Obama will indeed effect our comp, our insurance, our retirement, jobs, our health care.
    Poor poor Op-Ed. The country will get what it has asked for. We didn't become the greatest country in the world by producing presidents like this one. Fact!

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    1. Are you an American Indian? Where did you come from, they did take you in didn't they, LOL you can be part of the solution or part of the problem.

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    2. What are you talking about? Hahaha sheez

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    3. TSB,
      Not sure which gateway to our country says "give us your tired, your poor, and your hungry?"

      For the record, the Statue of Liberty inscription reads "Give me your tired, your poor,
      Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
      The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
      Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
      I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

      Emma Lazurus wrote it in 1883. We shouldn't butcher it!

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    4. 47% Credo:
      Ask not what I can do for my country, ask what handout/freebie/ObamaPhone my country can give to me!

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    5. The 47% is where 90% of our spine patients come from. Medi/medi paying for our implants. We in this industry have been working for the government indirectly for decades. That teet we've suckled on is about to run dry now. Get ready.

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    6. MSM and 7:11 are spot on. The election is over, the immigrants, single woman and people in Ohio have spoken!

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  2. TSB your posts get worse and worse. Your logic and arguments are questionable at best and your optimism is misplaced. Looking forward to your topic in 360 days that reads,"Obama Administration Strangled My Economic Prosperity and I've Run Out of Food Stamps, Hanging Myself Now."

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    1. Wow another person with a crystal ball, just like the ones that predicted the POTUS would lose. Look at who is calling the kettle black, whiners and moochers.

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    2. Don't hang yourself we'll share our food stamps with you 6:24 if you have no hot water, electricity or heat you probably live in Alabama.

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    3. Mitt or should we call you Nitt Witt

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  3. None of it matters if we continue embracing Keynesian monetary policies. It's unsustainable and short sighted, and there are no alternatives even being discussed in Washington.

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  4. What about the streets opinion of the 2012 Spine Technology Awards?

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    1. Don't you bring spine into this...!

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    2. That would be an interesting topic. See if anyone believes that any of the technologies are innovative.

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  5. I thought this was a good post.

    Especially agree about the 2+% medical device tax. Quit whining, you hosers.

    Along those lines, ya gotta wonder how much guys like Sheldon Adelson and the rest of the ones who gave millions to the Republicans would save if they just paid their taxes already, instead of trying to get out from under what are already the lowest taxes in the civilized world.

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  6. Healthcare is the only sector that is growing and producing jobs, so let's get the post office involved! Also, not to worry, all of your private HIPPAA information will now be available for Obama to peruse at his leisure. Greece here we come, I'm sad that this once great nation that I emigrated to is now settling for medoicrity and handouts...

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    1. Perhaps you would rather have Wall Street or Big Oil run Healthcare? I have news for you one already does and that is part of the problem!

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    2. Umm... YES I do prefer private sector citizens over fat/lazy/union thugs/the IRS controlling my family's healthcare decisions. I never thought that I would look to the Caribbean for FREEDOM & LIBERTY, but that's where my LLC is moving. Who is John Galt?

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    3. He's a fictional character, you still don't get it, LOL

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    4. Who is John Galt? Are you f#@king kidding me??? No wonder we're in the shape we're in...Nobody reads anymore

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  7. I love watching repubs crawling on their bellies. You will lose AGAIN in 2016. Even Fat Fatty wont help you. And don't think for a second that the country has forgotten BUSHY, and how bad your side sucks at governing. I liked watching Rove (turd blossom) on fox last night. Looked like the bar stool he was sitting on was turned upside down around 11pm. Watching fox last night was like watching a fly with its wings pulled off. COULD NOT BE HAPPIER.

    BRING ON 30 MILLION MORE CROOKED SPINES AND BAD DISKS! IM BUYING STOCK IN MY OWN COMPANY TODAY!!!!!!! GOBAMAGOBAMAGOBAMA

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  8. People that think government is the problem should NOT be allowed to control it. America has made the correct choice.

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  9. The great thing about a democracy is it is a a democracy. You party lost but there is a next time. We endured 8 years of Bush now your going to have to endure Obama. The Dems will probably over reach and get caught up in bad governance/corruption like the Repubs but there is hope as they don't screw it up quite as often! I personally would like to see a third party formed called "Independents" as more people see themselves as Independent than affiliated with one the two major parties. Problem solved, fiscal and social moderates that think you need to increase taxes and cut spending (diet and exercise approach to loosing weight) to reduces deficits and debt and would like to see Church remain separate from State. I think if many of you learned to respect other peoples opinions and recognize that they are probably going to differ from yours we may all get along a little better and actually be able to solve some of the looming issues in government and healthcare. I am not expecting a waive of good will but it would be nice for a change.

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  10. The Republicans are going to have to broaden the tent and get rid of the nut job fanatical right or face some pretty bleak prospects in the future. When I see TV evangelists and the Tea Party backing a candidate as a moderate I am pushed to the other side, whoever that other side is. As usual this election came down the the lesser of two evils! I don't love the President but I am not turning the country over to the aforementioned groups if I can help it.

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  11. 7:50
    Read your history. This country was founded by men who hated government tyranny. It's right there in the Declaration and Constitution. I shudder for my country when uneducated fools like you cancel my vote.

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    1. Put your tea bags away already. And my history tells me 4 more years! And 8:22? I think its time you put your pacifier back in. Suggesting re-writes for everyone doesn't make you look smarter.

      HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GOBAMA!

      BTW, I will be HAPPY to pay more taxes next year to help out the 47% of MY countrymen/women. I am the 1% and I can afford it. So can you. A nation is looked at by how it treats its poor and middle class. NOT how it deregulates its banks for FREEDOMS shake. GO POUND!

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    2. 8:22 your interpretation is ideologically incorrect. There is no government tyranny in the U.S. unless paying more taxes is your definition. The immigrants came here to escape persecution and have the freedom to practice the religion of their choice, in addition to establishing a government. That's why you have the freedom to carry a bear arms, vote, and pay taxes. How arrogant calling others uneducated. You and Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor should go live in Syria you may be happier.

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    4. Typical spinning head repub. Cant argue so just spout out FAUX news crap, then yell F off. F-O-U-R-M-O-R-E-D-O-R-K

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    5. Dimwit liberals: The Boston Tea Party was over a tax of 3% on tea. The government now take 50% or more in some cases of all income including sales tax, property tax, gas tax, state income tax, federal income taxes, capital gains taxes, and fees. This is a fact: America is going to be on it's knees due to this election. We have 35% more debt per capita than Greece. We are nearly doomed.

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    6. Tyranny will be when some government drone tells your mom to suck it up and take some pain pills instead of a hip replacement because you are not free people. You are lab rats in Barack Hussein's latest communist 4-year plan that will save a few pennies while Barack Hussein wastes trillions on union payoffs and rat-holes like Solyndra.

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    7. Akin and Murdock, I rest my case

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  12. Best commentary on the election: Jesse Jackson Jr., who's been on leave of absence from his congressional post for almost a year with an "undisclosed mental health issue", who is currently listed as an inpatient at a Mayo Clinic mental health facility, was re-elected in a landslide. Nice.

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    1. You call 8:30AM a bigot? These are facts. It doesn't matter what color he is. You, Sir, are the bigot.

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    2. Maybe he'll run with Marion Berry in 2016...a strong ticket for America.

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  13. 8:22, Completely agree. The more accurate statement would be that people who do not think the government is the problem should not be running it. Who else is responsible for the crushing debt, perpetual deficit spending and the economy is not improving and liberties are being taken with every new piece of legislation.

    TSB, by referendum, are referring to the fact that after the election we have the same President, same Senate and same Congress? I don't think referendum was the proper word choice. This was not a popular vote on a piece of legislation. I find it puzzling that a vast majority of people think the country is heading in the wrong direction, but no meaningful changes were made last night. Does anyone suspect that the gridlock will end now because Christie and Obama had a 2 day love fest? The House will dig in even deeper to prevent more daring lame duck "progress" by the administration. The divide will grow deeper. And maybe it should.

    If this election taught us anything, it is that we are a people divided by major philosophical differences and I personally don't find it likely that the differences can be bridged by the current inhabitants of all 3 branches of government. Maybe its time for the great experiment that is the USA to have another experiment and see if the red states can get by without the blue states and vice versa.

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    1. Civil war! I love it.

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    2. When Bush stole the election in 2000, we were supposed to "get over it". Now our side wins, and you talk about seceding.

      Sore loser much?

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    3. Grocery stores are running out of sour grapes...

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  14. No habla espanol? No POTUS.

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  15. Keep spiking the football and doing the funky chicken Libs! When your man pounds the F**k out of your companies and you get shitcanned, don't interview with me.

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    1. When Barry went over 270 last night, I did a Tebow in front of my tv!!!

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  16. Welcome to permafucked.

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  17. Hey Mitch McConnell maybe its you who should learn how to reach across the aisle. Now go cry like the babies that you are.

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  19. Is there one sentient thought posted by a liberal on this blog yet, including the original post?

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  20. Two words: Karl Rove. Just spent $300 million dollars the net return on investment, nada. Sentienta? Wow impressive you must be a lexicographer, LMAO Sour grapes

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  21. I walk in the country that I now have to support the poor, the lazy, the blacks, hispanics and gays. My hard work that has earned me the right to make more than the average lazy, poor, black, hispanic gay person, I now become the minority in this country.

    Welcome to fucking America folks the land of the entitlements for the poor, lazy, black, hispanic, gays. Living off the 1% will be a sport for them all!

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    1. You can walk the hell out of this country. Hell, I will buy your one way ticket. Those people who you so colorfuly describe are some of the same people who defend your rights on the line everyday. I am thankful that a bigot like you is the minority.
      -stl

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    2. 2:04 you probably are a hawk who shakes in whose shoes because you have never stood guard for your country. You want those same blacks, hispanics, gays or poor to stand guard while you spew your bigoted BS. Chickenshit, you would wet your pants if we place you on the front lines. If any believes in entitlement it is you.

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    3. 3:13/4:34

      No I never defended our country, I grew up in a time when it was not needed. I also never stood in line for food stamps and turned around and bought beer, cigaretes and candy. I also never went on any government subsidy or wellfare. As I would have if my country called on me to defend, I would have stood up and defended it proudly, I got off my ass and worked my ass off to get to where I am today and did not expect anyone, including the government, to help me out along the way. You two little spinless shits probably sit around bitch about why you are not being paid more money while you sit on your ass at home eating KFC. Hell your hands are probably out right now looking for a bigger hand out.

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    4. 3:13/4:34 A little rain fails on everyones life. Don't be so arrogant you never know what awaits you around the corner you never know when you will need help. No one wants a handout, everyone wants to feel like they contribute to their lives or society, or their family. Don't be so narrow minded and brand 80% of society for how the other 20% may behave. If live were only that simple. Unfortunately you must be another one of those self made people. Without opportunity or someone giving you an opportunity you may become one of the 47%. If you are so brilliant and a self made man, why aren't you John Paulson? What don't you run Morgan Stanley. The answer may line in the fact that you probably went to some average college, your IQ is capped, you sucked academically, you didn't go to Stanford, you must get your news from one of those crazy people stations. When things go bad people usually project their anger at others rather than blame themselves for their own inadequacies. God Bless You

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    5. 47% Credo:
      Ask not what I can do for my country, ask how much free stuff the dumbasses who are stupid enough to actually work for a living can give to me!

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    6. That's some seriously racist and ignorant sh*t. If it makes you feel better to think that your problems or this country's problems are due to 'blacks hispanics and gays', go ahead, but remember that you're a damned racist ignorant fool.

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    7. 5:14,
      4:52 here, I am a hispanic immigrant minority who doesn't take offense to the original post above. It's true, hispanics are now coming to America asking for free sh*t and being obliged by the left. Most of them are not asking how to become rugged individualists that this country was built upon, just free sh*t in return for their votes. I stood in line at the Immigration office for years, they cut in line and ask for free sh*t like they're entitled.

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    8. 5:14

      Free shit and hand outs are to the left.

      4:52 Amen, it is people like you that did make this country great, the land of opportunity that all people who came to this country, work hard and apperciated the CHANCE. If I was ignorant and lazy, I would take from the government for as long as they were willing to give it to me.....this government is truely the land of opportunity. 5:14, get off the couch from counting your food stamps and go get a job, otherwise your 15 kids will just populate and become like you.

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    9. I heard a stat that said that of the college grads from the last 2 or 3 years, 50% are still unemployed, man current administration should be proud of itself. We attempted to educate people and they came out as a bunch of dumbshits that voted the biggest POS back in office. No wonder why we are 32nd in the world in Math, 27th in the world in Science and SAT scores are the lowest they have EVER been. Not to worry, this government will pay you to be unemployed...it doesn't get any better than that.

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    10. As usual its all of Obama's fault LOL. You've got to be kidding right? This all happened within the last four years. Can some of you get serious.

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    11. If you major in economics or history and graduate from Stanford, Penn, Harvard, U of Chicago, Northwestern, Duke, Vanderbilt you probably will be offered a job by one of the consulting firms like a McKinsey or Accenture, and maybe get offers from Goldman, or JP, but that's the creme de la creme. Otherwise you can probably find a job in spine and be a runner for two years, cover cases and then realized that when you're getting screwed by some distributor it may be better working direct. There are far fewer good distributors that treat their employees well than the maggots that are out there, so get . The reason we are 32nd in math and 27th in science is because your children in general spend too much time playing video games, and wanting to be like reality TV stars. Hey if they can make it why can't I

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  22. to the CEO of NBC PLEASE FIRE DONALD TRUMP he is a-hole.

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  23. The problem, mm, is that this country- The United States of America- is at its most divisive point in history.

    We live in an age where integrity is slowly becoming an after thought to everything we do. This can be scrutinized closely in all medical devices and particularly in spine.

    I've found it interesting how you have always advocated the concept of integrity in this business. At its crux, integrity is holding close to the values one holds high even when other methods may prove to be successful. What happens when you let one thing slide and get a case scheduled by doing something you know is absolutely unethical, and likely illegal? You have compromised. It may not seem significant initially but each time you compromise a little bit more.

    This is what is happening to my country. Compromise. Sure, having Barack Obama in office for four more years isn't going to ruin all of us, but what about all of the little compromises we have started to see giving more power to the government and less power to the great people of this nation? Half of us are willing to compromise, half of us are not.

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  24. Any rational individual understands that this country is primarily a center, center-right nation. That being said, the republican party has pushed so far to the right that they are almost off the charts and only appeal to a shrinking rural, older, white voter. Obama might not be the best choice to lead the country for another four years, but for most like myself, Romney and his flip-flop/pandering was not the better choice

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  25. Why are old white men sore losers and impotent? As Jim Morrison sang, this is the end my friend, the end, GOP RIP

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  26. More access to healthcare=more spine cases. Why would we not like obamacare?

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    1. What world do you live in? When the reimbursements continue to decline at a faster rate under Obamacare come back and tell us how many of your surgeons are willing to do those cases. Typical liberal utopian blabber. What do you think, "oh they'll pay for it! We'll all be doing more surgeries because THEY'LL pay for it."
      More access to healthcare means more of a burden on the tax payers and the surgeons trying to get payments. Puhlease

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    2. 8:36 aka not a physician. if you just arrived from Mars let me clue you in, reimbursements and surgical denials have been going on long before BO became POTUS, get your facts straight, the insurance industry has been implementing this strategy for years. You are probably another brilliant salesperson, there has been a steady erosion in surgical and office visit reimbursements for at least seven or eight years, and analyze them. If you need further evidence, that's why pods, pocs and consultancies have escalated over the years.

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    3. You think there's been a steady erosion so far. Just wait..... Dr know-it-all. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

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    4. 6:39 don't worry about us, worry about your own sorry ass, my peers with their POC and POD will do a great job running your asses out of the industry. Those like myself will be the minority, welcome to the wild west of spine

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    5. Wow. You've got class.

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    6. More importantly..I'd like to see his outcomes.

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  27. You got to love hypocritical Republicans. They are the kind of people who go to dinner with you and drink the expensive wine, get the most expensive entree and stuff their face with desert and let you know they are willing to split the check if you pay for your appetizer separately (which they ate half of). Let's get facts straight, Republicans have run up the deficit and debt more than Democrats and are anything but fiscally conservative. If you buy a house most people pay it over time with a mortgage. If you die your family inherits the debt. The costs of two wars, a prescription drug plan, a wrecked economy and recession and tax breaks for the rich are why the President is saddled with debts and deficits and not entitlement programs. Any one with common sense, basic math skills, interested in researching facts and not getting their information from FOX news, doesn't live in a alternate universe and thought Mitt Romney was going to win would have to admit this.

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    1. Maybe you should research your facts...your family doesn't inherit debt from a house that isn't paid off unless they want to. Regardless of who won the election, we should't allow debt to be run up on our children and both parties are guilty.

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    2. Maybe you should take a look at the percentage of the Feds budget that goes to social programs. Then take a look at spending vs GDP and tell me why we are at the same level as the years during and after WWII which was, by far, the costliest effort this country has ever engaged in (and it was well worth it). The difference is social programs started by FDR and continued and expanded thru today. Tax cuts for the rich are not the problem, raising them to 35.9 would fund the government for 8 days.
      Nobody is defending Bush as a fiscal conservative, nobody. Yet he only racked up 4 Trillion in debt over 8 years and had a $500B deficit. Obama has grown the debt $6T in 4 years and has had twice Bush's deficit every year. So bash Bush all you want, you'll get no arguments, but your research is crap and your analogy to a mortgage is ridiculous. A house is an asset, a government social program is a PERMANENT rent payment with no return, no appreciation and no way to end it.

      So don't come on here like some sort of scholar, chastising others with your bullet points from Rachel Maddow and and claim to have common sense, math skliis and an interest in research, you've demonstrated none of those traits.

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    3. Wow you actually watch RM, impressive

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    4. 5:17 Try and pay attention, of the six trillion of debt Obama racked up most of it was inherited due to wars we were already in, tax cuts passed under Bush, bailouts that were committed to under Bush, a recession and depression that lowered tax revenues and a prescription drug plan that was unfunded. Versus George Bush who inherited surpluses. You may not feel that way but luckily most of the country did and it happens to be fact. By the way a majority of the country still blames Bush. Welfare is around 10% of the budget versus each war that runs around 40% of the budget so if you would like to reduce government spending picking on some of the bigger allocations might be a wise endeavor. Or you can continue to order Diet Cokes with your biggie happy meal. Most countries increase taxes to pay for conflicts. Whether or not we should have gone to war in Iraq is one discussion but I am guessing you were for it. Now let's pay for them, so quit your crying and agree to some reasonable tax increases. Save your hyperbole for handling snakes. I know you don't like to let facts to get in the way of a good story that you heard from Rush or Fox news but part of the reason the Republicans just got drummed is because most Americans are sick and tired of the right wing lies.

      There is no greater asset to country than it's people and I feel sorry that you think that lowly of welfare and food stamp recipients. I also am amused by the irony of these social programs/entitlements you rail against like Medicare. I know you despise government healthcare although seeing how you are on this blog you probably make a majority of your income off Medicare. Must be tuff living with yourself at times, knowing your such a contradiction and fraud. You suck harder than most from the very tit you despise.

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    5. You made a lot of assumptions about me to justify your rant. Since you libs like fact checking so much, I thought I would oblige you with some. 1. Clinton ran a deficit in all 8 years of his presidency. He also increaed the national debt every year. If you will use the Treasury Dept as your reference instead of Chris Matthews, you would know this. 2. Bush inherited a national debt of over $5T from Clinton. 3. Bush also inherited a stunned economy that resulted from the dot com bubble that popped in 2000. 4. Bush also had to deal with 9/11. I presume you still like to give Obama credit for killing bin laden but you would assert that he would not have started the war on terror like bush did based on bipartisan support for that war? 5. Obama promised to reduce the deficit knowing about the expenses of the wars, yet he doubled it (that's 4 times the promised deficit for you math midgets). 6. TARP was a Bush initiative that amount to $400B that has been largely repaid. The stimulus package was a democratic written program signed by Obama for $800B that we will never be repaid and the intended effect was never realized.

      If you think selling a product to surgeon whose patient may or may not be a Medicare recipient is sucking the government teat, then there is no need to present you with logical debate, you aren't able to process it.

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  28. I pray that Obama does better than he has over the last four years........I pray for my children's sake. My father came here to be free of Socialists.....I was fortunate enough to get a degree and served in the military. If we can't reverse this debt crisis, it won't matter who or what party is in charge. The history of the masses overcoming the elites is universally bloody and one sided in the victory. The history of the world is an open source that few pay attention to.....at some point we have to stop and be Americans again, rathe than Hispanics, blacks, whites, or Asians.......the vitriol and hate for anything or anyone that doesn't blindly follow what you think is evident by the responses above. This election showed the power of the left to persuade and the lack of the right to show their sincerity. I hope I am wrong. I pray we all are wrong and can come back to the middle before we start something that will rip this country apart.

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  29. MSM - Always taking a dig at Alex L... One of the NUVA army must have taken your docs business and left you hanging with the rest of the Synthes -3% growth cronies...

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  30. "A demoncracy cannot exist as a permanant form of government.
    It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. 
    From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship.
    The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years.
    These nations have progressed through the following sequence;
    from bondage to spiritual faith;
    from spiritual faith to great courage;
    from great courage to liberty;
    from liberty to abundance;
    from abundance to selfishness;
    from selfishness to complacency;
    from complacency to apathy;
    from apathy to dependency;
    from dependency back to bondage."

    Alexander Tyler
    Writin over 100 years ago

    ReplyDelete
  31. " The democracy will cease to exist when it becomes possible to take from those who work and give to those who would not.". -Thomas Jefferson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love living in a world of soundbites.

      Delete
    2. Ironic quote considering Tommie J owned slaves!

      Delete
  32. Hey Einsteins, in this "socialist" society why have rich have gotten richer the last twenty years (minus the last two years) and the poor have gotten poorer? Care to explain? If your a history buff I think Alexander Tyler and Thomas Jefferson should have looked closer at civilizations, most ended from fighting wars they couldn't afford and their military and economy becoming over extended.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rich getting richer is a bad thing? Getting richer is why I bust my ass in spine. Did they steal the money from the poor? Wow, 4:45 is really the Einstein here.

      Delete
    2. Are you saying you know more about history and government than Alexander Tyler and Thomas Jefferson? And you are selling hardware?

      Delete
    3. That's because it wasn't socialist society until 2 years ago when Obamacare was passed

      Delete
  33. This just announced: Alex to have Mitt Romney speak at Nuvasive's upcoming NSM.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One loser speaking to a larger group of losers!
      That's about right.

      Delete
    2. Mitt didn't even know he was at Nuvasive the last time he was there LOL

      Delete
  34. It is difficult to read all of the post on this one. Our country has become so divided and that is our biggest threat. I am a conservative and disappointed in the election results. It shows how much better the ground game is on the left and how much better they are at reaching out to groups of people that feel ignored by the right. AS much as I disagree with the policies of Obama, he is our president and an American at the end of the day. We all love our country and that is what will ensure it stays strong. Both parties have good and bad sides to them and leaning too far either way is never good, that is why power usually shifts sides every few years. It is my hope that both sides can move more to the center to compromise and get things done. At the end of the day, even if they can't we live in a great country that provides us with opportunities that no other country can. Government moves in cycles, as long as we manage our debt moving forward we will all see brighter days ahead.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate your honesty and your optimism.

      Delete
  35. On the Right, we have to admit that we do a piss poor job in our primary elections and put forward a lot of less than solid candidates. There were 6 very vulnerable senate seats that should have turned, but did not because the republican candidate brought nothing to the table. If we do not change our process moving forward, we will be in for more of the same results.
    We also continue to get crushed in the ground game and need to improve in that area.
    Lastly if we do not reach out to groups like Hispanics and Women then we will continue to be demonized by the left and have trouble getting traction with these groups. I am not happy with the election results, but I am even more displeased with my party and their approach to these elections.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Sheep say Baaaaa....
    That's what all of these comments sound like with the exception of a few. Who do you think is going to lose here? Why do you think a couple of percentage points is referenced? Because that is your cut of the pie. As the squeeze continues you will have no oxygen left. You will work 80 hours a week, make 120k (6% commission), taxed 40% with an increase of insurance premiums (30% increase as of Jan. 1) and bills that are way too high, and you will be living paycheck to paycheck with no savings, no retirement, and no social security funded. You think CMS is going to lose? Not. You think upper management will lose? Maybe not make more but they will not lose. You think hospitals will lose? Not. Who is the loser here? Reps and lower level managers. By the way the lower level managers will go first so be nice to your peers...no more whipping the donkey...get back in line. E-reporting, repless RFP's, indication guidelines that dictate surgery and the thinning will sequentially Increase. Start saving now because regardless of your party...the party is over!

    ReplyDelete
  37. NASS disclosures So many Depuy Spine consultants. Is Depuy Synthes the new Medtronic? How many paid consultants do they have or need? Advamed looking the other way? Their business model for growth- Paid consultants?
    Advamed needs to investigate if all these new consultants are legitimate. But most likely Advamed is a joke with behind the scenes politics going on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. D/S has so many because neither company had expiring agreements with consultants during merger. I'm sure they are being looked at closely. That company is going Medtronic with their reps. Paying them crappy guarantees and hardly any points. But hey, they get crappy cars to drive around! The managers and corporate leaders are squeezing the field reps to get their bonuses. I'm so glad I didn't jump on the direct "death train".

      Delete
  38. Why would AdvaMed investigate someone? AdvaMed is owned by the device industry and is primarily a lobbying organization. The AdvaMed Code of Ethics was developed to provide the industry with guidelines to follow in order protect themselves from violation of laws which would then lead to DOJ issues. AdvaMed doesn't "look the other way" or investigate anyone. The only organization that investigates these issues is the OIG/DOJ. Until another AG like Chris Christie comes along and sees policing the industry as a means for self political gains, don't expect much from the DOJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Avamed is a joke. Companies that don't follow it are under no further scrutiny then the companies that do. It should be done away with.

      Delete
  39. Alphatec+Phygen=formula for XXXXXXXX?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Excellent Op-Ed. I am one of many who received a company notice suggesting more work, less pay if Obama got in (2% med dev tax, etc). Knee jerk reactions like this company will more than likely have a mass exodus when the economy improves. And it will, no matter who is in office.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wait until the Catholic Church shuts down all of their US hospitals because they won't be forced to supply birth control and abortions due to the fact that our religious liberties have been crushed by Obama socialism...wonder what happens to all of the spine surgeries and your incomes then??? Pass the bong this way....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @ AnonymousNovember 8, 2012 5:36 PM


      Only a pedophile would defend the Roman Catholic Church.

      Only a idiot would call Obama a socialist.

      Spoken like a true Republican pedophile.

      Delete
    2. That is the most ridiculous and hypocritical response I have ever read on this site. Believe me, in this league of idiots, that puts you in a league of your own. Congrats!
      $5 says your reply is removed by MM

      Delete
  42. The CONS and the Plutocrats got spanked. Maybe now medical industry crooks will be put in jail and the medical industry will be properly regulated.

    I loved watching the nuts and the weasels squirm. Rove, Trump, Limbaugh, the Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adleson all got a little pit of what is coming to them. The only thing worse than Romney are his brain dead supporters. LOSERS!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You like watching Limbaugh squirm. What about the millions of people who are squirming without jobs because Obama's anti-business socialist policies? I'm sad for my country that this president has sacrificed so many at the altar of get-even-with'em-ism.

      Delete
  43. Obama has added 5 million private sector jobs while the previous Republican administration was the cause of job losses well over 5 million. Have you been in a coma the the last five years? That is the problem with trying to reason with Republicans, you must be in a alternate universe. If you say it enough times I am sure you will start to believe each others lies but fortunately some people were paying attention this last decade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Added Xmillion may be correct, but how many millions have been subtracted? FACT: there are now millions LESS Americans in the work force. Reagan fixed Carter's mess in his 1st term, Barack Hussein will blame Bush forever. How long would your spine sales manager allow you to blame your predecessor? 1 year? 4 years? 8 years?

      Delete
    2. Yup 8:29 PM. You got it.

      Delete
    3. There was a big difference between what Reagan inherited and what Obama inherited. You see Reagan came after a Democrat and Obama came after a Republican. One inherited a recession of the variety that typically happens in a cyclical economy the other inherited a recession/depression that we have not seen the likes of since the Great Depression. Doesn't matter that much what I think but it does matter what a majority of the voters think. Obviously they disagreed with you two so sell crazy somewhere else.

      Delete
    4. 8:13:
      Ya I know it's always another excuse for failure while trying to achieve propserity with Socialist policies, especially if our Dear Leader Barack Hussein is in charge.

      Delete
    5. If he added 5 million jobs, why is the unemployment rate higher? Ya think there might be some data you aren't aware of! Like the total population in the workforce or the number that have withdrawn from the workforce or any other number of variables they didn't mention on MSNBC during the democrat talking point segment which airs 24/7?

      Delete
  44. I just want everyone who mentioned in the last year, "if Obama is reelected I'm moving to XXXXX (fill in the blank)". I am willing to drive you to the airport to speed things up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. 9:12 PM: You'll soon be out of work. Look at France. Producers will either move or stop producing, and you'll by on the dole. I'm sure those wishing to leave the country wouldn't ride in your piece of sh!t. You're a moocher.

      Delete
    2. All you producers seem to be producing is a bunch of bitching and crying.

      Delete
  45. Keep drinking the democratic Kool-Aid morons...you just voted for "Taxmageddon” – The largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect on 1/1/13: The following tax hikes will occur on 1/1/13: Personal income tax rates will rise for everyone. The top income tax rate will rise from 35-39.6%. The lowest rate will rise from 10-15%. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions & personal exemptions will again phase out. The full list of rate hikes is:10% bracket rises to 15%, 25% bracket to 28%, 28% bracket to 31%, 33% bracket to 36%, 35% bracket to 39.6% Higher taxes on marriage & family coming on 1/1/13. The “marriage penalty” will return from the 1st $ of taxable income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. Middle Class Death Tax returns on 1/1/13. The death tax is currently 35% with an exemption of $5 mill ($10 mill for married couples). For those dying on or after 1/1/13, there is a 55% top death tax rate on estates over $1 million...better die before the end of the year! Higher tax rates on investors on 1/1/13. The capital gains tax will rise from 15% to 23.8%. The top dividends tax will rise from 15% to 43.4%. This is because of Obamacare’s investment surtax. Obamacare Tax Hikes: There are 20 new/higher taxes in Obamacare. Some have already gone into effect (the tanning tax/medicine cabinet tax/HSA withdrawal tax/W-2 health insurance reporting/the “economic substance doctrine”). Several more will go into effect: The Obamacare Medical Device Tax begins. Medical device manufacturers employ 409,000 people in 12,000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax on gross sales – even if the company does not earn a profit in a given year. The Obamacare Medicare Payroll Tax Hike takes effect on 1/1/13. The Medicare payroll tax is currently 2.9% on all wages & self-employment profits. Starting in 2013, wages & profits exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married couples) will face a 3.8% rate. The Obamacare “Special Needs Kids Tax” comes online on 1/1/13. Imposes a cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited). The Obamacare “Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deductions goes into force on 1/1/13. Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction for medical expenses to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income. The new provision imposes a threshold of 10% of AGI. Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only. The Alternative Minimum Tax & Employer Tax Hikes -The AMT will ensnare over 31 mill families, up from 4 mill last year. According to the WA Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice & pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers. Full business expensing will disappear. In 2011, businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. Starting on 2013 tax returns, all of it will have to be “depreciated” over years. Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs. Tax Benefits for Education & Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition & fees will not be available. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families. For those in California...add another 13.5% state income tax for "education." Now we can work for 7 months of the year to give to govt...HOPE & CHANGE...sounds like Cuba to me...

    ReplyDelete
  46. Well if the Republicans want to compromise we can probably avoid much of that. If they don't want to compromise those tax rates are still relatively low for industrialized nations and that is what you get when you have to tax to pay for wars. I was not especially against those wars but I am for paying for them rather than saddling our children with debt. Oh yes, I forgot your plan is to cut PBS. If it would work, I am all for it, I just don't think that is going to get us out of the hole your policies have put us in.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Borrowing 20 cents on every dollar from China...the biggest communistic country in the world... is the Democratic answer.....please. BALANCE THE BUDGET FOR GOD'S SAKE! And the Latino vote going to Obama...big surprise when he unilaterally grants amnesty for millions of "children" who were brought here illegally! CLOSE THE FRICKING BORDERS....go visit an ER the next time you are in surgery...10 illegals paying zero getting care before a legal American who has to pay a $200 ER co-pay! But keep raising taxes to pay for it...SOCIALISM AT ITS FINEST

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Los Angeles County is the biggest free HMO to the world. I've been there and it sounds like the tower of Babel in the ER. Cali is bankrupt and we all get to pay for their illegal, Liberal, gimme-mine voters.

      Delete
    2. Why is California so broke? (From the L. A. Times..one of the most leftest, liberal newspapers in the country)

      > 1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County (L.A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal aliens working without a green card.

      > 2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
      >
      > 3. 75% of people on the most-wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
      >
      > 4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
      >
      > 5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
      >
      > 6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
      >
      > 7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
      >
      > 8. Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
      >
      > 9. 21 radio stations in L. A. Are Spanish speaking only.
      >
      > 10. In L.A. County 5.1 mill people speak English, 4.9 mill speak Spanish.There are 10.2 mill people in L.A. County.
      >
      > Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare.

      > 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.

      And now the state combined with the Feds can take 60% of my income in taxes to pay for this...??? And the Latino vote put Obama over the top...WAKE UP PEOPLE!

      Delete
  48. MSM, you are the problem. You are a naked Marxist, and your true colors have turned this once regular reader away from your blog. I came back to see how you responded to the election, just for kicks, and you surprised even me, who already had you labeled a leftist. Then to read the follow-up comments of the less articulate and less insightful readers that support your repudiation of everything good in this nation, it is obvious that as a nation, we are completely screwed. I will enjoy watching the decline of the industry, as you overvalued "consultants" watch your incomes and influence approach your IQ's, which are obviously far below the average. We reap what we sow in this life. Some call it karma, I call it justice. All you elitist liberals will lose your jobs, right about the time that government has to shut down so there are no unemployment benefits left for you to exploit. I hope for great pain for you. I hope you rot in your idealism. SUCK IT SOCIALISTS, especially you MSM!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 8:45. As Forest Gump said, "stupid is stupid does." Thank you for your articulate perspicacity on the topic, as for IQ's in your case the acronym stands for IDIOT QUOTIENT. TSB keep on rockin' the free world.

      Delete
  49. Socialists are maggots. SUCK roadkill.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Socialists are sea lice. SUCK IT PARASITES!

    ReplyDelete
  51. These comments just brilliant. It is no wonder that the best and the brightest flock to spine.

    How about Trans 1? Well done.

    Revenues were $3.2 million in the third quarter of 2012, representing a 32% decrease from revenues of $4.7 million in the third quarter of 2011.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The effects of Rick Simmons still being felt to this day. Fine work Rickie..how about that metric?

      Delete
    2. Just like Obama, blaming previous admins. So pathetic. Lack of accountability is the biggest problem our country faces. Simmons wasn't perfect, but you are a doofus if you think this is his fault.

      Delete
    3. Do you have a clue what he did to that compnay? I do..worked for them. He single handedly brought the "T" code upon them. He was (is) a little Hitler prick! Thought he was the samrtest guy in the room, but that misconseption should have changed when they woke up and fired his short ass. Now he is out there snowing DePuy. Look at his track record..Nuvasive,,fired..TranS1..fired. Are you sencing a pattern my clueless friend?

      Delete
  52. Hey rebub babies. SHUT UP. You will be voted out in 2016 too. Your party is out of touch. Taxes are going back to the 90's when we had a BALANCED budget.

    No one thinks you are intelligent when you say socialist. That line was not effective 4 years ago, and it OBVIOUSLY didn't help you on Tuesday.

    You will all whine, and add nothing to the ideas needed to fix problems. YOUR congress has a worse approval rating than Momar when he was shot/dragged in the street. We also didn't need another 8*10 year occupation to get that done. We let OTHER people take care of THEIR countries problems. Well done there Barry! This country recognizes ALL YOUR FAULTS, and wont vote you back in until you all GROW UP.

    Now as I stated in the beginning. SHUT UP. No one is listening to you whakko radicals. Take your bibles, and GO HOME. I would have wrote "ball" instead of "bible"....but... we took your ball again this week for another 4 YEARS! wahwahwah......

    To say Obama is the "worst" president shows that you are a TOTAL OUT OF TOUCH MORON.

    And I love a hypocritical bunch of immigrants (all of America) telling other immigrants they are not welcome. If this were 150 years ago, you all would be throwing potatoes at the Irish after they got off the boats in NY. YOU ARE ALWAYS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY.

    Now waste your time debunking me, and looking stupid. GO HOME.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  53. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lighten up Fransis!

      Delete
    2. You are an ignorant prick. When you are out of work and your kids can't find work and need help that you are not able to provide... Tell me how your Obama love is working for you then. Liberals will always show their true colors when they are backed in a corner or think they have an advantage. Brag about co-opting the illegals, minorities, and the gays? Sounds like a solid platform to me. Only problem is eventually they will run out of conservative's money to spend.

      Delete
  54. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  55. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  56. you libs think your beloved O'Bama is so wonderful and benevolent. I feel sad for any of our soldiers fighting for our freedoms and security when our own president won't authorize reinforcements to keep them safe. And then to add insult to death, he has his admin. lie to the American people about some bullshit anti muslim video. Screw the fiscal ineptidude...put yourself in the shoes of our diplomats and navy seals who were slaughtered in Benghazi after repeated verifiable attempts to get help with their own protection, and then ignored. makes me sick, so go on you Obama lovers start making your excuses......He fucking lied about an anti muslim video inciting riots and couldn't even call it a terroist attack because that would've contradicted his claims to have Al-Quaida on the run and thus made him look bad in a tight presidential race.

    You keep believing BO has your best interest in mind, pathetic

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're making me tear up. Boo f*cking Hoo

      Delete
    2. Hey all you liberals, look over there, in that huge open trench, yeah, over there....Look at all the shiny, pretty things in the trench...yeah, you can have them all, just get a little closer. Oh, yeah, all that shiny, pretty stuff is for you. I put it there so you can have it, you deserve it. Just get a little closer. Why are we holding guns? Oh that, yeah, obviously to protect you, don't worry. Just get a little closer to that trench, and those trinkits...you can have them all. Don't worry about us, and our guns, we have your back, get the trinkits...there that is good. POW, POW, POW....
      -Yours truly, Barack

      Suck it suckers, you have reaped, now you will sow.

      Delete
  57. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, there's a shock. Old man longing for the good ol' republican days of yesteryear. Isn't there a wheel of fortune rerun you should be watching??

      Delete
  58. After reading and deleting your comments TSB must ask some of you, how outdated is your ideology? The venom and anger that comes out of your mouths is frightening. Change and adapt or you will perish in a dynamic global economy. If you have ever rock climbed, hanging on tighter is a recipe for disaster. For those that accused TSB of being a Socialist or Marxist, let me let you in on a little secret, TSB is a realist. I love America. It is the greatest nation in the world, and unless some of you Yahoos travel the world, you will never appreciate what you have. My vote is based on my beliefs and not because I am a member of a party. As an independent thinker (thank you mother) I vote for people that I believe will lead, defend, and protect the very principals that I believe in. Being responsible for one's own actions makes the world a better place for everyone. That's what a right wing individual mandate is all about. The world is not a perfect place. This isn't Burger King because you can't have it your way, regardless of whomever you think you are. Things like fraud, deception, and irresponsibility are a by product of an amoral and unethical society and you need to look no further than our own industry. The same people on this blog that pontificate about responsibility should look no further than their own mirrors. PODS? POCS? Consultancies? Those very business models are what will bring down you and this industry. Don't blame anyone else except yourselves. I know that some of you have a hard time accepting this, but the POTUS has more important things to do than screw a hardware salesperson in spine, you're really not that important in the bigger picture. So here are the facts,

    Mommies don't sit home anymore, we can't afford it. Unlike your daddy, men take time off when their kids are born, change their diapers, and walk their kids to school. A college education costs between $20-$50K depending where your child goes to school, and graduating with an English Literature or History degree doesn't entitle you to a job. Maybe some of your children are overeducated? The starting salary for a lawyer coming out of law school is about $35-50K (that's right) unless you were the Thurgood Marshall scholar of your graduating class. We don't use the typewriter to write letters anymore. Milk is at least $4 a half gallon, gas is $4 to $5 a gallon, blacks aren't shuffled to back of the bus, abortion is legal, women want equal pay, they run companies and have become members of Congress and the Senate and just to really blow your mind, one day we will have a woman as the POTUS (oh my God).

    So in closing, whether you like it or not, get up in the morning, work hard, work smart, and maybe if you spend a little less time looking at your stocks and trying to be a deal maker, the world will be a better place.

    ReplyDelete
  59. MSM,
    I can handle the industry garbage that I have to take a big sniff of every day. I can handle the bitchy nurses, entitled surgeons, lying sales managers, lying competitors, PODs, RFP's, all of it.
    What I can't handle is my own government, that I fought for twice in The Sandbox, telling me I'm evil because I make over 250K. Taxing my companies EVEN MORE at 2% of total sales, not just bottom line profits.
    My own president has slice & diced Americans into the "good guys that deserve gov't help" and the "bad guys who need to get theirs hard".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You didn't build that, somone else did.

      Delete
    2. Are you actually trying to sell me that the Republicans haven't done a good job at dividing us? When Mitch McConnell stands in front of cameras at the AEI and states that the GOPS job is to deny this President a second term at whatever cost, is that leadership? Were the American people a priority? I don't know whether you make 250K/year, but if you have a great accountant or firm doing your taxes, do you really pay 35% at the end? Would you like to know what my average was when I was paying 35% when all was said and done, 15%. So let's keep things in perspective. Has your government actually called you evil for fighting for your country? I highly doubt it. Yes there are bad guys and selfish people. When Wall Street runs rampant, do you think it is fair to have taxpayers bail them out? Maybe yes and maybe, we will never know that answer, and if your personal portfolio went to the crapper if the big bad government didn't bail them out, what then? We would have been screaming at the POTUS calling his decisions unAmerican. If you really were in the military you know that you go in as a team and come out as a team. I assume you have a credit card? If you max out your card and don't have the revenue to pay it, do you tell the bank that you will cut down your debt by spending less? Highly unlikely. Go tell your bank that when you can't pay your mortgage. Basic finance teaches you these lessons, and I am sure you know that. Whether you believe it or not, we will all have to make concessions, if your want good roads, bridges that don't collapse, the police to protect you, firemen to put out the fire, someone to pick up your garbage and the proverbial classes for gifted students at your local schools someone has to fork over the money. The reality is that we are all going to have to work a little hard to achieve or sustain the lifestyle we have become accustomed to, unfortunately it is not 2006, the world change when the market crashed. Love it or hate, we still live in the greatest country in the world.

      Delete
    3. Uh, I actually think that cutting down on personal, frivolous expenses so that one can afford to pay their credit card that they maxed out partying, makes pretty good sense. Your tirade is a little illogical. SUCK IT PINKO!

      Delete
    4. Hey Euclid, if you don't have the revenue to pay it off you can cut down all you want, it's in the math, obviously you never took a finance class.

      Delete
    5. MSM,
      Our streets should be paved in platinum with all the spending we've done. Our kids should all be Eimsteins with all the money we funnel to the union thugs. $60,000 per household spent per year on welfare, it'd be easier to just write everyone a check instead of having it go through the Fed Govt maze.
      Yet we cut our space program and have to hitchhike on Russian craft.
      Yet the military is about to be hollowed out, so much for Obama's pledge to, "protect and defend".

      Delete
    6. Hey Reimann, so you would solve it by opening another credit card account, and also stealing money out of your mommies purse? Ridiculous. You obviously never took a Geometry class, since in your world, parallel lines intersect. Suck it wank stain.

      Delete
    7. Are you guys actually trying to say that reducing your spending is not a good way to pay your debt? Really? So the only way to pay the credit card is to earn more money? So, in order to afford the lifestyle you were living on credit, you should earn enough to pay for that lifestyle instead of reducing your lifestyle to fit your budget, which is now lower because you have debt to pay? That's a great plan, since making more is so easy and predictable and living within your means is so unfair damages your esteem.

      MM, don't twist the man's words. He didn't say he was called evil for serving, he has been vilified for being successful. He put his life on the line for your rights, not your entitlements. I personally think any effort to prevent Obama from being re-elected was good leadership and in the primary interest of the people of this country. Creating a class war by villifying successful people and trying to put the entire tax burden on the minority of Americans is divisive and was done with absolute overt intent

      Delete
    8. 12:30 LOL if you have no money to pay your debt how are you going to pay it off? By generating revenue. You can cut spending but you're not going to pay off your debt without revenue. Stop selling us funny math, you sound like the clowns on Wall Street, you know your good friends that put us in the crapper, nearly wiped out the value of your 401K's and then used taxpayers money to pay themselves big bonuses.

      Delete
    9. We have plenty of revenue, you dolt! We have no way to increase tax revenues because the economy is piss poor and raising taxes on 2% of the people won't even come close to touching the debt. Lower spending to a level that is reasonable relative to tax revenues and use te rest to pay down debt. We aren't talking about people or a government with no money. We are talking about people and a government who spend more money than they have. I would hate to own your mortgage with your perspective on debt payment. "I can't do without my used Lexus and iPhone, I just won't pay my debt until I make more money even though I have no idea how I can make more"

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  60. 47% Credo:
    Ask not what I can do for my country, just hand over your sh*t and don't expect a f*cking "Thank you" either bitch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your 47% credo kept you out of office... again... dork.

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  61. The ObamaCare Layoffs Begin. Enjoy!

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2012/nov/8/picket-companies-plan-massive-layoffs-obamacare-be/

    http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/333089/obamacare-layoffs-begin-jillian-kay-melchior#

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    1. Tidal wave of federal healthcare regulations begin. Enjoy!

      http://nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/floodgates-open-on-new-health-regs-20121109

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  62. Republicans - Like School on Saturday, NO CLASS. You all represent yourself like a bunch fanatical muslims, "Were going to obliterate the non believers into... blah, blah blah." The sun came up today, my healthcare premiums haven't gone up and I still have a job. I think I can thank the current administration for most of that (minus the sun although they are much more interested in preserving the environment too). Maybe you should try harder to to separate Reality from Republican propaganda, I would think it would serve you better in life, elections and attracting new members to your party. I served my Country as well and objectively I don't see Democrats as being more of a threat to America than Republicans. in fact, if fiscal irresponsibility and unnecessary wars (related subjects) are threats to the US losing their position as the World's Superpower it is pretty clear who is the real threat and they just got drummed in the latest election. Try selling crazy somewhere else.

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  63. Yesterday Barack Hussein held his first post election news conference and guess what new idea he came up with: More Taxes! Now that's thinking outside the box, let's tax ourselves out of the Great Recession.

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    1. Anyone who throws out "Hussein" when referring to the president is either a birther or a racist. Which one are you?

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    2. False choice. I'm a capitalist. What's wrong with Hussein? You're the racist who wnts to shut down legitimate debate.

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    3. So fighting tax increases is now racist? Check yourself Lefty... Bull Connor was a Dem! Wallace was a Dem! Separate but equal was put forward by Dems. Lincoln was a conservative Republican! Get over it Lefty.

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    4. No but continuing to use the word Hussein has xenophobia and bigotry written all over it, really can the GOP just run Grover Norquist for President another elitist from the East. It's game time in America people like McConnell need to move on to greener pastures

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    5. This president has done more to harm African Americans than any white racist since the civil war. The unemployment/underemployment rate in their community is absolutely abysmal and getting worse. Thanks Barack Hussein!

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  64. Obama just took Florida making it a clean sweep in battleground States. Wow, if your a Republican you really need to put some thought into regrouping and moving forward. The country needs two viable parties to check and balance themselves and it is only going to get tougher to put together a winning coalition. I don't think your racist, incendiary and partisan rants are going to help you bring voters to the tent and clearly they have pushed many voters away. Now I realize many of the posts on here are from the fringe element that the Democrats have as well but you are only pushing people away and alienating them when you spew out your hate.

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    Replies
    1. There is widespread voter fraud in OH and FL.

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    2. Is that you Karl? Wah

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  65. By the way, those that are complaining about moochers check your facts financially the Red States (the Communists in this country) take more entitlements, check the math.

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  66. With the exception of a few thoughtful, insightful posts on here,, this blog is just another reminder of the what an ignorant group of morons this industry continues to employ.

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  67. Amen. It is amazing how strong willed and tough those on both sides of the argument are when there is no one standing opposed and they can be anonymous. This topic just goes to show that both sides of the isle are littered with unintelligent, hateful, and cowardly pricks. That is the real problem with this country, it is not a party thing... It is a people thing. There are honorable men and women from the left and the right, they are just given a bad wrap by idiots like the ones posting all of the crap here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are soft, and illiterate. Start here: "See spot run..."

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  68. I have an honest question for the liberals on this blog. It seems to me that the central goal of Obama and liberals is to restrict economic activity through regulations and taxes. If you increase regulation, you decrease jobs. If you increases taxes (especially on the rich) you decrease jobs. When you decrease jobs, you increase entitlements and decrease tax revenue. Increasing taxes causes less revenue and higher unemployment.

    Where do you think the money comes from? Increasing taxes means that those you are increasing taxes on are forced to cut investments and/or spending which costs jobs. Do you libs not understand that socialism means that the rich are poorer, but that everyone else is also poorer? Look at any socialist country. They are constantly broke. Their people are very poor. Socialism liberalism is harmful to all. WHY DO YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BE POOR AND CHAINED UP BY REGULATIONS?

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    1. Smartest guy on here. It is too bad most people in this industry don't have the attention span to finish, much less, understand your post.

      Delete
    2. "restrict economic activity through regulations and taxes" Really? That's what you really think POTUS or the Democratic party is about? Holy sh*t pull your head out of your a** and turn the channel, travel the world, experience other things because you have no f-in clue. And for what it's worth the US has the poorest people, among the worst heath stats and mediocre education within first world nations

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    3. Dear 3:00
      WTF? America's 'poor' have an average of 2 cars, A/C, a flat screen tv, cell phones and essentially free healthcare. Ever been to the Phillipines, Nicaragua? I have and that's real poverty. The difference is that here if you get off your lazy ass you can actually make some money.

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    4. Increasing tax does not HAVE to lead to job losses. If people actually just paid their tax, and took a small hit on profit there would still be plenty of profit and some extra cash in the pot.

      How many large companies actually pay tax - all the big companies like J&J who manufacture in Ireland and yet pay very little tax for bringing the business there. Extra profit for J&J but does anyone else get a slice of that pie? Ireland gains a couple of hundred jobs whoopdydoo. J&J still "avoids" tax in the US and Ireland so net result is less taxable income for everyone. Ireland is then over a barrel and has to meet more demands or else we close the plant and job losses look bad for you Prime Minister...

      How much tax do you think Bill Weldon pays on his $18million salary and $26million stock portfolio...And how much tax does J&J pay on its profit of around 13,334million...

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  69. 7:41 Reasonable question although you will certainly not like or agree with the answer. Although regulation certainly does restrict job growth so obviously does deregulation. The deregulation of Wall Street and the Housing industry (perpetrated by both parties) was one of the single largest factors that plunged the US into a depression. Unfortunately there are bad people in every industry that will game the system for their own financial gain and wreck the economy. Being in spine myself I can think of another industry that is over regulated, at the same time with consultants, royalty surgeons, PODs, POCs and POMs are there enough regulations. Objectively I would say there are not enough, the wrong ones or the ones we have are not being enforced and evil people are gaming the system to the detriment of taxpayers and most importantly patients.

    Raising taxes makes sense that it would be a job killing act. Less money less to invest. Unfortunately it is a much more complex equation that many other variables like, demand, debt, normal cycles, technologies, cost of goods, and the global economy factor into (just to name a few). The US desperately needs more revenue to balance the budget and reduce the deficit and increasing taxes is an effective way and in my opinion our collective morale obligation for fighting two wars that were unfunded so we don't saddle our children and their children with restrictive debt.

    I suggest you read the following about a nonpartisan report by the CRS showing no correlation to takes and job growth/creation. I realize you might not trust the New York times but this report was actually called for by the Republicans to back up their election platform and when it contradicted it they had it pulled.

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    1. Do you realize that the entire cost of all military action since 9/11 is less than Obama's lowest single year deficit? You drink too much kool-aide dude. 10 years in the Middle East has cost less than $1T. The deficit (one year of debt) under Barry went from about $500B under Bush to over $1T under Obama in his first year. "Facts are troublesome things." -Ron

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    2. After 2 wars we get dead terrorists which equals more freedom.
      After 6 trillion in new spending we get dependent people/Dems, which equals less freedom.

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  70. Sorry, I forgot the link, this debunks taxes rates correlate to job growth. They do correlate to one thing, the rich becoming richer. Go figure, I would have never guessed that.

    http://graphics8.nytimes.com/news/business/0915taxesandeconomy.pdf

    Actually the cost of just the Iraq and Afghanistan war (not the war on terror in other theaters or the military budget) is estimated to run between 3.7 Trillion and 4.4 Trillion. This information is from Reuters who also had Republicans up in the polls so certainly a right to center source, so these figures might be much higher. Amazingly 4.4 Trillion is very close to the deficits and debts that President Obama ran up and when you include the unfunded prescription drug plan, bailout under Bush, which much of kicked in under Obama, Bush Tax cuts and decreased revenues from a recession/depression you can pretty much account for all the deficits and debt accumulated under the present administration. Obviously facts and math aren't your strong suit or your regurgitating Fox News/Limbaugh misinformation. By the way when Obama sited a trillion dollar price tag it was just for Afghanistan if that is your response and was obviously underestimated.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/29/us-usa-war-idUSTRE75S25320110629

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    1. 11:44AM - The wars were not the problem. More than 80% of the expense was in "nation building" after we won the wars. We can not afford nation building, and there are no economic reasons for nation building like those that existed in Japan and Germany after WWII. American should only destroy our enemies that are a clear and present danger, and that's it. Sorry, attack America and we will destroy you. The end. We should not have invaded Iraq, and should have just smart bombed Afganistan.

      The New York Times article is complete bunk. The only time where tax revenues rose at the same time as tax increases was during the Clinton. This was not due to Clinton, but due to the internet. Don't forget, the dot com bubble that broke during 2000. It was not due to Clinton's and the republican congress's policies. It was due to a technological revolution, which the NYT study completely ignores.

      Should Obama actually negotiate a tax increase on upper income tax payers, then tax revenue will fall. The maximum tax rate for strong economic growth (and tax revenue) is 30%. We are already well above that. If rates were cut to 30%, tax revenue would increase and the economy would improve. For more information on how this actually works, watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIqyCpCPrvU.

      At the end of Obama's second term, it is likely that everyone will realize this. I am not sure if America will survive it, or how long our standard of living will be below 2006's level. Perhaps many decades. Don't blame me. I voted from Romney and McCain.

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    2. I totally agree that we cannot afford to nation build but it is a cost of the associated with the wars. I played your link on "The Laffer Curve." Needless to say it was a real laugher. Just getting it seemed plausible but I was concerned because it was obviously very old and made from "The Center For Freedom and Prosperity." I love Republicans. So I googled, "Debunking The Laffer Curve." and came up with many articles including a article from Time Magazine, which is generally considered pretty moderate titled "Tax Cuts Don't Boost Revenues."

      The problems with "The Laffer Curve" are many starting with the economist who came up with it, Arthur Laffer, who now admits tax rate decreases almost never pay for themselves. So while reducing taxes might increase growth (or might not) they will almost certainly add to the deficit and debt. By the way the inverse is also true. Additionally, "The Laffer Curve" has many assumptions that are either wrong or difficult to prove. The Laffer Curve assumes societies with close to 100% tax rate will have very little or no growth and revenues, when America and at times other countries like Sweden and Switzerland have had tax rates near, at or above 100% and generated growth and revenues. The optimal tax rate is set arbitrarily at 30%, where the optimal tax rate could be 20%, 40% or 50% and probably depends on many other variables that differ over time. Lastly Laffer's theory just puts in the Tax Rate and does not compute the Effective Tax Rate or Marginal Rate.

      Just to let you know the reason tax revenues have increased as rates decreased over time has more to do with population growth, economic growth and taxes on the middle class, such as payroll, AMT, Social Security and Medicare. From 1945 to 2012 we have seen tax rates and Effective Tax Rates decrease over time. During that period we have seen many economic downturns (recessions) where if your premise held true we would only see growth and additional revenues except when we have increased taxes and been sent into a economic tailspin. Actually the opposite is true, during that period when we have increased taxes we have seen a tremendous amount of growth and new revenues during other periods of time than the Clinton years. Conversely when we have lowered taxes Reagan, Bush, and Bush II (just to name a few) we have been or gone into a recession.
      The problem with "Trickle Down, Supply Side or Voodoo Economics" is that they for the most part totally discount Demand and are almost universally discounted by educated economists.

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    3. kidding not getting

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  71. Hello everyone, this is the "SPINE"blogger. NOT a political platform or the "Politics" blogger. None of us can now control what happens over the next few years as the election is OVER. Move on and find something constructive to discuss which relates to the spine industry and take the political rants & veiwpoints elsewhere.

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  72. For all of you who arw whining about Obama care it's tim for a reality check.

    The US pays more for health care than any country in the world and the US has in reality no federal agency that regulates health care and we all know that 3 or 4 of the major device companies run the medical device division of the the FDA. The US pays 3 times the world average for health care. 20% of the US GDP is health care. US health care the worst in the industrialized world.

    Italy is ranked number 2 for quality anf they spend less than 1/3 for health care. Italy has government run and government funded health care. I guess the Italians think that insuring all its citizens and providing a safe, cost effective and high quality health care system.

    MSM made a good point about the Obama bashers and other liars. Obama care has not been implemented.

    The spine industry is no different than the drug industry. It has a large number of wrongdoers who had they been in any other industry they'd be in jail.

    One has to applaud MSM for having the courage of his conviction to shine the light on an industry so that some sort of reforms can come.

    Some of the things that MSM has brought out regarding PODs, dishonest clinical trials and kickbacks beyond shocking from a patient's point of view.

    I cannot place the majority of blame on the manufacturers and here is why. I am in need of a nucleoplasty and I have been in need of one for quite some time. Where I live one cannot see a spine surgeon with out a referral from a PCP. You walk in with your MRI report and the PCP sends you to his/her favorite surgical group with no regard or knowledge what services that group offers. You get 5 minutes with the surgeon whre you get vague answers and dumb looks.

    Luck for me I contacted several companies that manufacture products like Nucleotome, Spine Wand, LASE, other PLDD devices, and Decompressors. All of them except for Stryker contacted me and told me why nucleoplasty is not popular in the US and as I suspected it's about the money. Surgeons are the reason. In my state they are in league with the Blues who won't pay for it because Nucleoplasy is considered experimental in spite of the fact that is has been proven safe and effective since 1980.

    I was told that a spinal fusion is around $40K and the surgeon gets at least 20K and takes about 90 to 120 minutes. http://www.spine-health.com/forum/treatment/back-surgery-and-neck-surgery/cost-lumbar-fusion-surgery-90-k Nucleoplasty costs about $2500 and takes about 60 minutes.

    It's pretty clear to me that one reason that the spine device industry has whored out is because they had no choice.

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    Replies
    1. 8:55 PM - you seem to have no idea how this works. Private insurance is so expensive because it must be used to subliment government programs (Medicare, Medicad). Also, the rest of the world is living off our innovation. Without the US market, medical innovation is finished. Think about this. If we had moved to government healthcare in the 50s, we would be stuck with 50s technology and care. If you want government healthcare, please move out of the US to some socialist nation where you and your kind can languish.

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  73. This was an amazing thread.
    A few misinformed and a few informed.
    Partisan, ideological, spirited and down right nasty.

    Is this not the reflection of the current US? A divided country? Yes, Obama has helped to drive this wedge further but he is not the cause, he is a product of a broken society and a corrupt government.

    Had Romney won, what do you think this thread would look like? Any different? No.

    TSB preaches to us all but he himself has reaped the rewards of this industry. Have you never signed a consulting agreement? Taken surgeons to lavish resorts? Expensive dinners? Late night "ballet's"? Your position and wealth have allowed you to travel the world and grow a well padded nest egg.

    You are a "realist"? That is just another word for "opportunist".

    "We have met the enemy and he is us"

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  74. " they believe, that maybe the streets are lined with gold"....
    Ja Ja! You can´t be more ignorant and arrogant. Time to save money and take a plane beyond Warsaw.....

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  75. We are not Italy, we are not a European country, we cannot flourish under socialized healthcare. We will suffer on so many levels economically it is not even funny.

    Now that this has been established and will soon be proven let's discuss something related specifically to spine.

    MM? Some help here.

    NASS corruption
    PODs
    FDA approval/corruption
    Copycat companies
    Latest greatest product
    Sending spine jobs overseas
    Who has the best territory in Spine? Top 10?
    How can we run our companies more efficiently to weather the crap storm of taxes?

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