fairsheet
Senator
To qualify: All numbers below in quotation marks, are 1983 dollars. All others are today's dollars.
I. In 1983, my monthly electronics bill was ($25) - $58.77
A. For that amount, I received one landline phone with local service included.
B. Long distance to my mother's home 200 miles away, coast ($.25) - $.59 per minute
C. Teevee cable with 20-some channels was "free" although I'm sure it was added to my rent!
II. In 2013, my monthly electronics bill is ($59.55) - $140
A. For that amount, I receive as many landline phones as I want, with no domestic long distance charges.
B. Two smartphones with their own separate lines, no domestic long distance charges, and all "processes"
smartphones are capable of.
C. More teevee channels than I can count (hundreds and hundreds?), HD teevee, and two DVR's
D. High speed access to for as many computers as I like, to the internet .
So....how are these factoids relevant? They should be considered by EVERYONE who's inclined to obsessing over the extent to which healthcare costs seem to be consuming more of our national "budget" these days. For the contrast between our '83 and '13 electronics bills, is much MORE profound in terms of our respective healthcare "bills".
I. In 1983, my monthly electronics bill was ($25) - $58.77
A. For that amount, I received one landline phone with local service included.
B. Long distance to my mother's home 200 miles away, coast ($.25) - $.59 per minute
C. Teevee cable with 20-some channels was "free" although I'm sure it was added to my rent!
II. In 2013, my monthly electronics bill is ($59.55) - $140
A. For that amount, I receive as many landline phones as I want, with no domestic long distance charges.
B. Two smartphones with their own separate lines, no domestic long distance charges, and all "processes"
smartphones are capable of.
C. More teevee channels than I can count (hundreds and hundreds?), HD teevee, and two DVR's
D. High speed access to for as many computers as I like, to the internet .
So....how are these factoids relevant? They should be considered by EVERYONE who's inclined to obsessing over the extent to which healthcare costs seem to be consuming more of our national "budget" these days. For the contrast between our '83 and '13 electronics bills, is much MORE profound in terms of our respective healthcare "bills".
