Conversation with two bikers re health care

I work the graveyard shift in a bait-shop on a local lake and I ride my motorcycle to work every night. My bike’s an obscure brand, so I spend a lot of time answering the question, “What the hell is that?” About 5:00 AM a couple of guys come in and after having coffee wander over to the sales counter and asked, “Is that your bike in the parking lot?”

When two bikers are in close proximity they will discuss Iron and this occasion was no exception. About half way through the conversation one of them allows as how he rode a Honda Goldwing for a number of years and what a fine bike it was for extended cruising. I said that Honda was closing the U.S. manufacturing facility for the Goldwing and that from now on all Goldwings would be imported instead of being made here.

It’s funny how conversations take a turn.

Biker Brother (‘cause everybody on two wheels is family) says, “Wonder why they closed the factory?”

Me, “Well, the Goldwing is a very expensive bike and I suspect that the economic situation made it impossible to make money on bikes made here.”

BB, “Don’t see how it makes a difference. They made a profit for all those years they operated the U.S. factory . . .”

Me, “It’s probably because they don’t have to pay for health care in Japan but do here. Japan has single payer.”

BB, “That’s okay, Obama is gonna’ make it all free.”

Me, “Nobody ever said free. Just affordable. Honda spends about $8000 a year for an individual and more for a family of four.”

BB, “Yeah, and they work cheap over there . . .”

Me, “Not so much. Wages paid to Japanese automakers here are comparable to GM workers. Same with over there. If you don’t have to pick up insurance you can afford to pay a little more.”

BB, “Naw, it looks like socialism to me . . . The government can’t do anything right . . .”

Me, “Medicare is socialism, or as close to it as the U.S. will ever get. 92% of Medicare patients rate the care as good or excellent, only 8% say it’s fair or poor. Social Security is the most popular program in the U.S. Are you suggesting we should close them down?” Understand that BB was at least as old as I am and may be taking advantage of both.

Somehow when they’re having a conversation in the wee small hours with a clerk at a convenience store that smells like stale fish and the clerk starts quoting statistics, and actual costs it sorta’ hangs ‘em up.

Next thing ‘ya know we’re talking about bikes again. It’s funny how conversations take a turn.

You don’t have to be a jerk to get the message across but you do have to sound like you know what you’re talking about and be able to support your end of the conversation.

Knowledge is power. Arm yourself.

That being said, what do you ride?

It's a cruiser that thinks it's a sport bike. Dual overhead cam, 4 valves per cylinder, 11.5:1 compression and 72 horsepower. 0-60 just over 3 seconds and ss 1/4 mile 12.3 sec. Drags the pegs in turns--I've used up ALL the sidewalls on the tires!

Lotsa' fun to ride!

I like it!

It had to affordable on convenience store wages, i.e. less than $10k.

It had to perform, both in freeway speed and handling.

It must be a cruiser but shouldn't look like a Harley.

I've go nothing against Harley, they're fine bikes but EVERYBODY has one.

I looked at the new Triumph. Very old-school and classic in styling but not enough HP for me and a bit expensive for what you get (IMO).

I looked at BMW and loved them but they didn't fit criteria 1. Besides, with 120 HP I'd get in trouble--sometimes enough is too much, ya' know?

I found this while posting to the Motorcycle and Scooter group. Once I bought it I found out it looks like a Harley V-Rod. The good news is there aren't very many V-Rods around, so it still has that novelty factor I wanted.

I appreciate that you were working to keep the conversation civil, but I don't suppose you happened to ask the guy for his, or any, definition of socialism? For quite a while I've been hitting up the "socialist" folks with this:War has all the characteristics of socialism most conservatives hate: Centralized power, state planning, false rationalism, restricted liberties, foolish optimism about intended results, and blindness to unintended secondary results" although sometimes I'll modify it to the military or militarism instead of war. Works like a charm especially with the government can't do anything right guys.

One or two people at a time, with credibility and patience and persistence. Good on ya.

but I decided a couple of years ago that I'd give as good as I got.

The problem in many red states is that Dems do stay quiet so the Repugs think that their viewpoint is the only viewpoint. Political debate becomes an echo chamber. You don't have to be militant, just let them know that you don't agree and when possible tell them why.

K&R