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by HillRat 1213 days ago
For an example of how most of these cost-sharing plans go, see this article on the implosion of a commercial plan that preyed on the Mennonites of southern Ohio: https://www.propublica.org/article/liberty-healthshare-healt...

Amish economics are weird, because the deep aversion to debt tends to create winner-take-all scenarios: an Amish farmer might become wealthy from mineral and gas rights on his property, for example, and plow those funds into setting up a general store, which creates funds that go into a restaurant — and from there a hotel, a gas station, a gift shop, and pretty soon half the county is working for him. Since no Amish would consider a bank or SBA loan, new business starts are confined to either English outsiders or a small number of very wealthy Amish. (One guy in the cabinet business had a Rolls Royce with solid rubber tires — don’t ask — and an English driver whose name the car was officially in. Technically, not a violation of religious strictures!)

3 comments

Aside: Hoovies Garage on YouTube taught me that keeping a old Rolls or Bentley in perfect working order costs literally tens of thousands of dollars a year in parts and maintenance - nothing stays ‘fixed’ for very long.

Someone should do a kit car with Toyota mechanicals and a Rolls style body!

We call them “Lexus”
Rolls is on a whole different level when it comes to fit and finish. The interior and ride quality is why they cost as much as an Italian sports car and weigh as much as an armored vehicle. Adding a bit of leather trim and brushed aluminium buttons doesn't get you into the same league.

It is funny that the old ones are so mechanically unreliable though, when you consider that Rolls also has a long history of making aircraft engines.

Your own article indicates it really has nothing to do with the research piece posted:

Health care sharing ministries have existed since the early 1900s, primarily among Mennonites and the Amish. The idea was simple: Members chip in what they can to help cover a neighbor’s costs when someone breaks a leg, say, or falls ill. It was the financial equivalent of a potluck dinner, with everyone contributing something to the table and sharing the spread.

Few outside those communities knew or cared that health care sharing ministries existed. They were tiny, didn’t advertise for new members and posed no threat to corporate insurance. Most importantly, no one envisioned making money from a ministry.

Would have been impressive if he put the RR in neutral and got it pulled by horses.