Tuesday, May 09, 2006

US Health Care System Is Broken

The right wing propaganda machine loves to use scare tactics instead of arguments, so it's not a surprise all the so-called conventional wisdom with universal health care. Well, to counter a saying, if a system is broken we need to fix it:

Only Latvia, with six deaths per 1,000 live births, has a higher death rate for
newborns than the United States, which is tied near the bottom of industrialized
nations with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with five deaths per 1,000
births.


This is staggering!!! How is it even possible that a country as rich as the US could rank so low? Even better, wait a day or two and notice the sounds of crickets around this news story. There should be outrage over our health system. For years we have heard the scary stories about long waits and bad teeth that will inevitably come with universal health care funded in some way by the state. Well, we now have a system of diminishing care with quick treatments that yield inadequate treatments and results. I choose the former over the latter. But I'd prefer something that takes the best of both.

Oh yeah, well how would we ever fund this? Maybe start here. It's all about priorities. Unfortunately, the powers that be have different priorities. And who's controled the government for the past 6 years - that's right, Republicans. Well, I think I, along with most US citizens, would choose universal health care over a few more nuclear warheads or tax cuts on my capital gains or dividends from my stock portfolio.

I'll leave you with 2 questions:
  1. The Constitution declares the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. With millions of uninsured, aren't millions of Americans being deprived of a basic right given by the Founding Fathers? Does it qualify the right to life based on how much money you make or how much you contribute to society? Yet the people who want strict constructionist on the Supreme Court are against this. But I guess that's restricted solely to...
  2. Why aren't anti-abortionists fighting for the rights of newborns? Guess the right to life is voided once you take a breath outside of the womb. If you're born to a poor family, then you deserve what you get. I mean, it's survival of the fittest. I wouldn't be so opposed to those people if their beliefs weren't littered with contradictions. While they rally around outlawing abortion, they ignore any other tenant of The Bible.
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous5/09/2006 11:23:00 PM

    I've been saying it for years. I come from Cuba, a country that is considered the Third World. YET, we have free health care. Go figure! From aheart transplant to corneal implants to dialysis, is free. Free, free, free, free, free. I too would choose universal care over privatize one that clearly serves the interests of a few parties.

    Oh, yes and don't get me started on the anti-abortionists. I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing that the religious fanatics are a ball of contradictions.

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  2. Beluka5/10/2006 02:47:00 AM

    Another problem is some people don't want there taxes raised... well, that's where you get the money for the services you want to receive from!
    In other countries we find it hard to understand (when we first watched ER or other tv series)that there is no public insurance. Sure, there are long waits but we do get what we need...
    Every country should aspire to be more like Sweden, for example. Sure, they pay half their incomes in taxes but they get the money back in services for their welfare... they even get money for studying at university (thus the state guarantees well-formed workers) and university students who are married or have children are offered childcare services and couple benefits so that they don't have to quit studying...
    But yeah, you should complain more than me. After all, I'm Spanish, I do have public health care.

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  3. Mike K5/10/2006 08:27:00 AM

    I guess this is what happens when you hand the keys of country over to big business. They control everything and supress messages from the outside.

    Canada has public health care, but we only hear rumors about how it doesn't work. For some reason, I feel that the media and our government are lying to us.

    I think a lot of us are starting to get upset. The TV news is all watered down and completely biased. The newspapers selectively report the issues. Political Analysts spin facts.

    We need a wake up call in this country for truth and decency. There should be services for average citizens. Millionares should pay taxes.

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  4. Beluka5/10/2006 01:40:00 PM

    QUOTE: "The TV news is all watered down and completely biased. The newspapers selectively report the issues. Political Analysts spin facts."

    True. Seen from the outside, it looks unbelievable that most of the country does not get national and international information in the non-national media (or am i wrong? sorry if i am). It all looks manipulated. Let me recall the justin timberlake / janet jackson incident. My country laughed at how a tit could make so many people go mad and create a delay in broadcasting. Sorry to say.

    "Millionares should pay taxes"

    Don't they???

    That's not an american problem... too many people still think it's better to pay lower taxes. I wanna pay and get it back through health care and education!!

    Cheers

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  5. Mike K5/10/2006 03:35:00 PM

    We get the BBC and PBS (Public Broadcasting Station) news is pretty reliable. The problem is that almost no Americans will watch that coverage. In other words, if it doesn't have flashy graphics, sound effects, and "breaking news" interruptions; it's not worth watching.

    There is a documentary called, "Outfoxed," which details the corrupt nature of the Fox News Station, which is the leading manipulator of the news. It will make you sick to your stomach. The sad fact is that this propaganda is being spewed into the American heartland and after awhile people swallow it whole.

    Anyways if you are not a multimillionaire then you are a second class citizen in this country. Legislation has been created to protect the profits of the already rich at the expense of the middle class and poor. President Nutjob and his crew have almost eliminated all taxes on dividends, inheritance, and capital gains taxes. Guess who will be paying off the 8+ trillion dollar debt?

    I don't know.... Perhaps we are a nation of idiots. Maybe we deserve the eventual demise that we will face. After all China owns our debt and rumor has it, they might stop investing.

    ReplyDelete