Great post Kiwi. After reading up more I can appreciate my nation's health "system". I dont begrudge anyone for healthcare at anytime they need it.. Kinda like America's hospitals in Iraq.. helping those who need it no matter their income, ethnicity or, religion or gender. Amazing job being done by the American medical effort in Iraq...
Not a very realistic, common or sustainable hospital/medical situation there but ask anyone, from Soldier to Shiite, who has received that first class care and they will all tell you that it was "world class"... Why stop at having that care just for soldiers or just for wealthy nations? Why have such "anomalies"? Why not call the highest standards of living on earth, clean, sustainable and health based?
I want the entire healthcare "system" to take responsibility for it's pollution and it's "solutions". No reason to give the "healthcare" system the rights to dump uber toxic wastes into the air, rivers, oceans and/or mounds of earth...in the name of cost, health, inconvenience or profit.
As usual, the ecological aspects sit way down on the list when they should be first and foremost.
Rob has a point but I think it's a bit old fashioned. Like the right's comprehension of the changing planet and it's peoples, science and understanding. The "socialism" that many on the right call bad names, is what the entire world needs. We need to take care of each other, world-wide, or the lowered standards, that we leave unattended or increase, will bring down the loftiest societies with the "highest" standards.
Think of it as raising the social standards of living or increasing the safety of the social infrastructure. Sewer systems aren't just for the wealthy now are they? Even money blinded, greedy assholes can see that disease and decadence will follow "exclusive", "private" or BROKEN sewer systems (slash) healthcare.. Ideas will still flourish in a socially founded world, business will still have it's ways and the clever, innovative, hard working citizens will have ways to live in prosperity and peace without disparity brewing up anarchy.. The capitalistic socialists will find a way...
Why shouldn't Rob enjoy a higher tier of healthcare if he wants to spend his money on it? He should, obviously. Why should he have any if others have none? Because he's lucky enough to be able to work hard? Because he's lucky enough to be smart about it? Some people are just too stupid to take care of themselves properly, they should't degrade Rob's healthcare or make his more expensive. The insurance companies should "credit" you Rob.. for being so adamant and thorough about your approach to health. Either you get more features in your healthcare package or you pay less... You get an insurance rebate or discount if you dont smoke or race motorcycles... there ya go.
Aside from the moral dilemma of healthy and sick, obese and starving etc., we need something to call a standard. Smart socialism is much better than rat picked, overly compromised, financially unsound, politically motivated leftovers of the right wing's failing grade and strict, capitalistic philosophies. Even the filthy rich wouldn't want to see a return to the days of Dickens would they... would they?
I say that the right has lost it's argument; that socialism is dangerous or un-American. The 25% of Americans who seem to think there is a going back to raw, exploration based, unregulated capitalism, need to pull their heads out of their asses instead of causing another nation cracking crisis. Why are people allowed to start uber trillion dollar, wrong wars and still screech and scream about spending money on infrastructure, education, healthcare and the future of the nation? It makes no sense to listen to war monger's "plans" for home health. We humans have reached the end of the earth's "endless" frontiers... we need now to think about what that means. All people, all together all in need and, all in all, alright.
It seems to me, after a fair amount of study, that it is "un-American" to promote war, industry and bad business in foreign nations and to use American know how, and resources, to force narrow, violent profiteering, democracy killing and misdirected agendas through, and over, legal standpoints, basic laws of humanity and nature. I didnt see any anti-war protests from the people now protesting the proposed investments in the health of the nation.
On top of it all, the health "system" is losing BIG money. That alone should spark the interest of the right. However, as we all have seen, the right isnt really the right anymore. They'd rather embarrass Pelosi than to save their country a few trillion. There is an excuse of every level and the mistake/error/poor performance quotient is through the roof. Asking the right what to do is the equivalent of asking the bankers to fix Wall St...... Traditional capitalism, the kind the right was imprinted with, died with the collapse of Wall St...
It's a new paradigm now, and calling it names, or spreading lies about it, doesnt change the fact that it is here... to stay...
I hope we shape it smartly.
