Overcoming the propaganda is a huge challenge in itself, one Robamacare has only exacerbated.
Joel Send a noteboard - 05/04/2012 05:08:51 PM
It did far too little at far too high a cost - even if you only look at the financial cost. The political cost was even higher. I'm really not sure it's at all possible to pull a few switches and go from the American health care system to a socialized one - even if you think the US would indeed be better off with a socialized health care system. As you note, it's an absurd percentage of GDP - how do you even start completely turning 22% of your GDP upside down without going through extremely painful and costly transitions?
The sad part, and the thing a huge amount of Americans need to get through their heads once and for all, is that their health care system is so immensely expensive that, even though most of it is paid for by private expenditure, the public expenditure as a percentage of GDP is still higher than it is in many countries with socialized health care. As in, they are actually paying more taxes for health care than all those socialists with socialized health care - and then of course they are paying fortunes in private expenditure on top of that. But just realizing that isn't going to make it go away - because like I said, this is not the kind of thing you can change easily, or perhaps even at all. The systems in Europe and Canada grew over time; building them up from scratch in a mature western economy would be something else entirely.
The sad part, and the thing a huge amount of Americans need to get through their heads once and for all, is that their health care system is so immensely expensive that, even though most of it is paid for by private expenditure, the public expenditure as a percentage of GDP is still higher than it is in many countries with socialized health care. As in, they are actually paying more taxes for health care than all those socialists with socialized health care - and then of course they are paying fortunes in private expenditure on top of that. But just realizing that isn't going to make it go away - because like I said, this is not the kind of thing you can change easily, or perhaps even at all. The systems in Europe and Canada grew over time; building them up from scratch in a mature western economy would be something else entirely.
Until we are all working for insurance companies I am not sure most Americans will ever stop believing our system is superior in every way (including costs) than everyone elses. Show them stats and they just start mumbling about communist UN conspiracies. Probably the only way out is for matters to simply run their course until US healthcare becomes so expensive even the upper class can no longer afford it (which, at the current rate, should not take more than a decade or two.) To be fair, the number I have been seeing on percentage of GDP is more like 16-18%, but that is still an obscene percentage nonetheless growing annually.
The most ironic commentary on this whole issue is one I saw at Electoral Vote Predictor the other day, noting Nixon was the one who first thought up requiring universal coverage, and that, when he proposed placing the mandate on employers, it was The Heritage Foundation that first suggested a mandate on the public itself. Y'know, the same Heritage Foundation now attacking the public mandate as unconstitutional.
So Romney promises to repeal the healthcare law he practically wrote, and The Heritage Foundation insists the public mandate it conceived is unconstitutional.
Like I said, overcoming the propaganda is an almost impossible task this dogs dinner of "universal healthcare" made even more difficult. Convincing the public things were bad enough to at least TRY a government fix was hard; convincing Obama and Co. to actually do the job apparently WAS impossible, so the governments always scanty public credibility is once again virtually exhausted.
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Health care reform
- 04/04/2012 07:38:50 PM
549 Views
As a supporter of a socialized health care system (obviously), I still found the bill terrible.
- 04/04/2012 07:54:04 PM
246 Views
Overcoming the propaganda is a huge challenge in itself, one Robamacare has only exacerbated.
- 05/04/2012 05:08:51 PM
320 Views
While I think a movement towards public health care in the long run would be good...
- 04/04/2012 09:11:50 PM
237 Views
The problem with cost reduction is that you need to consider the system.
- 04/04/2012 09:45:24 PM
318 Views
I want to see ObamaCare ended. There are two viable options as I see them:
- 04/04/2012 09:52:58 PM
256 Views
coming from a veterinary viewpoint, this emphasis on even having insurance is unnecessary
- 05/04/2012 01:01:27 AM
237 Views
That actually was the way medicine was practiced for the longest time
- 05/04/2012 01:23:28 AM
345 Views
it looks to me like it was more like employers trying to manipulate the program 
- 05/04/2012 01:30:19 AM
240 Views
- 05/04/2012 01:30:19 AM
240 Views
Well, I can give some thoughts on the matter (Disclaimer: Long post)
- 05/04/2012 07:18:19 PM
320 Views