Just one of the regular people
Posted by earthling at 03:46, 03 Feb 2010The bad news it that the premier of the fine province of Newfoundland needs heart surgery, and urgently. I wish him well.
As far as these things can be funny, this politician has consistently advocated the Canadian single payer health care system. Like most of the politicians here. Also like many politicians, he is not really all that stupid, and is receiving his care in the United States.
Just one of the regular people, any reasonable person would do the same.
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Comments
23 October 2006
13 hours 34 min
Hi earthling -
It seems to me that Canada's single payer system was working pretty well until the Mulrooney administration.
Not being Canadian, that's based solely on observations from afar. NAFTA didn't work out so well for Canada either, but again that's based on observations from afar.
While the Premier of Nova Scotia can afford great health care, as can many wealthy US citizens, many down here can't. However you parse it, the US has the world's highest bureacratic cost for medical service delivery, and many people without any insurance.
There has got to be a better way - German, Japan, some other nation?
E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas
22 November 2004
4 days 9 hours
It is popular to blame detailed policies of one goverment or another. The problem with the single payer system here is that it is single payer and single manager, and the payer and manager are the same entity. The single entity controls the quality of the product.
The single payer decides which services are essential and which are not. The single payer also defines whether a service is available or not. If there is a waiting list, at what length of the list can you honestly say the service is available?
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No amount of cursing at the round earth will make it flat.
23 October 2006
13 hours 34 min
Hi earthling
It also seems to me that as the US manufacturing sector was trashed in the effort to limit trade union power, it affected Canada's economy.
Before Mulroney, were there any waiting lists at all?
The neo-con strategy here in the US has been to break it, then claim it doesn't work. Read "The Wrecking Crew".
The Bush Jr deficits were not my idea of fiscal conservativism.
Bottom line, you don't pay for a war with tax breaks for the very wealthy.
E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas
22 November 2004
4 days 9 hours
The waiting lists got longer after domestic competition was eliminated. I don't remember whether this was Mulroney, or Chretien, or someone else.
Liberals often talk as if only conservatives run the government here.
Canada made a lot of money from NAFTA, although as usual not everyone benefited equally. Some people lost.
The auto companies lost market share because they made crappy products. The auto trade unions didn't help that situation, and they still don't.
But back to the beginning ot this thread. I find it entertaining that the rationed health care is good enough for the peasants, but not for the rulers. It's the same effect as our brave leaders traveling to the Copenhagen climate conference in luxury jets and then monopolizing the limousine market there.
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No amount of cursing at the round earth will make it flat.
1 May 2004
15 hours 38 min
I remember an NBC news report during the fall of the Soviet Union on medical care. They visited a hospital for the regular citizens, and then one for the Communist Party officials. The contrast was stark.
The public hospital was in a crumbling hundred year old building. It was dirty and poorly staffed. There weren't enough beds; there weren't enough blankets; there weren't enough bandages. Much of the medical equipment was broken. It was a literal hellhole and you could see it in the hopeless faces of the patients.
The Party hospital (also technically public) was in a new high rise. There were no shortages. Everything was neat and clean. The latest Western equipment was there. It was fully staffed with attentive personnel. Furthermore, the building boasted niceties like marble floors and crystal chandeliers. It was all topped off by a gate out front, manned by guards with AK47s to keep regular people out.
Most in government place themselves above the rest of us. Socialist programs just give such self-appointed aristocrats complete control to do harm to the populace. We already suffer from collectivization through insurance. Virtually no one pays for their medical care, so the prices skyrocket out of sight while private bureaucrats get to interfere with our lives.
When someone in government plans a sacrifice, trust that it won't be theirs.
23 October 2006
13 hours 34 min
However you parse it, the "bureaucratic" expense for health care delivery in the US is the highest in the world.
If you want to compare health care delivery in the US with that in France, Germany or Japan please do... the USSR failed.
I'm tired of seeing the cans in the convenience stores begging for money for some desperately needed medical procedure.
E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas
22 November 2004
4 days 9 hours
In Germany, there are limits to the time the health care system pays to get you in shape to go back to work. For cases like heart problems and such. After this time, they let you die.
And again, I was commenting originally on the typical event of a proponent of rationed health care with waiting lists not having to wait. This has little to do with health care in other places.
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No amount of cursing at the round earth will make it flat.
12 April 2007
10 hours 17 min
I can understand that the original goal of this post was to exhibit the hipocrisy of this politician; not a direct criticism of the health care system per se.
Every human system is fallible, and perfectible.
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie