A Response

Submitted by Bob Sterling (United States), Jan 7, 2010 at 19:46

Hi Kit,

First of all I'm not quite sure how to take your opening remark. If it was meant to be an insult I wouldnt understand where the anger is coming from, but I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Concerning your arguments to my writings on the American healthcare system, I would have to say you're putting words in my mouth. I never said the United States is the only place one can choose to go to receive cancer treatment, I merely implied that one of the virtues of our current system (as it stands a the time of this writing) is competition in almost every market. As I'm sure you are well aware competition breeds a better product, and the "US of A" does by and large have the best equipment...for the price.

I will concede to your point that, on the surface, it does cost much more money here then in places such as France, where the government "pays" for the care one receives, for treatment. But remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and those French, Canadian, and British citizens are certainly paying for their care in one way or another through the tax system. In those places mentioned, you wind up in many instances paying more for heathcare over your lifetime then you would in the US, as you would be paying for treatment even when nothing is wrong.

The fact is, we actually do have a system similar to that of Europe's, but it is privatized, called health insurance. If you choose, you can pay a monthly fee for monetary support in case you need treatment. Yes, there are some problems with it, and yes, you can be denied coverage if you have any risk factors, something that should be corrected and will be in the future.

I am sorry you know people who have died because they have been refused care, but if that did indeed happen legal action should be taken unto those who refused the care. In America, if you walk in to a hospital bleeding profusely, and you will most certainly die if you are not taken care of, it is criminal to not save that persons life, even if they don't have insurance. One of my close friends, who does not have health insurance, came perilously close to dying last year from a severe allergic reaction, she was rushed to the hospital and received treatment that saved her life. Although the bill was expensive, it did not cripple this family (who is quite poor by our standards) and the hospital set them up on a payment plan, in order to help them. I am also well aware of people in Canada, the UK, and France who have died waiting on the waiting list to be treated, or have been flat out refused treatment because it wouldn't be cost-effective enough. And certainly the world knows about the UK and Canada's congested socialized healthcare systems, where they literally do not have enough beds in hospitals for everyone who is sick.

About the economy, check the date on my original post, it was written more than two years ago and yes, our economy has taken a downturn since then. A recession has hit, but our economy is still the wealthiest,and most important, in the world, as banks worldwide back their currency with the dollar. If our economy was to fail completely right now, the entire globe would reap massive losses as well. Another fun fact, even in a recession, our unemployment percentage is lower than that of France.

Your argument about protesting and Americans not being able to change their government is just baffling to me. We are able to elect our own representatives. If the American people want change and the government doesn't deliver, we simply elect others to office which will enact that change. I am unaware of protesters being arrested for simply protesting...if they were doing something illegal like trespassing on private property or inciting and perpetrating violence, that is another issue all together. Our constitution protects the right to free speech, anything we want to say is protected and this will be upheld in any court of law. So please, refer me to a recent event where peaceful protesters were arrested and put in jail.

It is perfectly within your right to decide you like the French system better, but what you argued about the American government never listening to it's people and throwing them in prison is flat out wrong and an egregious thing to state. All governments keep secrets from their people, but the American republic is simply not the government the Nazis took over in Germany, and linking the two is irresponsible.

-Bob

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