Universal Healthcare: What a crock of shit!

[Amy]

I really pity anyone living in one of those backwards countries without socialised healthcare systems. It's utterly inhuman, completely wrong, and totally unworkable to have a system which most harms those in greatest need of help.

Anyone who advocates privatised healthcare systems anywhere in the civilised world needs to be shot. I'm deadly serous.

I've always had treatment available on the spot to me, anywhere in the country, and this is paid for by a MINISCULE amount of the taxes I pay. Not only that but it has been available to me irrespective of my financial situation at the time. My medication is all provided to me by the state, my surgery when it has been needed was carried out promptly and at no cost, and best of all I know this standard of healthcare is available to EVERYONE in this country because of my taxes, just as I am guaranteed it when I am unemployed/etc. because of theirs.

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by Amy

I really pity anyone living in one of those backwards countries without socialised healthcare systems. It's utterly inhuman, completely wrong, and totally unworkable to have a system which most harms those in greatest need of help.

Anyone who advocates privatised healthcare systems anywhere in the civilised world needs to be shot. I'm deadly serous.

That's the spirit Amy! Civilize 'em with a Martini-Henry!!! Or an Enfield if you choose so.

[Amy]

Hehe. I do get a little overzealous when I've ben out all night drinking, but I stand by my statements.

However the NHS is a godsend to many trans individuals in this country who could never manage to fund the medical aspects of their transitioning otherwise.

[aa2239]

Originally Posted by Amy

The NHS is a godsend to many trans individuals in this country who could never manage to fund the medical aspects of their transitioning otherwise.

Ah, that's worth an extra 2 points for Universal Healthcare Systems! After all, this is a TG forum lol :D

[ARIES666]

It's ok to leave the upkeep of roads and highways, collection of garbage, etc, etc to municipal or state or federal governments...god forbid they also have universal healthcare.

[CreativeMind]

Originally Posted by ARIES666

It's ok to leave the upkeep of roads and highways, collection of garbage, etc, etc to municipal or state or federal governments...god forbid they also have universal healthcare.

Except here's the problem with your analogy, Aries -- when has the state or federal government ever handled those things both efficiently AND in a true cost-conscious manner? Where it worked in a good, clean, trouble-free manner AND it was actually economically sound? And take note of what I just said. I didn't say cost-CUTTING manner, as if I want everything to be bare bones and run completely low end, where you're trying to pinch every penny. I have no problem with throwing SOME government resources or money at the problem, in particular to help the truly, truly, truly poor. After all, that would be the humane thing to do.

But here's where I laugh at the idea of government sponsored, universal healthcare actually working: The post office.

For crying out loud, the government can't even deliver a fucking letter on time. Seriously, it can't. Forget about how long a standard postage stamp or standard package will take. That's just a total crap shoot. But even more laughable, even if I PAY for an enhanced service such as Express Mail (overnight delivery) it STILL shows up late...and even if I PAY for an enhanced service like Priority mail (guaranteed 2-3 days), it can still take as long as 10 or more days.

And think about it. Going all the way back to the Pony Express and running the clock all the way up to today, if EVER there was a government program that the American people actually came together on and said "Sure, I'm willing to see some of my tax dollars spent on establishing a good, reliable mail service. I think we ALL benefit from that" -- it's the fucking Post Office. And yet for all the BILLIONS spent on it across the decades, what did you get? A government service bogged down in rules, regulations, up and down budget cuts and continually hampered services...and in the end, shoddy service that even became a universally recognized joke.

Yet along comes something like Fed Ex as a PRIVATE business company, that says "Hey, pay us a few bucks more and we'll get your letter there overnight. Or we'll refund your money" -- and BOOM. Suddenly you've got a company that blossoms and actually DOES the job is says it will do. Why? Because unlike a Federal government operation...which supports itself with a never-ending supply of tax dollars, so it really has nothing to gain or lose by being in operation...in the case of Fed Ex it HAS to do it's job and do it reliably, otherwise it goes under.

[CreativeMind]

Oh, and to use your other analogy, don't even get me started on the concept of the Federal and State governments efficiently handling road upkeep. I'm still laughing about a story regarding a highway near me, where the government wanted to patch a quarter mile path of an interstate. For those of you not good with numbers, let me give you a visual. You ever see the running track at one of your local schools? You know, where kids go out running for gym class? Well, a quarter mile is the SAME distance as running around the track ONCE. So it's not a big distance at all.

So, the Feds and the state decide they're going to repave this stretch of road because the winter weather tore it up a bit. And they price it out and they determine it's going to cost taxpayers $250,000 and the job will take about 60 days to do. Doesn't seem too bad, right?

Well, not till the construction unions stepped in and not till State and Federal agencies wanted to tweak this and then that, etc, etc, etc...

...At which point the simple $250,000 and 60 day job ended up costing and taking,
yes, wait for it because this is government "efficiency" at it's best...

...$5 MILLION and 2 YEARS to finish.

So, as I said before, I'm down with the idea of doing "something" to help the truly, truly, truly poor in the country, so they can get some kind of health assistance. Because even on a religious Christian level, I think that's the right thing to do -- to help those in true, true, true need. On the other hand, the notion that the Federal government can step in and efficiently run a universal healthcare system for all is SO laughable to me that it actually makes me want to cry. Simply because I can't believe...given ALL the historical precedents of ANY government run program OR after looking at the results of foreign national healthcare systems....that anyone would actually think a Federal bureaucracy can run ANYTHING right.

[randolph]

This is like comparing apples and oranges. The post office delivers millions of letters to anywhere every day. FedEx delivers packages in far fewer numbers and is wildly innefficient. A package sent from San Diego to Los Angeles is flown to Atlanta and back to LA, this is nuts from an energy standpoint. Granted the Post office is innefficient but it keeps a lot of people employed at good salaries, isnt that the American way?