Well, the French obviously ARE better than us at being French. At least they are better at it than most of us, with exception of the likes of Kerry.
Hello! Has the author taken a look at France lately?
Hey, Paul, remind us of how many elderly and infirm people died from heat stroke last summer in France while their children and relatives refused to interrupt their beach vacations...
And isn't 'Krugman' a Jewish name? Remind us, Paul, of how much the French love the Jews and Israel...
Krugman's moronic drivel makes Maureen Dowd drunken rants look reasonable and level-headed by comparison.
I won't read the whole article (no need I know what he is going to say).
He is still trying to convince us that Reagan was wrong, and the US economy went into tail-spin ever since 1980.
Basically Paul Krugman failed to join the 21st century, and he is really p.o. about it.
Health care??? Is Krugslug nuts? They cant even keep their elderly alive during heatwaves in France. This guy is a loser. He needs to just walk out into midtown Manhattan and burn the flag and be done with it. Ya know he wants to.
We know the French are famous for their water conservation by not bathing.
He's an idiot.
This will go over well with those who don't know better.
Mr Krugman, why do we raffle off Green Cards for the French? Is it because there are so few trying to escape this "different" more "cultured" nation?
If you give a Frenchman or German more money they'll spend it. They want wealth just like we do. In fact, most "Europeans" if they have a nickel more than their neighbor, they will let him know. Fact is, they are that bad off. There are real poor people there, even slums- if you want I can tell you where to look Mr. Krugman.
Do you want to use the managed health care of Italy, Spain, Greece or as examples for your comparison? Unfair? Oh wait, you only want to use those nations that fit into your picture? OK, Mr. Krugam I suggest you look into Great Britain and what happened to people over the age of 50 when they needed kidney dialysis. ALL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD RATION HEALTH CARE. No one can afford everything for everyone. As a socialist, you can't understand economics, but even if you ignore the principals, they are still at work, as was/is the case in Russia or everywhere else.
Fact is, if you look into the healthcare system in Germany you realize it’s not free. In fact they pay something over 14% of their pay (Pre-tax), but still have deductibles, have to partially pay for prescriptions, and the coverage don’t include many procedures that one should have or may require but are just not defined as essential. Go into a German hospital in an average county somewhere Mr. Krugman! Instead of talking, go check it out! You’ll discover a hospital that uses reusable IV glass bottles! Equipment that is antiquated, nurses that are not even LPNs (No RN’s), large numbers of people rammed into one room. You’ll see people who have limited recourse if malpractice is truly the case.
Mr. Krugman, do you think it is mere coincidence that the US is a leader in pharma and procedures in a wide array of medicine? Could it be that the “evil” money factor is causing that? Can it be that “money” motivates people? Do you work for free?
Another question. Why do people like the former King of Jordan come to the US for Cancer treatment. Where would you rather go for treatment if diagnosed with cancer?
No, don’t try to BS us and tell us they have some miracle system that is “free”, gives all equal quality care (Even the Germans have “Privatpazienten”), and on par with ours. They basically have a huge mediocre HMO at national level, no more.
Red6
IMHO, most died because their kids were on vacation and couldn't even be bothered to take care of their own parents' corpses.
"values"? I do not think that word means what you think it means.
How can they be any good at health care when dozens die in any sudden heat waves. Ridiculous!
We're just not nearly as resolute as they are about that. We cave right in and take showers. We even use soap. Daily, even.
Kudos to the French for withstanding that smell the way they do.
Here's my take...the social welfare states of Scandinavia are based on some sort of national collective principle, i.e. they believe in a centralized social service engine and they're willing to pay for it.
But France and Germany are just operating on a money-for-nothing political scam. Not to mention their short work weeks (32 hrs in France?) and long vacations.
Ask anyone who works at a startup or small business, and more than likely they work twice that. Combine that with America's willingness to import talent from Asia and Europe and you have the basis of the United States' tremendous innovation. In electronics, medicine, military technology, and on and on.
My fear about France and Germany isn't that they don't have good people - they do - but that they lead a vanguard of a Europe that doesn't want to pay the price for having a sound society. Instead they pat themselves on the back for their 'socially conscious' policies and break out the brie and bier.