What do you expect? By destroying manufacturing and shipping good jobs overseas that had benefits, millions lost their health insurance. As has been noted on this forum, Private insurance cost a fortune and as soon as you are ill the insurer jacks up your rates or drops you altogether. Millions of Americans will support national health care...including the unemployed, the underemployed, retirees from Delta and retirees from the big three -who either have lost retiree health care benefits or about to lose such benefits.
You talk about how long it takes to get a procedure in Europe...well my uncle could not get a heart operation at all in Ireland as he was above 60 so I know this is true and worse than you know. What is equally true is if he lived in the US and had no insurance, he would not get such an operation either...unless he was dirt poor and eligible for Medicaid...the uninsured millions are not eligible for Medicaid. If people can’t get what they need no matter what they do to better themselves-feel hopeless...they will turn to the government.
Those of you who bought foreign cars and a variety of foreign goods contributed to this problem...there is no free lunch. One of life’s great ironies is that free trade-a mostly conservative principle (yes, I know Clinton signed NAFTA, but it is more associated with Repubs. than Dems.) destroyed the jobs which stood between us and socialism...conservatives planted the seed of their own destruction.
Bronxboy, I get the feeling you and I agree on some things and disagree on others. I believe you are correct that the energy behind health care reform is the loss of American manufacturing jobs. I sense we disagree on why those jobs were lost in the first place and we may disagree why health care is so expensive today, and will be more expensive tomorrow.
America hasn't lost jobs because of NAFTA or other trade agreements. America has lost jobs because of over burdensome government regulations, high energy costs, powerful unions and their lobby in congress and automation. But, really that is a argument for another day and thread.
Health care, on the other hand, has an entirely different set of reasons in addition to some of the ones listed above. Tort reform is desperately needed to protect hospitals and doctors from blood sucking ambulance chasers. Greater incentive, not less needs to be given to people who purchase benefits themselves and to companies who provide it for their employees. And lastly, Obama is right in tackling the industries unwillingness to computerize and streamline it's records and billing abilities. I'm not sure I'll like what Barry comes up with, but anything will be better that what's happening today, which is nothing.