Posted on 07/05/2002 6:25:02 AM PDT by SheLion
No, it says it all about you. The beauty of a democratic, capitalist system is that problems are approached with an eye to finding what works. In totalitarian systems it's ideolgy regnant. Somewhere you got turned around.
If you're really involved in health care and are over a certain age, remember how (relatively) cheap health care was before the gub'mint got involved?
That's the very question I asked our administrator...because, during the '50s, our hospital was profitable and delivered a full range of medical services. Her reply was, "In the old days you didn't have to be a specialist to help deliver anesthetics (or other services) and there were no really expensive machines to deliver accurate diagnoses. No one wants to go back to the old days." My reply was "What good is the new stuff if no one can afford it?" That's where we stand now.
Nice generalization there, girlie.
Louis Armstrong
Desi Arnaz
Lucille Ball
"Count" Basie
Humphrey Bogart
Yul Brynner
Nat "King" Cole
Noel Coward
Bette Davis
Sammy Davis Jr.
Walt Disney
T.S. Elliot
Duke Ellington
Albert Einstein
Ian Fleming
Errol Flynn
Sigmund Freud
Clark Gable
Betty Grable
Michael Landon
Steve McQueen
Robert Mitchum
Robert Shaw
Frank Sinatra
Spencer Tracy
Lana Turner
Now some of these people died prematurely, some lived normal life spans and some lived to ripe old age. All smokers and not a moron among them... Well maybe Betty Grable, but she cops a pass 'cause she had a nice butt.
See the article on "Berkeley bans PC coffee" elsewhere on FR
So when did you graduate from "Debating for 1st-Graders 101"?
Let me see here: I'm all for a capitalist free market system with no gub'mint involvement; you're singing the praises of the biggest totalitarian system in the Western hemisphere and your conclusion is that I'm turned around?
BWAHAHAHAHA!
Nice try, old bean.
My reply was "What good is the new stuff if no one can afford it?"
And yet you believe that Cuba, a country that can't feed its own people, can't supply jobs and has no free market, can afford all this modern technology? You're bullsh!tt!n' yourself, Larry.
That is exaclty the way the nanny-staters think.
Nor did I hold up the Cuban health care system as something to be emulated....although I might in the future as I find out more about it.
As I said, I think a new approach is called for if we are to provide health care to most people...as we did in the '50s and '60s. I'm doing what I think any reasonable person would do; exploring. I question doctors. Who else would you expect to be informed? Several of them told me of Cuba's system. I'm interested. Why shouldn't I be?
We have a dispute on the facts. I don't think you're right about the statistics. But let me point out that we could still have a terrible obesity problem even though the majority was fine. My european friends tell me they see this country as one of extremes - people who look like Gods and others who resemble barnyard animals with not much of a middle.
Your other posit was that our health system is collapsing. Again BS, if we're living longer the health system must be doing OK. Actually if one accepts your first posit when you combine that with the fact that we're living longer it completely disproves your second posit. How could a nation have an obesity problem and be living longer unless the health system kicked ass?
A most interesting argument.
My inclination is to simply reply with the facts: We do have an obesity problem. We do have a health system collapse. We are living longer. You figure out what's wrong with your argument.
But I'll try to do better. To some extent we are living on accumulated capital; As I stated previously longevity is determined by lots of things. We are much less victims of childhood and infectious diseases. Of malnutrition due to poverty. Our health care system is still quite effective and is much better - when you have access to it - than what was available even 40 years ago. Obesity is a relatively recent problem - I believe it didn't become apparant until about 20 years ago (It's hard to remember exactly).
Course you don't. Ends justify the means right. Whats the big deal over couple hundred thousand political prisoners, no freedoms whtsoever and brutual dictatorships when this "model" healthcare system is involved! I guess whatever rock of a medical school you graduated out from under no longer requires any sort of ethical seminars huh.
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