Health...care or crisis?

After having spent all of last week researching the three presidential candidate's foreign policies, analyzing their campaign rhetoric, and becoming even more frustrated with how little attention Americans actually pay to the policies themselves and the realities of the Iraq war, nuclear weapons, Russia, China and Africa to name a few, I am now drawn into the domestic sector. Concerns about health costs and the uninsured will help make this "the first presidential election that will have a good share of the campaign fought around health care," says Tommy Thompson, former secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bush. I desperately want to understand WHY so many people feel as though socialized medicine would be like Christmas for every single American and the salvation for all of our problems. To begin, it never hurts to find truth in a little humor:

Excerpt from "Stuff White People Like" -

In spite of having access to the best health insurance and fanciest hospitals, white people are passionate about the idea of socialized medicine. So much so that they have memorized statistics and examples of how for-profit medicine has destroyed the United States.

But before you can exploit this information for personal gain, it’s important that you understand why white people are so in love with free health care.

The first and most obvious reason is “they have it in Europe.” White people love all things European, this especially true of things that are unavailable in the United States (Rare Beers, Absinthe, legal marijuana, prostitution, soccer). The fact that it’s available in Canada isn’t really that impressive, but it does contribute to their willingness to threaten to move there.

These desires were only heightened in 2007 when Michael Moore released “Sicko,” a documentary that contrasts the health care industry in the United States with that of Canada, France and Cuba. As a general rule of thumb, white people are always extra passionate about issues that have been the subject of a Moore documentary. As a test, ask them about 9/11, Gun Control, or Health Care and then say “where did you get that information?” You will not be surprised at the results.

But the secret reason why all white people love socialized medicine is that they all love the idea of receiving health care without having a full-time job. This would allow them to work as a freelance designer/consultant/copywriter/photographer/blogger, open their own bookstore, stay at home with their kids, or be a part of an Internet start-up without having to worry about a benefits package. Though many of them would never follow this path, they appreciate having the option.

If you need to impress a white person, merely mention how you got hurt on a recent trip Canada/England/Sweden and though you were a foreigner you received excellent and free health care. They will be very impressed and likely tell you about how powerful drug and health care lobbies are destroying everything.

Though their passion for national health care runs deep, it is important to remember that white people are most in favor of it when they are healthy. They love the idea of everyone have equal access to the resources that will keep them alive, that is until they have to wait in line for an MRI.

This is very similar to the way that white people express their support for public schools when they don’t have children.

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Candidates:

Cover everyone?

Clinton's and Obama's plans are similar in many ways, but they disagree on at least one key point: Clinton would require all people to have insurance. Obama would only require parents to have coverage for their children.

McCain would emphasize tax credits to help purchase health coverage and not require anyone to have insurance. He says too many rules already govern insurance and are driving up costs. To reduce insurance regulations, McCain's proposal would allow consumers to shop for lower-cost insurance in any state, not just where they live — a change from most state laws.

Covering everyone. Really. The estimated cost is over 110 billion dollars...and much analysis has stated that it could be even higher. While I personally am less concerned about options under socialized medicine, I certainly fear for the availability of doctors and specialists if perhaps I am ever in a car accident and have to wait for care because the emergency room is swamped (10 times more than what it already is NOW!) Len Burman, director of the centrist Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, says McCain's plan would improve the current system because it offers low-income residents a refundable tax credit to buy insurance.

Admit it...no one in their right mind would state that they do not desire universal health care. It's the route that one takes in reaching that goal, and by adopting policies that sound attractive, convenient, "European", and have perhaps worked somewhat well in another country, does not mean that it has the ability to be adopted by the United States with risks that outweigh any possible benefits of your ability to see your doctor when you are ill.

I'm not an economic scholar, however, if as American's we do not choose to educate ourselves on the policy beneath the rhetoric of this upcoming election...and understand the realities of our world (yes, the WORLD, not just the United States) then don't expect any sympathy from me when we're still in Iraq under Clinton or Obama (because they WILL leave troops there, and would be idiot's not to---see any scholarly research such as Foreign Affairs or the Council on Foreign Relations)..... or when it's YOUR turn to wait a month just to schedule an MRI.