(no subject)

[electricland]

Ah, nothing like The Rage first thing in the morning. (Courtesy Cousin Jen.)

Comments

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I've had this argument with Republican Americans more often than I can count. It suddenly occurs to me that maybe I should change tack - rather than point out the benefits to society that come from having universal health care, perhaps I should point out that having a large percentage of the population unable to obtain affordable health care has a detrimental effect on the economy - a sick employee is an unproductive employee. Since this particular group only seems to vote with their wallets (to them, tax cuts are the be-all and end-all, and any taxation is tantamount to "wealth redistribution to undeserving people"), perhaps that argument would carry more weight.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

no kidding -- and it's not just the sick employees, it's the ones who are freaked out about getting sick. I mean, forty-six million people with a reasonable fraction of their brains stuck on "OMG what am I going to do about my health care?" have to be less productive than if they didn't have to worry.

Not only that, but single-payer health care:
- simplifies billing enormously for health care providers
- results in significantly less time lost on the part of the patient AND the biller, because there aren't these endless rounds of "I have coverage for that/no you don't/we're going to charge you more/less because you have some coverage/no coverage/a copay/etc. etc."
- is cheaper overall

Of course, the insurance companies hate the very idea of it, because where would all their lovely premiums come from?

/rant

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Oh, and it's a huge competitive advantage for Canadian companies. It also allows employer health plans to offer frills like drug and dental benefits.

[archaica.livejournal.com]

No one ever bothers to point out that one reason foreign car companies are stomping Ford and GM's asses into the dirt is because their foreign employees are covered under generous national health-care systems, which allows them to sock more cash away or into R&D, and also allows them to pay their American employees well?

[electricland.livejournal.com]

I've heard GM and Ford referred to as "pension companies that happen to turn out a few cars." Same idea...

[archaica.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yeah, I've heard that one before. It's pretty true, too - the reason they're so swamped is precisely because our government didn't go as far as others did years ago.