It's Time to Grow the Government In the Right Way...
By Thom Hartmann A...
Now that Bernie and Elizabeth Warren are both starting to pull really well, the two of them combined well ahead of Joe Biden, the knives are coming out in the media. This morning on both MSNBC and CNN, commentators were complaining about how dramatically both of them plan to increase federal spending over the next decade.Right now in the United States, federal spending is around 35% of GDP, or a bit more than a third of the economy. In Europe, across the entire European Union, federal spending is around 46% of the economy, or nearly half. The difference? In Europe, kids go to college for free; you never get a bill for healthcare, vision, or dental; you don't lose your home if you lose your job; and large numbers of people are not dying of suicide, gunshot, drug overdose, or alcoholism. Government is simply us taking care of ourselves. Americans need to figure this out...
-Thom
Comments
#2
SueN,
Have you ever lived under a government run health care System? I have, so please don't tell me how great it is, it's okay, as long as you don't get sick. Say you have a heart blockage, you put on a list to have the blockage evaluated. Some people aren't treated, some may wait as long as 2 years for treatment. Prescriptions, dental care, alternative treatments are not covered, unless you have private insurance for these. Doctors give preference to those with supplemental insurance. The system here in the USA is much nicer. If you have a problem with the health insurance company, competaive options are available. Where do you turn if there is only one provider such as medicare?
#3
Yes, all my life, and I have no complaints. And I have been very, very sick. Sure, there are waiting lists for less urgent operations, especially under conservative governments as they don't like spending money on it, but at least we can get treated, and can complain to our MP if we don't like the service we are getting. Try complaining to your health insurance CEO! Nobody gets bankrupt. Nobody gets refused treatment for financial reasons. Our outcomes are at least as good as yours, at half the price. And if people really want to, they can go private.
And I get dental cheap too.
And if you get health insurance through your employer, you can't switch insurer.
Some alternative treatments may not be covered, but nor do your insurers cover them.
And we don't have to wait for urgent operations until the health insurer OKs them. And no surprise billing. And the doctor has no incentive to perform unnecessary procedures.
I get my prescriptions free, and those who don't can buy a season ticket and then get all their prescriptions for a low set price https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/help-with-health-costs/save-money-with-a-prescription-prepayment-certificate-ppc/
#4
SueN
Thank You. There are quite a few statements you made that I could take issue with, but I'll limit my response to the statement "if you get health insurance through an employer, you can't change insurance". Here are a few ways to to change insurance. 1. Employers usually offer more than 1 health insurance option. 2. Ask you union to petition the employer for more health insurance options. 3. change employers. 4. Opt out of employer furnished insurance and buy your own......if there is only one insurance provider, i e, the government, there is no other insurance available. Plus, governments change. No one expect a liberal or conservative government to last.
#5
Sorry, I should have said you can't change your insurer. Unless, of course, as you said, you are rich enough to go elsewhere. Over here, with most treatment free and drugs cheap, we don't need further options. But people can pay for more luxurious hospital rooms or to get treated earlier for non urgent operations if they want.
I have to admit, I would be worried about the NHS if Donald Trump was our prime minister, our conservatives have already privatised a lot and your health 'insurers' are chomping at the bit to make a profit out of us after Brexit as it is. But it has survived 70 years and there would be huge resistance to any threat to it.
I can't imagine wanting my employer or a health insurer getting between me and my doctors and hospitals, etc., or having to worry about being able to afford healthcare when I was very ill.
A couple of years ago I was dying of cancer, saved only by a major operation, and it was as much as I could do to get to the bathroom, I could not have coped with dealing with insurers. And it would have bankrupted me, leaving nothing for my old age.
#6
22 years ago, at age 80, my father went to his doctor because of shortness of breath. A some tests, his heart was operating at 40% capacity. The very next day, he was hospitalized and had a quadruple bypass, without ever talking with his health care provider. He lived another 10 years. All this occurred in the USA with his private insurance. I was living in Canada at the time. I mentioned this to a friend, who at age 48 had waited 18 months for a bypass, that he still hadn't received. He said if my dad were in Canada, he would have never received the bypass because of his age.
A majority of Americans, 160 million families receive the health insurance through their employers. The system works very well here.
You have been through a lot. I'm glad you're well. There are millions of people in the USA with similar stories, who have survived, without filing for bankruptcy. I've lived under government health care, and the private health care we have in the USA, I prefer the USA type.
Best,
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