If you are one of the super-rich and have given in to the various stereotypes, you probably don’t know it is broken. If you are one of the 46 million Americans who are uninsured, you know it is broken. If you are one of the god-knows-how-many others who are under-insured, you know it is broken. Continue reading
I have chosen this evening to talk about health care in this country. It is a shame indeed that an endeavor so deeply rooted in the most fundamentally decent human instinct, the effort to alleviate suffering, should have deteriorated into a mechanism for the creation of wealth. That the wealth created accrues to only the very few could be excused if at the same time the citizens of this country could count on the most efficient and best medical care available. Sadly, very few commentators make such a claim. As good as the treatment is for many Americans, it is surely not available to all on an equal basis, and its costs are close to twice what Canada spends on a per capita basis. That such good treatment, where it exists, comes attached to an impenetrable bureaucracy of private health insurance companies simply underscores the critical nature of our situation. Continue reading
Back in the 1980’s some of us were driven to political activity. We were children of the ‘˜60’s, had marched against the war in Vietnam, cheered deliriously at the removal of Richard Nixon, and sunk into a deep depression through Ford and Carter. Once you learn that there is serious evil in the world, and that it can reside in the hearts of your very own elected leaders, you are scarred forever. Continue reading