Coffee

I think you're talking about "cost" and I'm talking about "care". Agreed, free healthcare would be nice, but we're talking about my body so I'll pay more to have it done right. The doctors, nurses, and hospitals are private for profit companies and we have the best of all three right here in the US. Don't criticize the doc for being rich. He's earned it.

PS I drink cheap coffee but not cheap beer.... life is too short.

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Originally Posted by matt4x4

Jeffski - I really don't feel we're getting a raw deal here, going to the emergency with whatever issues you have and walking out fixed up isn't a raw deal - a raw deal is when you pay taxes walk out fixed up and have a 30,000 bill in your pocket for an hour's time.
It's very telling that many Canadians, when they have a very serious condition and can afford to pay their own bills, seek treatment in the U.S. It's not so much that they get better care here (though that is sometimes the case), but that the health care rationing that's the inevitable result of a socialized medicine system creates long waiting times for many treatments. I imagine that it's pretty rare that someone dies awaiting treatment, but people certainly suffer with some conditions longer than they would like. Elective surgeries such as joint replacement apparently have the longest waiting times.

Outside of that, I'm not sure what you feel is "healthcare" in the US because I really don't think you have ANY (unless you're given some nice coverage through benefits or pay for your own coverage).
About 85% of Americans have private health insurance; almost all of those through their employer or a group insurer that covers the self employed. The vast majority of those have very, very good coverage that covers a greater percentage of the cost than the Candadian socialized system (80+% vs. about 70%). The 15% of Americans without private insurance are mostly covered by Medicaid. There are some who have no coverage at all, but it's a pretty small number and most of those are the relatively young and healthy (all the elderly are covered by Medicare).

We might br misinterpreting the word i used - whatever, but all I was referring to was basic "free" healthcare that comes with living in a country - like the paved roads we take for granted......when a broken arm costs you thousands and 25+% of your hard earned income goes to taxes, I think you're being taken.

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I'm not passing judgement on which system is better. While we, without question, have available here in the U.S. the very best health care in the world, we pay dearly for that; some 15+ % of the U.S. GDP goes for health care while that figure is at or less than 10% in the rest of the G7. We also do have a small but significant percentge of people with no health insurance or health care welfare benefits. In contrast, socialiazed systems take care of everyone but deliver fewer services by rationing care. Pick your poison.

For anyone who thinks Cuba is even in this game, check out who treated him when he fell seriously ill. It was not the vaunted Cuban health care system.

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Originally Posted by matt4x4

I'm not saying Castro's great, I doubt his reign will be prolonged - mainly because his ailing health can't really be reversed, and if/when he passes on, it won't be kept a secret for long. Likely, his successor, whoever it will end up being, will better the country's economic state through abandoning communism, however, I feel strongly that at this point in time, the country will be taken advantage of by mightier powers who have been waiting to get their hands on every little bit of potential profitability and take it with reckless abandon.

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His reign has already been prolonged. Mostly by the Soviets who propped him up for most of 40 years but also by those who do business with the despicable excuxe for a human being that is Castro. The dollars (and Euros and pesos, etc) that he gets through tourism and through the export of sugar, rum, and cigars enable him to continue to hold on and may allow Raoul to keep it going for years longer. This is true whether you buy your cigars in Canada or Cuba.

What you call being taken advantage of I call investment. When the communists do fall, capital will be the cure for what ails Cuba. As it doesn't exist in bankrupt Cuba, that capital will come from foreign investors. That will lead to economic growth and economic and political freedom for the people. I don't see the downside.

Taboo Topics:

Religion
Politics
now... Coffee? Thanks CarlD!

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Originally Posted by Poolsean

Taboo Topics:

Religion
Politics
now... Coffee? Thanks CarlD!

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You forgot healthcare! ;)

LOL...
oh yeah, forgot that one. Good catch Evan.

See what you guys started?? lol.