Yesterday the American president stood before congress and held a speech that was among his worst ever. Reading and watching European media one immediately realized that hardly anyone actually watched it. The whole smoke- and mirror speech can be found on YouTube, maybe our journalists should go watch it before they report? (New York Times transcript of the speech)
The president avoided making concrete commitments on some of the most contentious issues, reflecting a guiding principle of his legislative strategy: to put off the most controversial decisions until the very last moment. This is something that has been one of Obama’s betrayals of his voters since he promised that not only would every bill be fully visible on the net long before any votes been casted, everyone were to get lots of time to debate and read through every legislation. Instead the complete opposite has happen. A couple of the most controversial and important bills ever past in the US congress have not been available until the very last second, apparently the president will do the same with his health-care reform. I wonder how many parliaments and governing bodies around the world that would accept that?
One congressman, Joe Wilson from South Carolina, shouted “you lie” during Obama’s speech, which I find very mellow and kind of him. Not only is the president lying over and over again, he is willfully destroying the economy, wasting tax money by the trillions and have already indebted every child and grandchild in America for the rest of their lives. Without a doubt this Obamination is the worst president in American history, and that one can say today not even a year into his presidency.
Before the speech, a poll conducted by Associated Press and GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media found that just 42% of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling healthcare, while 52% disapprove. His approval rating is going to continue downwards since he is lying, not taking a clear stand and continues to refuse to outline the details.
The chamber, which initially backed efforts to reshape the nation's healthcare system, has become a leading critic of bills being advanced by congressional Democrats, running ads in 21 states opposing the plans.
In Europe, where all countries have some sort of universal coverage in regards to healthcare, the discussion becomes a bit strange. Firstly the media and lefties want us to believe that those 45 million or so uninsured US citizens are dying on the streets, which is just ridiculous. Out of those uninsured many don’t want it, they can pay, but don’t want to or need to. And it’s not that they don’t get public founded help when really needed, they do. So any scary exceptions and those few people that have fallen between the cracks are hardly a reason to change things for those 300 million people that is very happy with their healthcare.
Looking at Europe we have waiting lines, some countries cannot, or will not, perform certain operations, and the same scary examples can be found over here with grandmas dying waiting for the doctor or people not getting the right diagnose. I have myself several examples how horribly the Swedish and UK system works. No system is perfect in this regard, but if I haft to choose between being sick and injured in Sweden/UK or in the US, I would chose US 10 times out of 10.
We have been fed lies in Europe and the horrid president is trying to sell the same lies to the American people. The tax- and healthcare revolt will continue and hopefully people will take to arms before it’s too late.
The waiting list in UK is on average 8.6 weeks, not a lot. Also, UK beats US healthcare in many ways.
ReplyDeleteHealthcare compared
Health spending as a share of GDP
US 16%
UK 8.4%
Public spending on healthcare (% of total spending on healthcare)
US 45%
UK 82%
Health spending per head
US $7,290
UK $2,992
Practising physicians (per 1,000 people)
US 2.4
UK 2.5
Nurses (per 1,000 people)
US 10.6
UK 10.0
Acute care hospital beds (per 1,000 people)
US 2.7
UK 2.6
Life expectancy:
US 78
UK 80
Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)
US 6.7
UK 4.8
Source: WHO/OECD Health Data 2009
Dude what are you talking about. Have you lived in europe and experienced our healtcare? If i got cancer in Sweden the state will provide me the best healtcare there is for free. What would happen to me in USA if that happened?
ReplyDeletePeople does die in the streets in USA. Dont lie to your self.
Free healtcare is a fundumental right in a democratic state.
Your govarment take your tax dollars for waging wars in other coutries far away to keep you "safe" from evil doers. Why cant same money go to keep you healthy? This is a mistury...
None of these numbers claims that UK healthcare is actually better; I would actually argue the opposite (with maybe the exception of Infant mortality). In other words, thank you for proving me right, although I suspect that a deeper check will change those numbers quite dramatically. For instans 8,5 weeks? That’s close to 2 months, which is horribly long. But the numbers I have seen before was much longer. I know of one lady that has waiting close to 1,5 years for her knee surgery, and as far as I can tell that is normal waiting time for many of those sorts of operations.
ReplyDeleteBut for me the experience for myself and those people I know tells the real story, no matter what any statistic show. Hospitals in the UK are often run-down places, badly constructed and the service level is even worse than in Sweden, which is a horrible place. The best and most professional healthcare I have encountered was in Estonia, which was a private clinic, granted, but still.
The question you need to ask yourself, if you have testicular cancer or need a hip-operation, would you rather have in the US or the UK? For me the answer is self-evident.
I’m Swedish, have lived in 4 different countries (live in the UK now) and experienced healthcare in many more. Also, I rely on my own investigations and what people I know say, not what media or any officials claim. In Sweden you are right, that would happen, the tax payers would pick up the tab, mostly. But how fast do you get healthcare? What is the service level? Are there any alternative choices for your care? And the best healthcare there is? Pfffff… get out in the world dude. The only place I have ever been with worse care and lower professional level than Sweden is the UK. If I got to chose between getting healthcare among Europe’s countries, Sweden is not even on my top ten list.
ReplyDeleteIn the US you would get faster, better and much more professional care than you get in Sweden. As long as you are insured. If not, it will take longer time and less professional, but you would still get it.
People do not die on the street in masses because of lack of healthcare, that’s a lie. Of course you can find such examples, but so you can in Sweden or any other country.
And there is no such thing as “free healthcare” either you pay for it directly, or you pay taxes and get care for a higher cost. And that’s not a “right”, that’s a socialist claim that holds no real righteous to it. And the US is not a democracy, it’s a republic.
Finally you have a point. The US spend way to much money to police the world and wage unjust wars, such is the way of the enemy class. And I need to admit, with a choice between government healthcares or to out the money on wars, I would choice the first option. However, that’s beside the point.
US spend 16% of the GNP on healthcare, which is double amount relative to other countries in OECD. Is that effective healthcare or not? 46 000 000 americans without insurance have worse healthcare than OECD countrys. Is that good or bad? Is this a healthcare to strive for? Most of the Americans dont think so, since they agree with Obama.
ReplyDeleteIts really no use debating about things like this with the likes of you because you always think you are smarter than anyone else, but i am going to let you in on a little secret; you are not. Hiding behind a computer screen and writing about something that you probably don't have a clue about only makes you look even more pathetic.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 1:
ReplyDeleteHow much a single country spent on healthcare is totally beside the point, even if your number is correct, which it’s not. What care you get for the money is. But yes, the healthcare system in the US is way too costly seen to the amount of actual “care” coming out of that percentage, mainly because of liability and lawsuits. Two other reasons for the high cost is government involvement in pricing and the fact that a majority of hospitals is publicly owned. Other minor issues that affect the total cost is a higher level of cosmetic surgery and the fact that we count differently in different countries.
Those without insurance aren’t necessarily without care. For instance the riches people in America seldom have insurance, and there are several public programs taking care of those without. But in comparison with those that do have health insurance the level is often lower, that’s what you get from public care.
And most Americans don’t agree with Obama on this issue. There isn’t a single poll showing that. All surveys show the complete opposite. So what are you referring to?
Anonymous 2:
True, I do know I’m smarter than most people. I do know more than most others and I tend to search for real facts, and not listen to mainstream pundits. Although my IQ is just a bit over the average, it’s not my intellect that makes me smarter; it’s because I find out things for myself and am able to put one and two together.
Almost all people are capable of doing the same, they don’t though, which is why they remain being idiots.
I don’t really hide, if I did, I would just shut up and never complain about anything. Things I do talk about I normally have a basic knowledge of from the start, but mostly I gather facts and come to a conclusion that I present. If you can prove me wrong, please do, one can always learn something new.
apocalypse nowish,
ReplyDeleteI have been at a clinic with "professional" service when I used to live in the Baltics. I had an expensive insurance. I got a throat infection so I went to this expensive clinic called "Baltic American Clinic" where all CEO, CFO, CTO's go to. They were very friendly to the point it was ridiculous. They gave me a syringe in the ass and gave me pills. I told the doc that my nose i blocked at night. she instantly had my skull and nose x-rayed and came to the conclusion that my nose channels where fucked up and need surgery NOW. I got pretty scared and came back to Stockholm and showed the x-rays to friend of mine who is a doctor. He looked at them, looked in my nose and said "What the problem? you want a plastic surgery to have a smaller pretty nose?". The was nothing wrong with me besides one nose channel was a bit bent. Very normal and surgery seldom helps.
Is the "good" service you talk about that you lack in Europe?
Imagine they wanted to cut me up for nothing because I had an expensive insurance. This would never happen in government controlled health care.
I wonder what searching for real "facts" means to you? Is it reading other republican blogs, searching the internet which is filled conspiracy theories, or do you talk to unbiased people that have knowledge within this field?
ReplyDeleteBecause it seems that you are just taking the things out of context and forming your own theories.
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteThat sort of thing you mention is better than the alternative with government healthcare doing nothing or close to nothing. Better being pampered and taken care of into the absurd rather than the opposite. But you find extreme examples like that everywhere, in all systems, also in public ones.
Let me tell you a couple of stories how I have been treated in Sweden. Once upon a time I slashed my hand, put it through a window (don’t ask me how…) got 11 stitches that were supposed to come out after a week or two. So when a week had passed I went to a clinic in town to have them removed, they couldn’t do that. I asked why, they said I lived closer to another one… So I went to that clinic, and they said no, I needed to make an appointment, phone hours only 8-9am on Tuesdays. How about that? Thankfully I found a private clinic that had those stitches removed within 5min, also paid for with public funds, but privately owned.
Another time I got to the ER after a large fight at a local pub, bleeding, headache (concussion), a broken rib and pain in my stomached (and yes, I sort of lost this fight, 3 against 1, idiots...). Anyway, I was, with the exception for an old lady, the only one there. The lady in question, as it turned out, had also broken ribs and was crying because of the pain. Both of us waiting for 30min before a nurse first saw us, then an additional 2hours before we got a room. Not until 7 hours later, just after breakfast I got out of there. This was a large hospital, and we were the only 2 there at that ER. ER, can you imagine any American waiting that long? Not a chance, not even without insurance at the worst hospital in the entire continent would that happen.
I have lots of similar stories, and so have many of my friends and relatives. And so, I guess you have as well…
CB
ReplyDeleteI’m not a republican, not even close. I do regard republicans as slightly less stupid then democrats, but that’s a thin grey hair in-between.
A fact-finders mission is to consider several sources. I usually check blogs yes, I also visit, on the topic of healthcare, independent investigators and different institutes handling such or similar issues. But mainly, I do admit, I look at public records, official reports and what the government actually claims. However, in doing so I also look through and between the numbers, often the real fact is there, just not in plain sight. All in all you get decently close the actual truth.
In other words, I pick out those things we are not being told, or are ignored, I compare that with what independent sources say and I form my own conclusions. This dosent always has to be 100%, but it is very rarely so that anyone presents an alternative that is better than mine.
Healthcare is not really my main interest or a part of my expertise, and I do admit, my stance is more often from an ideological rather than actual viewpoint. Consequently, it is possible that I may write one or two wrongs, and this is a blog, I don’t claim to be an investigating journalist. Although I would argue that there are very few journalist doing a better job, most of those do nothing. However, so far, not a single soul have written any comments on this blog, in any newspaper or shown any form of “truth” that isn’t based on the same facts and the same conclusion as mine. But, as said, please try. Keeps me on my toes and one can always learn something new.
"And the US is not a democracy, it’s a republic."
ReplyDeleteWow..
what? If you don't understand the difference, google it.
ReplyDelete