my bid for universal healthcare

Universal healthcare is an issue that is hotly debated in the USA. Michael Moore's film "Sicko" highlighted how common it was to have a disease and not be able to afford the medication. It's a harsh reality. Medicine costs a lot of money.

The most common argument against Universal Healthcare is that it will cost so much in taxes and it will be over used. It will result in long waiting lists and people with life threatening illnesses will die waiting for treatment.

I live in a system where healthcare is "universal". I also live in a system that has health insurance. The idea of the system is this: people who can afford to have health care coverage do and those who can't allow the government to pay for it. You might at first think that the people at the bottom get all the benefits, while those at the top pay for them, but it isn't entirely the case. Those with insurance are admitted into private hospitals or clinics that have a much shorter waiting list. Those who have the free benefits have a much longer waiting list. Their position on that list is entirely related to how desperate their need is. If they have a life threatening condition, they are bumped to the front of the queue. If it is painful but not life threatening, they may have a while to wait unless they have private healthcare.

For those who have insurance the benefits are not simply that they have a shorter waiting period, but that their health providers are encouraged to pay. If the insurance companies don't pay for things, their customers would likely drop health cover and go back to the government supported system. The government doesn't want this to happen because it is already a crowded system. Plus, the insurance companies don't want to lose clients. All this leads to insurance companies paying for what they advertise they will pay for.

While our government supported healthcare is still overcrowded, I feel that this is the most socially conscious system I've seen. It supports those who by a variety of means can not support themselves, and still rewards and encourages those who can. I sincerely hope that this becomes part of the American way of life in the future.

Gasp!

I read an article today that had me fascinated. For quite some time the US government has been criticised for its spending on the war. While i tend to criticise the war in general, i had generally chalked up the expense of the war as the price of modern warfare. Turns out, it is more than that.

According to the independent watchdog, Project on Government Oversight, the government spending has spun out of control, leaving massive areas vulnerable to fraud and corruption. Where an auditor used to be assigned for every 642 million spent, they are now assigned to every 2 billion spent. There is less accountability for the money spent.

I am now officially against USA government spending without accountability. And DEFINITELY against the way they are spending on the war.

top 5 things i wish candidates would worry about

5.New business - i would love to see the government put some real muscle behind getting mobile innovation on the move. Either some mass public transport systems or new ways to travel independently.

4. Global warming - its time the EPA (enviormental protection agency) started actually working to protect the environment.

3.Personal freedom - trust needs to be given back to the public. Their rights to privacy need to be respected and restored.

2.foreign policy - better diplomacy with foreign countries. no more: "USA way or no way".

1.Torture - zero tolerance policy on torture. If we have to torture people to "keep us safe" than we aren't really even safe from ourselves.

Please mind the gap

So I've finally decided that its worth keeping track of shooting. US shootings seem to have become all the rage over the last few years. It feels that almost every week another story hits front page news about someone opening fire in public places. So I've created a blog where I'll be tracking each shooting i find on a front page of a news source. If i miss one, feel free to send me an email and we'll add it to the running sheet.

I've made mention before about my belief that these shootings are signs of a widening gap between the common person and those with authority in the USA. I believe that as this gap widens the violence is going to continue and get worse. In other places this discontent might lead to protests or strikes, but the individual culture that has been cultivated for years in the USA means that there are few outlets for angst at the whole social order. This strong individual culture has never been seen before in history. It is a cause of discussion among some as to whether this will lead to a falling apart of the social order or whether it will force a sort of anti-culture that brings people together...or it may do something completely different.

No matter what, i hope this blog brings to the forefront the need for something to be done in the USA about gun control, about poverty, and about the widening social gap.

Challenging authority

In recent news I've been relieved that the US has had their wrist slapped by the Italian Judge who indited 26 American in kidnapping charges. This is not to say that i want the US to fail miserably in their war against a concept, but it is time the international community started taking care of their citizens...and It is nice to know, every now and again, that the USA does have to answer for its actions.

It is discouraging however that the inmates in Gitmo have had more rights taken away from them. It seems that with the more international pressure there is for those inmates to be tried, the less rights they are given and the more their trials are delayed. What does this signal for the morality of the governments who allowed their citizens to be taken? What about the governments who keep other's citizens locked up without trial?

Every country would like to believe that they are doing the right thing. Every citizen likes to believe the best of the country in which they live. Yet fear is creeping in. No one speaks out without fear of what will happen to them. There is no more moral superiority. My fear is that by the end of this war everyone will have blood on their hands.

Democracy in action

I was listening to a speech the other day about democracy by an american politician. He was saying how important it was for the world to have democracy because it was so important for people to rule themselves. He used the USA as an example of democracy in action. I almost choked on my pen.


Since when is the usa democractic? Has anyone ever stopped to wonder why the average citizen doesn't actually vote for his or her president? In case your unfamiliar with the way the voting system works in the USA, it is done by electoral college. It was originally set up because the ruling class did not believe that the lower classes could be trusted to vote for the 'right' person. The electoral college says areas get a certain number of representatives to vote for them. These representatives have NO legally biding contract to vote the same way the people voted. They are just supposed to do it. It is an honour system in politics. (anyone else a little nervous about honour and politics being in the same sentence?)

To give a more practical example, if there are are 6,000,000 people in a state, they might get 3 representatives to vote in the presidental election. The public votes on the representative and the represetative who is voted in goes and votes for the president. So in a community that might be very narrowly split between republican and democrat, if the democrats barely out vote the republicans, the entire republican voting community is unrepresented! Is that fair? Is that the people being ruled by the people? no. it isn't necessarily even the people being ruled by the majority. It is simply the people being swindled by a system that doesn't think its citizens smart enough to vote for themselves!