You know one thing that has always been true about the Bush Administration is it always keeps its priorities straight. With the war in Iraq going very badly, the economy heading into recession, the health care system in shambles and many of their own officials under investigation for everything from abuse of power to consumption of prostitution, they still know who the real enemy is…
Yes that’s right. Michael Moore, who was over in Cuba filming “Sicko” his next endeavor and scathing criticism of the U.S. healthcare system, has been ordered to explain why he took 10 ailing rescue workers, allegedly sick from 9-11 clean-up, down to Cuba to experience their free socialist healthcare system for treatment.
Well isn’t it obvious what’s going on here? Michael Moore is planning to use the 10 ailing rescue workers to spark a Cuban take over of Guantanamo Bay, thus sparking international uprisings against the U.S. leading to a full blown commie revolt in all of the Americas and global oppression at the hands of evil authoritarian whack jobs like Mr. Moore. Thank God that the Bush Administration is on top of it!
Of course Moore isn’t down there to show an obvious comparison between the free socialist health care system of Cuba and the ailing pay for play U.S. system. Our system, which saddles employers with the responsibility of healthcare, is so bad now, that even die hard capitalists see it as an obstacle to free enterprise, as the costs are too heavy a burden for companies. The results are even more obvious. Sure if you’re rich, you get the best healthcare in the world. Otherwise, you get screwed. The U.S. ranks 37th in overall system performance and chances are, you or someone you know has had a horrible experience with getting a health problem fixed. My own experience could fill volumes on what a mess it all is. Not isolated experiences either, trouble almost every step of the way. Paper work that made my experiences with the IRS seem like a dream, phone calls that left me on hold for hours that literally led me in circles, talking to the same departments after being transferred 3-4 times. The kicker was getting a bill for $10,000 because the insurance company was arguing with the hospital so they decided to give me a heart attack, I guess, to recoup some of their loss and to get me to call my insurance company and complain. After the smoke cleared, I should have been treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Great system isn’t it?
* The United States spends considerable more on health care that any other industrialized country.
* The United States also spends the highest proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – on health care.
* Health insurance premiums in the United States have had double-digit rate increases for four consecutive years, five times greater than both inflation and wage increases.
* The U.S. ranked 37th out 191 member states in terms of “overall health system performance†in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2000 World Health Report.
* The U.S. has the 7th highest infant mortality rate of the 30 most industrialized countries; only Hungary, South Korea, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, and the Slovak Republic perform worse than the U.S.
* Both U.S. patients and physicians have substantial levels of dissatisfaction with the quality of the health system.
Isn’t it obvious? The diagnosis is in. Our healthcare system is terminally ill. We had better start preparing the funeral arrangements.
So when Bush goes after Michael Moore, a well known critic of his Administration’s policies, what is he really doing? Is he trying to call attention to controversial Moore’s violation of an antiquated Cuban embargo? Or is he trying to call attention away from one of his Administration’s biggest failures, the inability to stop the downhill slide of American healthcare?
Well I don’t know about you, but I’m sure glad Bush is keeping the U.S. safe from the likes of Michael Moore instead of getting to work on a solution to our dying healthcare system. Instead, Bush discussed the solution over a triple cheeseburger. But the Right loves to hate Michael Moore, many of these people have never even seen any of his films, yet they’ve been so brainwashed, so misguided, that they blindly follow this rightwing nutjob line of Moore being equated to the devil. How naïve! (I liked how he handled the whole demonizing.)
The politics of distraction work for a time, but when the system hits the fan the people start to wake up and demand change. Well put on your safety goggles, because bits and pieces of our healthcare system are about to go flying!