| The Friday Rant |
| My plan in this section is just to rant every once in a while on a Friday afternoon when I don't feel like working. I think that I'll begin my new series of Friday rant's with my favorite pet peeve - the iniquities of America. So, where to begin is the question. America is the richest country in the world (well that's not quite true but the others that have higher GDP are inconsequential e.g. Liechtenstein). Despite this 43 million Americans don't have health insurance. The reason that is most often given for not extending some sort of universal healthcare is that it would be too expensive. There are several things to say about this assertion: - you'd be able to afford it if you didn't drop half million dollar bombs on caves - big business is what makes it so unaffordable. 20 years ago there was one drug rep for every 20 doctors. Now the number is close to one in every 8 and it's diminishing all the time. Prescriptions are inordinately expensive because these companies hold so much power. I'm sorry but a doctor should prescribe something because it is the most likely to make you better not because he better if he wants that free game of golf. There's something very wrong with that. Doctors are paid astronomical salaries compared to the rest of the world. Why is that? Well in part it is because these doctors have huge student debts. Which brings me on to another point that I'll only scratch the surface of today i.e. that you ought to go to University because you're the smartest chap that applies not because you're prepared to assume the kind of debt it takes to graduate lawschool or med school. I mean the government will get it back. College grads make 4 times as much money over their lifetime as non-college grads which means, under Bush, they'll pay at least 10% more taxes (thanks George W. way to go on that one and let's triple the national deficit in the process my good man). Anyway, I am sure that somewhere I had a point. Oh wait, I remember, the power of the corporations and the cost of being in the professions means that healthcare is much more expensive than it needs be. And don't forget this is the world's most litigous society. There are a million lawyers (well only 925,000 but you get the idea) and someone gotta pay for their personalized number plates. The whole world's gone mad. - corporations obviously don't want a single healthcare provider as they'll be the loser. As stated above, they hold an inordinate amount of power. In that book I read not so long ago about W. called Global Village Idiot the writer whose name I forget states that there is a new Cold War with the enemy being the corporations. Problem is that government and corporations are so intertwined and the division is hazy to say the least. In America, 90% of the time the candidate with the most money wins the election. And guess who donates most of the money? Yes you got it, Uncle Sam Walton. Accordingly, there's a direct conflict between doing what's right for the citizenry (who elect you) and doing what's right for the corporation (oh, wait a minute they're the ones that elect you). And campaign finance reform, give me a break. This bushwhacked country shows that might is right. George W. once said that he is living proof that a "C" grade student can be president of the US. Having a dad who was CIA director and also a President had nothing to do with it - - not to mention Katherine Harris, the US Supreme Court, Halliburton's check book, the Air National Guard purging, a drink driving record that disappeared, and the small matter of God told him he'd win. I have one of those daily tear off calendars at my desk and the subject is "the 365 stupidest things ever said." Quite aside from the fact that this is a leap year, it may interest you to know that George W. is featured like once a week. The man is single handedly the argument against Darwin. Fortunately for him, he doesn't believe in evolution in any event. The Lord created the world in 7 days and all these cross-over species that biologists are finding are part of a grand left wing conspiracy. Yeah right. - I'm sorry and call me a communist if you wish but healthcare should just not be a for-profit business. Anyone going into the profession should be seeking to make the world a better place or at the very least, to help Thelma hide her varicose veins so that Bubba will make her his fifth wife. I had a buddy whose wife was a paediatrician and on her first day at the office her boss gave her a two-seater Porsche. She has 2 kids for Christ's sake and a perfectably good SUV (unless mother earth happens to read this, in which case, I agree, there's nothing good about an SUV). All right, healthcare rant over and I suppose I ought to get back to work. If you've nothing better to do check me out again soon. |