Here is what that piece underscored:
1. The following table should be obvious: Americans spend as much as twice the amount on health spending as a percent of the Gross Domestic Product than developed nations with higher life expectancies.
2. While almost the entire world qualifies for some health plan, 46 million Americans don't.
3. We spend so much money on our health because:
....a. We love new medical technology, which is very, very expensive.
....b. Our doctors need to pay exorbitant rates for insurance because our judicial system favors the plaintiff. Half of malpractice suits are gobbled up by lawyers and overheads. This remains a growth industry for many attorneys.
....c. Our laws allow employees to offer health insurance with tax benefits, while individuals do not qualify.
....d. Thus, those insured only pay 15% of the total bill, and, just to be safe, almost always agree to anything the doctor recommends.
....e. However, some industries got caught in this shuffle, as GM, for example, spends more on health insurance than on steel.
....f. The stagnation of incomes can be attributed to health-care inflation, as our wages have been reduced by 8% due to these health costs.
....g. Private medical insurers will probably be wiped out over time because the government will simply offer lower rates.
....h. Kaiser Permanente will do okay.
....i. Americans pay 50% more for pills (same drugs).
....j. Drug companies already see the writing on the wall, as Merck has merged with Scherin-Plough, Pfizer with Wyeth and Roche with Genentech. They are cutting costs in advance of the inevitable.
....k. A sum of $19 billion will be provided to digitize medical records. Only 4% of American doctors have a fully functioning system.
Clearly, then, private insurers, drug companies, the American Medical Association and Republicans (because they get a lot of campaign contributions because they promote less government) will fight the Obama health plan to the bitter end. They will lose because the benefits are so obvious. This is a Democrats versus Republicans issue where the Democrats have the numbers to prevail.
On the other hand, global warming is a whole another issue, as your immediate health is not at stake. But more importantly, there are a lot more Democratic senators from coal states than you think. Thus, there are enough Democrats to side with the Republicans to make compromise necessary. The result, if any, will be a tepid cap and trade law that will be worse than useless. We need a serious carbon tax, and we need it now!
I leave with a joke, I guess, from that ECONOMIST article:
I'm afraid we'll have to remove your wallet.I trust the ECONOMIST won't mind my using their info, as I'm just promoting their viewpoint.
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The Dow Jones Industrials rose 28 to 8799, finally exceeding the 8776 of December 31, 2008. However, January 1, 2009 saw a rise to 9034. Let's see if Monday can show similar optimism. World markets mostly dropped, as did gold, minus $17/toz to $939, and oil, to $72/barrel.
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That area of disturbance 850 miles southwest of Baja California remains active, but continues to be poorly organized.
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