Socialized medicine? Are you a moron? The next time you're driving down the road, take a look at the guy's you see "working" on the road sites. That's what you get from the State - bums hardly working at all. You want people like that running healthcare? If you have a job, your share of the national debt is $375,000. Yeah, that's what we need more of, broke medicare, broke national healthcare, dollar worth nothing, nobody working, everything is free.

The reason we don't have a socialized health-care system like the NHS is very simply because the people don't want it. If a majority of the population voted for their congressional choices that were proponents of the creation of one, one would be established. It's often thrown around by socialized health-care supporters that 38 million folks are without health coverage, but that's only about 12.5% of the population.

I know my relatives in the Netherlands (where there is socialized health care) don't use the system and use private care, because they want the best doctors and best treatment available. I'd imagine this is similar with middle-class folks in all the other countries with socialized medicine.

We have socialized fire departments,u.s. mail etc. ,seems to work pretty well .

Proctologist exam maybe?

[edit on 25-9-2007 by Redge777]

Good point,
but should this be extended to social medical schemes?
In the richest country, people should not be dying because of a lack of adequate medical care just because they can't afford insurance.

ahh, health care the age old question. i work 12 hours a day an ok job. i already take money out of my check for my healthcare plan. btw op i wasent in perfect health when i got the plan. i have a disability as a matter of fact. back to topic now. you want me to take money out of my check now because they are too lazy to get a job. yeah right, when it comes down to it ill quit working when we have free health care. why should i work when i could get something free. im also a licened insurance agent in sc. that isnt what i do now b/c my company wanted me to buy a policy.

I do not think just because a country has free health care that an epedemic of lazyness will break out. I live in Canada and our system works just fine, I been in Alberta for a few months now and it has its own health care system which I really find compotently thought out and is very good. Basically I have to pay around 400$ a year and I am completely covered and I am not paying any profit driven company but rather the province I live in. In other provinces its 100% free with no fees but I like this system because everyone with an income contributes and people who are to poor or not working can still get taken care of because the welfare system looks after them.

Whats so bad about paying a little extra taxes so poor people can get first rate health care? Americans seem to have no problem paying federal taxes that pay for the slaughter of Iraqi's but you don't want to take care of you own? Kucinich knows what he is talkin about when it comes to health care but I guess the majority of Americans only care about themselves so they wont listen and keep making those insurance companies BILLIONS!

wow...people are actually opposing socialist healthcare?

Strange...

Oh well, ill just say this.

You call America the richest nation in the world, well it didnt get rich by spending money on things, not even essentials such as keeping its people alive.

Come to Australia, an extra 1% on your taxes makes basically any operation free (barring dental)

From a Canadian perspective, the idea of having to pay when you're injured would be as ridiculous to us as the police only helping you if you can pay them up front.

Or the fire department, I'm sorry ma'am I can only rescue your screaming daughter if you can pay me in advance.

The postal service telling you that you can't have the letter from your family unless you pay him for each individual letter.

The concept of Doctors telling you you're not getting treated for that broken leg because you can't pay them is freaking insanity to me, it should be to you as well.

Up here it's your duty as a citizen to help when someone is in medical trouble. Apparently the US takes a "shove em in the gutter" attitude.

I'm sorry, but this is not a war zone, you can and should stop to pick up your fellow inured citizens.

Originally posted by mdzialo
Socialized medicine? Are you a moron? If you have a job, your share of the national debt is $375,000. Yeah, that's what we need more of, broke medicare, broke national healthcare, dollar worth nothing, nobody working, everything is free.

Wow, this is really ignorant. First of all, I don't see the need for the name-calling. The OP is asking their questions very respectfully to everyone else. Were you offended, and felt the need to come across as defensive? Hah.

Well, would it help to know, that many of us without health coverage DO work our arses off, to keep our families fed and housing paid for?? The sad thing is, those who do not work get health care from the state for free. You are paying for that. The drug-addicted teen mothers who do not work, and illegals with their anchor children who work under the table.

Some of us, just because we do work, does not mean we can afford to have health coverage. I am an independant contractor/self employed, and am NOT eligible for free or even "affordable" healthcare, even though I work my arse off.

Don't be so ignorant to assume that just because someone cannot afford healthcare in this country, that they are worthless to society or lazy.
The ones you speak of will always get free services no matter what.

Originally posted by mdzialo
Socialized medicine? Are you a moron? The next time you're driving down the road, take a look at the guy's you see "working" on the road sites. That's what you get from the State - bums hardly working at all. You want people like that running healthcare? If you have a job, your share of the national debt is $375,000. Yeah, that's what we need more of, broke medicare, broke national healthcare, dollar worth nothing, nobody working, everything is free.

No need to name call when someone is expressing their concerns towards their economic system. Because you can afford your healthcare does not mean everyone else could. Not everyone has the luxury or advantages to go to school. Canada has a great healthcare system, so when I get sick my doctor is free to go to, when I break my leg it is free to fix. However for your country, if you have no money and you need to see a doctor, your basically going in debt.
We pay 15% taxes, but it is well worth it. My sister has gotten 2 ear infections this month, and guess what? That would have cost at least $100+ in the US. You do not think Social Medicine is good? What if you get a worse disease and you go bankrupt? would you still think it is a moronic statement?

Originally posted by johnsky
Or the fire department, I'm sorry ma'am I can only rescue your screaming daughter if you can pay me in advance.

You do. Taxes.

The postal service telling you that you can't have the letter from your family unless you pay him for each individual letter.

You do. Stamps.

The concept of Doctors telling you you're not getting treated for that broken leg because you can't pay them is freaking insanity to me, it should be to you as well.

Your leg will be fixed. Your refusal to pay for it will force others to through increased cost of care.

Up here it's your duty as a citizen to help when someone is in medical trouble. Apparently the US takes a "shove em in the gutter" attitude.

Actually the attitude is people have the right to take care of themselves. They also have the right to refuse to.


Most people who legitimately have a need for socialized medicine are already eligible for Medicaid or Medicare. If these two programs need to be overhauled, I don't have a problem with it as long as the eligibility requirements aren't ridiculous.

What I do have a problem with are all the mandates and requirements built into the current proposals for socialized medicine. They are extremely dangerous, considering what has already happened in medical law. Particularly that one can no longer sue if an FDA approved medication kills or disables them.

The socialists want to mandate preventative care. What jumps out at me about this is vaccinations... particularly vaccinations with highly questionable safety factors that still pass through the FDA. Vaccinations such as the new HPV vaccine, Gardasil. Noone knows what the long term effects will be on prepubescent girls who receive this vaccine. But now, if they discover later in life that they are sterile or suffer some other debilitating consequence, they can't sue.

Expand that to all vaccines. Especially vaccines that don't exist yet.

Lets say there's a Bird Flu pandemic. Under the current proposals for socialized medicine, it is possible for all recipients to be required to receive a vaccine, regardless of safety or side-effects. The shot could kill a family member, but you would not be allowed to refuse injection.

Go even farther into the land of tin-foil. RFID implantation. If RFID is rolled into some preventative care classification, there's your national chipping program so many fear today.

A dangerous path indeed. But such a path will always be dangerous so long as freedom of choice is denied to the people.

Simply put, no.

I'm a working middle class. Out of my check, I already end up paying for other peoples welfare, public housing, public aid, and so on. Things I will likely never end up using. These are essentially required charities I'm mandated by law into contributing to because some do-gooder in office somewhere thought that we should save everyone. At the same time, I make too much money to benefit from my own contributions. If I ever do need them, I have to fight tooth and nail to get them because I'm the wrong color. People in my family have at times had to avail themselves of these 'services' and they received the same serious resistance.

I won't even go into the police being a public service as well, but as a general rule, in America, you get what you pay for. I'm sorry but I would rather not have my health care managed by the same kind of departments that run public housing.

Ponderance: If healthcare becomes government subsidized, does that in effect make doctors government employees, and if that is the case, do we begin to lose the right to sue for malpractice?

Forget other countries systems.. WWAD what would America do?

Let me put it to you another way:
Would you prefer your government to spend over 400 billion dollars fighting an illegal and unwinnable war in iraq?
or would you prefer to protect the weaker members of your society, and have a social medical system that benefits everybody?