So, normally I tend to not to write this kind of thing because I know that more often than not a blog is not going to change someone's political leanings. But watching this race for president is really starting to scare me and being silent does not make me feel good. I'm pissed and everyone else should be too!
I'm young and have only had the opportunity to vote in two elections but I find it appaling that this year both candiates are grossly inadequate and I will have to vote for the lesser of two evils. Is this the best America can do?
There are a few topics I personally feel strongly about. First and foremost, National Security. If we are attacked in any major way, we have BIG problems that will make the environment, healthcare, and education not even a blip on the radar. But should we be lucky enough to avoid being attacked there are still big changes on the horizon should Obama become president. (McCain is onboard from some of this crap too, so he, by no means, a saint either, in my eyes)
The healthcare issue is on my mind today. I used to work for a lady a few years ago who, before she moved to the States, was a Registered Nurse in the Canadian Healthcare system. Her father had heart problems and needed Bypass surgery to save his life. He was on a WAITING LIST for lifesaving surgery and she said the if it wasn't for her connections at the hospital her father would have died while waiting for surgery. This is what we have to look forward to.
People think not having to pay for health insurance and have the government pay for our healthcare sounds great. If you like higher taxes, then on the surface, I guess it does sound great but think about it this way...Remember when you were young and your parents paid for everything for you...guess who also had CONTROL. Mom and Dad. They got to tell you what you could and could not do. How do you REALLY feel about the government telling you when you can and can't go to the doctor and even deciding for you what doctor you can see? How are you going to feel when your child has a serious health issue and dies because the wonderful universal healthcare system in the United States fails them? This stuff is happening already in Canada and Europe but you don't hear the media reporting this stuff, do ya?
Of course, you are going to hear the advocates screaming gleefully about how wonderful life will be because our sytem will be perfect! Since our beaurocratic, red-tape government is so efficient now, our brand-spankin new Universal Healthcare system will be as well, right? OMG, is all I have to say. When was the last time you got your driver's license renewed? They can't even make that simple proccess efficient, what makes you think that they can provide medical care in a timely fashion?
Here's one more test for ya. Next time you visit or speak with a doctor ask him or her their opinon on the matter. Of course some are going to be all about it, but it's the 37% that say that they will just flat out quit practicing medicine that grab my attention. It's way less than half the docs surveyed but that seems like a severe reaction and maybe we should investigate why these docs would just give up a hard-earned career just because of a new healthcare system.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/05/12/daily80.html
In a few short weeks I will begin my classes that will ulimately lead me to a degree in Nursing so this issue is becoming near and dear to my heart. This could affect my earning potential, working conditions, and my sanity. As a nurse, it's all you can do on a day to day basis to help heal the sick and make them as comfortable as possible but I wonder how I will feel about working for the system that is letting people die because they are too old, too sick or were too far down on a waiting list. Will I just give it up one day like the doctors? Or will I stay because the connections are too valuable?
It's inevitable that there will be a nursing shortage and if UH comes to the U.S. we can expect a shortage of doctors to go along with it. I don't think that this has been addressesd or discussed publicly, but this problem alone presents a real challenge to our healthcare system NOW, and would wreak HAVOC on the UH system. It's seems pretty logical to me....how do you provide healthcare to masses without enough doctors and nurses? Well, I'll tell ya. The government will force publicly funded universities to weaken their acceptance standards to medical schools and nursing schools, instead of expanding the programs to accept more students at the current standards. Ya know what we call the doctor who was last in his class? M.D. Yep, so here's the senario, you could, if you have really shitty luck, have the government force you to see a doctor who was not only last in his class, but was also accepted in the first place under lower standards. Even right now you could be seeing the dude who came in last but at least you know he was smart enough to be in medical school in the first place.
American's are drinkin' the Kool-aid. Brace yourself.
Here's some links that are basically horror stories of Universal Healthcare:
http://conservablogs.com/bluecollarmuse/2008/03/16/canadian-universal-health-care/
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