PJ Media

DocDavid – “If, as our President ceases not to expound, the reduction of catastrophic, future costs is really the point of Obamacare,”

I don’t believe that’s what he means. My take (from what I’ve seen and heard) is that by regulating and by creating a massive single payer, he can force providers to compete in a way they’ve never had to before. Think about what sort of market power that single payer would have. Also, by having the right information, it’s possible to organize services more efficiently, and crack down on waste and charlatans. Done properly, it can work like a charm.

And I don’t think the NHS was organized on the principle you describe – that’s a straw man argument. In any case, are you REALLY so sure it hasn’t saved the country money?

Dave Surls – “Life expectancy is not uniform across populations within Australia.”

Absolutely, and it’s a disgrace. But the problem with the aborigines has nothing to do with public health care (without which there wouldn’t BE any aborigines – a harsh claim, I know). The people we’re talking about pose a bunch of very interesting problems, many of their own making (but not all, as somebody’s sure to point out). Imagine a few tens of thousands of people scattered in nomadic camps across an area the size of, say, texas. They don’t live anywhere near modern health services (australia’s population is much more highly concentrated than the US’ – we pretty much cling to the coasts), and when services are provided, they don’t use them. Alcoholism and violence are huge problems – so much so that stories of widespread child sexual abuse recently prompted the fed to dispatch the army. At various times, various sorts of interventions have been launched to stamp out trivially-preventable cases of blindness and deafness in children caused by untreated minor infections – which were ignored by their parents. Schools feed their students because it means they’ll turn up. These are problems that have existed for generations. I don’t know how we’re going to solve them – but I can’t see any way things can improve as long as small numbers of people refuse to give up an isolated, dead-end lifestyle and live somewhere near populated areas and get with the program. By summarizing this in the way I have, I know I’m probably coming across as a racist, but I’m not – these are just the (sad) facts of the case. It’s very unfortunate that the “other side” of the argument hasn’t moved beyond the positions it took in the 70′s (mostly about land rights), none of which has done anyone any good.

As much as it’s a very “bad look”, and I agree it’s a big problem, I don’t think the aboriginal problem is indicative of public health as a whole in australia. The government is not forcing this situation on anyone, believe me.