General Discussion

The math is inescapable. It is glaringly obvious.

Back in 1999 when I was a global account
manager for a leading technology firm I was in the London office.

A senior account manager I’d met who had gone to all the right schools and was clearly upper class was expounding on how we Yanks had gotten everything right. Specifically he was talking about employment at will.

He went on and on about how the proles were lazy and generally worthless and were all on the dole.

I listened and then asked him a single question, “If our system is so much better then why not emigrate to the US?”.

The horror on his face surprised me. The answer he gave me surprised me even more.

He told me that he would never emigrate to the US because of our healthcare system.

He suddenly sounded quite liberal.

He pointed out that the US is the only developed nation where medical bankruptcies are common.

He said, “There’s no doubt that I’ll get old and sick. In your system you have no choice, but spend everything you’ve amassed throughout your life to pay for the illnesses you will inevitably develop. Until there’s nothing left. In my system I can pay for private healthcare. But if it is
going to drain me I can go to NHS and pay little or nothing and keep my wealth. Your system guarantees ruination.”

Most of our fellow citizens have never traveled overseas and don’t have any knowledge of what another healthcare system looks like. So they believe the lies the Republicans tell about all these lazy black and brown people who just want free healthcare.

Love to see a cogent explanation like this from someone that lives it.

We could have nice things if only we could stomp out the lies.