When you're not on a waiting list at all...even for routine health maintenance, you wait even longer than the people on the lists in Canada, John, and yeah...many people die because of it. For those of us with inadequate insurance coverage, or no coverage at all, a waiting list sounds like a huge improvement over no hope of being seen at all.
I can't disagree with that-it's better being on a list than not on one, only, the trouble for you is that none of the plans have universal care, do they? It's not likely that your position will change--you probably won't be covered.
some people have to go to America to get treatment
Is that the real reason you're concerned about Obama's plan in the US? Because it might remove the safety net for Canadians who have the resources to cross the border and bypass the waiting list? How about you lobby and campaign in your own country to REMOVE the public option before you start having an opinion about what goes on in a country you don't belong to, and hence can't really fully understand NO AVAILABLE SERVICES FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T PAY. It doesn't matter HOW many doctors or clinics, or MRI facilities there are, if you don't have enough money or adequate insurance coverage down here, YOU DON'T GET TO UTILIZE WHAT IS AVAILABLE.
Some Canadians would indeed miss the opportunity to go to the U.S.A. for treatment that they couldn't get here, because, just like you, they want to get it. In our country, there is no option; it's take it or tough luck for you. It isn't necessary for me to campaign in order to have an opinion about what goes on in a country that I don't belong to. Belonging to a country doesn't mean you're informed; I can read and watch and listen just as well as you whichever side of the border I'm on. Your statement that there are no available services for those that can't pay is totally false, and you know that, surely. There is Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Administration plan, the prescription drug benefit plan, and the fact that hospitals are required to serve people in need of emergency care by law.
No, my friend, it was a country stolen from it's free and rightful owners to be exploited by opportunists to expand their power base, and it continues to be a run as such. There is no place on earth where all men are equal, it's a pipe dream. All countries are the same, and have been the same for pretty much all time all the way back to Ancient Rome, with the patricians as the ruling class, the plebs deluded thinking someday they'll join the patricians, and the slaves just struggling to exist another day.
That is just silly. You still have elections, there is still greater opportunity in your country for the individual than anywhere else on earth. The fact that there are greedy weasels is no great revelation. The reason that there is no place on earth where men are equal is because men aren't equal; some are better and some are worse. The premise is that men are created equal, not that they are equal. All countries are not remotely the same; that's preposterous. There are numerous forms of governing, and conditions vary with the type of government you live under. You have a decent chance of becoming a patrician in America, at least, by being highly productive.
...You should investigate the background of President Obama's cabinet, and especially his czars.
Did you just take an interest in American politics since Obama was elected? Where were you during the Bush years? This is just politics as usual in this country--the patricians working deals in government to benefit their cronies, and scamming the plebs to pay for it, causing the plebs to drive the slaves a little bit harder to make up the difference.
I've been interested in American politics for almost 40 years; I watched American news every night for decades, among other things. I disagree that it's politics as usual; nobody as radical as President Obama and his cronies have ever held such power. You really ought to check out his associates; it might even scare you.
Your problem with American health care is not the care itself, but the fact that somebody is not paying for yours, or your daughters, or other people who can't afford it. People from all over the world go to America because it's the best care there is, for the most part.
Your damn right, that's my problem with it. You can't see how frustrating it is to live in a country and pay taxes to a country that has the "best" of something in the world, so much so that rich foreigners can access it, but it's own citizens are dying in the streets because they CAN'T afford it? "Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink" sort of thing -- it's a TEASE to see clinics on every street corner, hospitals on every block, but to those who who don't have access to adequate insurance, those clinics and hospitals may as well be a big, dark, hole in the ground! A waiting list sounds like a HUGE improvement to no access whatsoever.
I can appreciate frustration; we have it here too. Like the great philosopher said, life sucks, and then you die. My doctor is the emergency room. I'm very fortunate so far in not having any serious problems requiring medical care.
America is a bit of a shining beacon to the rest of the world, which makes socialists around the world furious. I don't want to see that light go out.
Then give up your socialized medicine and MOVE HERE if you love it so much! If this is where your heart is, come on down! Establish yourself, run for office, make dang sure the status quo down here continues. As for me...I can't afford a passport to leave this place, so I'm going to keep voting for change, because I'm NOT happy with the way it is (and has been) -- it's not right that in the wealthiest country in the world, people are dying in their homes because they can't afford to see a doctor.
I've entertained the possibility from time to time, I confess, but Canada is still a pretty good country to live in, relative to most of the rest of the world. People in countries with socialized medecine are dying in their homes because the government denies them treatment that they can afford to pay for, but aren't allowed to get by law.