No blast but a point. I was not alive until the 70s so my "brainwashing" came later.

To the issue of costs. I'll deal with just 2.
- Malpractice insurance is at incredible levels. Lawsuits, both legitimate and frivilous, have led to HMOs and private practices having to pay through the nose just to carry enough insurance to protect doctors.
- Schooling - To become a Dr. One must have 8 years + 3 residency. Only then will they start to repay the debts they've incurred. Figure 5-15 years later they start making the real money. I believe this prohibitive cost structure has led to a greater number of qualified individuals pursuing other careers with a quicker reward structure (lawyers, stock brokers, etc)

The quality of health care provided in the United States is superior to the rest of the world. If it weren't you'd hear a lot more about Americans leaving the States for emergency treatments. Instead there are countless stories of people coming here, be they foreign dignitaries or our neighbors to the north who don't want to wait months for a simple procedure. (According to the Fraser Institute's 2006 waiting list study, the waiting times are continuing to get worse each year.)

To me that suggests that the capitalist system has produced more advancements and better results over the years.

We should be able to improve the system here without resorting to the government who can't run anything cost-effectively. If we improve the conditions in the profession it will attract more qualified people. With more doctors, costs will go down. A comprehansive plan of educational tax-breaks, tort-reform and fast-track FDA approval (which will lead to quicker to-market generic drugs) would significantly lower health costs across the board.

>That's because we were brainwashed in the 50's and 60's to equate socialism with Communism (large "C"), which was obviously evil. (It's not the same thing.) On the other hand, we were brainwashed to equate laise fair capitalism with "freedom". (That also is not the same thing.)
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>If instead we were taught socialism was "shared social responsibility" and laise fair capitalism was "greed", we would have a different outlook.
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>(Bracing for the blast: Note that I said "laise fair capitalism", not simply "capitalism".)
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>...Jim
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>>The real issue here is cultural. National health care smacks of socialism and that's a bad word to many Americans. In addition, we have this whole culture of "pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps" that makes a lot of people think that government involvement in daily living is wrong.
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>>Tamar