>SNIP
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>>I watched "Sicko" on DVD last night and can recommend it to anyone who is interested in these issues. To those who can't stand Michael Moore -- especially those who somehow can't stand him without ever having seen any of his movies -- I say give this one a try. He is relatively unhistrionic, for him, although he is clearly angry at the health care system in the U.S. and the unholy alliance between the health care industry and government that keeps it that way. There are plenty of human interest stories and plenty of statistics which should make any American wonder why we put up with it. By showing how health care works in other countries (Canada, England, France, and even Cuba) Moore makes a pretty good case that it doesn't have to be this way. Clearly he made this movie in the hope that we will stop accepting our broken system like sheep.
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>>The issue of wait times in Canada does come up and is a matter of some contention. Most of the people shown in the film say what you do, that it's no big deal. Of course, MM decided who made it into the film....
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>Looking at things there (U.S.) from here, I see many obstructions in the path of universal health care there:
>1) The opponents and the media use the term "socialized medicine" for a reason - because most Americans have been conditioned to equate "socialized" with socialist/communist and no one (not even most Canadians) would dream of promoting communist practises.
>2) The insurance industry is extremely tightly connected with both political parties in the U.S. If talk gets anywhere near serious about universal health care in the U.S. the politicians will experience pressures like they've seen only rarely in the past and it will be very hard for them to resist.
>3) Other big corporate interests - specifically the pharmaceutical companies, the financial sector, the media and more - have vested indirect interest in keeping creeping socialism at bay. They too will pressure politicians and the media segment will talk it up frequently/loudly to condition THE PEOPLE against the idea.
>4) The American people have been well conditioned to resist anything that might cause taxation increases and universal health care would surely require additional tax $$$ o be run properly.
>5) The American people have been well conditioned to believe that 'the government cannot run anything properly' and that only private interests can successfully run any business.
>6) Another issue bound to be linked to universal health care is the 'insolvency' of your Social Security system. While it actually does have an easy fix (one was implemented here) of modestly increasing the withholdings percentage, see #4 above. This is a particularly onerous issue because its real root is that HUGE pot of $$$ that the financial sector craves to get its hands on.
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>The Democratic primary candidates in particular are pushing hard regarding universal health care. If one of them wins the election they had better have a big supply of heat-proof underwear on hand. My bet is that there will not be universal health care in the U.S. in my lifetime.
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>cheers, and Merry Christmas


All good points. Moore makes many of them in the movie. On socialism, for instance, he points out that our police, fire, and library systems are essentially socialist as well, but nobody complains about them. There is one hilarious bit (yes, there is plenty of humor in "Sicko", it isn't just a diatribe) with a snippet of a Communist propaganda video. A group of happy Communist workers is shown singing as they bring in the wheat harvest. You're right, this is what Americans think of when they hear the word "socialism" -- socialism = communism. Few of us take the trouble to realize that the health care systems in the Scandinavian countries, which have a higher quality of life than we do by any measure other than GNP, are socialist systems.

All three Democratic candidates have said they plan to address the health care system as a high priority. Of course, wanting and doing are two different things when so many interests are arrayed against it, and by that I don't mean just the Republicans. Health care reform has been proposed going all the way back to Harry Truman and has been shot down every time. I hope you aren't right that it won't happen in our lifetimes, but maybe you are.