>>Why is someone in New Zealand so concerned about us? Do you not have any of your own problems, or have you all solved all yours? :-)

LOL. The yuan hasn't taken over as the global reserve currency yet and until it does you need to expect other first-worlders to take an interest in your economy- you might even want to welcome that. ;-) As for healthcare, I have been privileged to learn a little about various health systems around the place. Seems to me that some things work and some things don't, and that in the end it comes down to how people think about themselves and each other. Seems to me that even the harshest US conservative has a kernel of common sense and some concern for their fellow man, if only to avoid revolution. So it makes better sense to argue for things that might be possible than for things that never could occur like wiping out Medicaid because it hasn't solved the unemployment problem associated with the deliberate emasculation of America's manufacturing sector.