Sicko
I saw "Sicko" last night. I'm still somewhat digesting it, but I was a bit disappointed. I should preface that I've been a fan of Moore since he was doing TV Nation. First, I think he could have done more with the whole contradiction of having life and death decisions made by a party with a distinct pecuniary interest. I mean if a judge is paid out of the traffic ticket fines, we find that a violation of the procedural due process clause. But a decision regarding life-saving surgery? Perfectly fine. (I'm not saying there's a 14A issue here, I'm just drawing an analogy).
Second, the whole France bit really pissed me off. Did we forget that they just had race riots due to rampant unemployment? They just elected a conservative government (democracy = power) to move away from their socialist programs. Focusing on a single well-to-do family won't change that. On the other hand, using the French, Brits, and Canucks as examples of how a national health care system can really work was great.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to add your own.
Second, the whole France bit really pissed me off. Did we forget that they just had race riots due to rampant unemployment? They just elected a conservative government (democracy = power) to move away from their socialist programs. Focusing on a single well-to-do family won't change that. On the other hand, using the French, Brits, and Canucks as examples of how a national health care system can really work was great.
Those are my thoughts, feel free to add your own.
posted by Armen Adzhemyan at 1:58 PM
5 Comments:
re: the whole france bit, a few quibbles. france's unemployment rate is higher than the us, for sure, but it is not a simple comparison because their benefits system is so different. the race riots had to do with the generally few opportunities and prejudices that immigrant and non-white french communities face in france, which includes but is certainly not limited to unemployment.
second, they didn't "just elect a conservative government." they've had a conservative government for the past fourteen years, at least (chirac was a conservative). the sugested that the most recent election of a conservative government was motivated by a desire to move away from their socialist programs is, bluntly, way off base. rather, many french were terrified by the riots and their general insecurity, so they elected the conservatives because they promised to crack down on immigration and restore "law and order".
I have to respectfully disagree about the French elections. From what I've read and seen, there is a general feeling among the twenty- and thirty-somethings that France has become dangerously uncompetitive, globally. They look at Eastern Europe, China, India, Ireland, etc. and see dynamic economies that are going to present serious economic challenges to France in the future. Royal's promise of the same old socialist program of more subsidies and more benefits didn't address that. It made the 68'ers happy, but not the people in the middle of their working lives. Security was part of it too, but Sazorky's promises of economic reform cannot be disregarded.
As for health care, I have not yet seen Moore's movie, but if it is like his others, it will undoubtedly be a propaganda piece, rather than a true documentary. From the critiques that I have read, Moore suffers from a serious case of the grass being greener on the other side, playing up the virtues of foreign health care systems, while ignoring some of their problems.
I personally have received medical care abroad (in Germany, specifically) and I found it to be top-notch. Although I was using my American health card, I have enough relatives there to get a feel for how the system works for locals as well. It functions well, and is arguably one of the better health care systems in the world. But the government also spends vast sums of money on it, and they've been facing some of the cost increases that we have over here. The fact is, they've been cutting back on benefits for some time now. My older relatives still have their old health plans, but the younger ones get much less.
Certainly the United States can learn a thing or two from the Europeans and Canadians. But we need to look at it honestly as well. Moore generally presents a distorted, one-sided view of things, and it wouldn't surprise me if this film were more of the same.
Government involvement in healthcare is the problem, not the solution. If you think it's expensive now, wait until it's free.
Is it possible these asinine "conservative" posts of the last few days (e.g. 9:40) are really the work of mischievous liberals? Because they certainly are not a credit to their authors. I'd expect such empty gibberish from the pages of the WSJ -- but from authentic Boalt conservatives? Come on guys -- us liberals at least want a fair fight!
Haven't seen the Moore film yet, but a substantiated argument for 9:40's assertions can be found in this week's Economist Economics focus (economist.com/finance/economicsfocus; no subscription req'd).
Here is the crux: "As a result of interference at the federal and state levels, health care is one of America's most heavily regulated industries. Indeed, its muddled approach to health-care regulation may act as a massive drag on the American economy--what one expert has called 'a $169 billion hidden tax.'"
What are these forms of interference? Medical torts (no shock there), overregulation by the FDA suppressing innovative treatments, insurance regulation, and professional and facility certification procedures (which prevent botique-type specialized care or provision of many basic services by nurse-practitioners).
Also, having lived & received medical care in Germany under German insurance plans, I would note that they don't have a pure state-run system. They have basic state-provided coverage for the poor, and better coverage for those paying for more expensive private insurance. Seeing a doctor was easier than it is here & the co-pay was more modest. However, it comes at the cost of lots of subsidies and much lower salaries for doctors. I think we can learn some valuable lessons from their system, but it would be precipitous to treat continental practices as a panacea in our very different country.
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