but poor people not dying costs money!
apparently there's a giant health-care crisis down in the states. people are concerned that obama is trying to socialize health care, and the liberals are trying to reassure people with, "oh, no, it's not socialized health care, this plan of ours." people are yelling that countries with socialized health care get dragged down, that it's inefficient and slow.

first, these people all sound like the rich folks who refused to fly southwest because southwest's seating system made it impossible for the rich folks to pay more for a better seat. that's fine when it's an airline. when you say that about health care -- when you don't want everyone to have a reasonable standard because then you wouldn't be able to have the very best for yourself -- you sound kind of assholish, no matter how vaguely you pretty it up.

second, i broke my arm on a sunday. i was into the er, x-rayed, and home in two hours. i got into surgery the next day. i got home the day after that. total cost? zero. all i'm paying for are prescriptions (and our work plan will see that reimbursed).

even if i didn't love my job, i'd be nervous about moving back to california. socialized health care ain't perfect, but it's a damn sight better than the "pay or die" care most folks are stuck with down there. (i know, er not like that, but i can tell the same story about getting diagnosed with asthma, something my doctors in california never caught as my quality of life slowly degraded and i worried about paying money i didn't have for another appointment. total time from walking into medicentre (non-appointment doctor's office) to walking out of pharmacy with new meds? nineteen minutes. total cost for an unscheduled non-emergency appointment on a saturday afternoon? nada.

yeah, canada's health care is socialized. america's is anti-social.