with all the olympic happenings lately, a lot of the major news stories may have been brushed over recently. i'd like to highlight one that is an issue i feel very strongly about. for any non-american readers out there, you may have heard about the whole healthcare debate in the US and how the democrats are trying to overhaul our system, while conservatives and republicans pretty much want less regulation and more privatization (expansion of private health insurance). recently president obama had called a summit inviting republicans to join with democrats to try and figure out a way to save his healthcare package and get it passed. first off, i think it's a no brainer to get this passed. healthcare costs in the US account for around 16% of our gdp and is rising. with the increased costs, less people are able to afford private insurance, and the numbers of uninsured are increasing. with the economic downturn affecting the job status of families and individuals, even more are being added to the rolls of uninsured, since health insurance is still tied closely to an employer's benefits package. now i understand the arguments by the democrats to want to push through a public option. i completely agree that healthcare is a right, and government SHOULD be in the business of overseeing healthcare. there are many reasons why i think it would be more efficient if we moved in that direction, one of them being economies of scope and another being economies of scale. conceptually i understand the conservatives and republicans argument of smaller government, that is their mantra and agenda. although i don't always agree with them, it does has its place in certain instances, i don't think this is one of them. so i respect both views of the two sides. however, to stall legislation so that nothing gets done is ridiculous. the plan is NOT perfect, and will NEVER be as long as there are two sides to the issue. people need help NOW! healthcare has always been an incremental process in the US starting from jfk-lbj first coming on the coattails of the whole social security debate. medicare was added along with medicaid. drg's were introduced, schip was expanded, part d was added. this has been an evolution of around 50 some years. originally the plan by the liberals were to expand medicare so that it would cover all of the public, but there was pushback because we didn't want a SOCIALIZED system. that was 40 years ago! in 1992 when clinton was elected, one of the centerpieces of his platform was healthcare reform. the republicans took control of congress after his election and killed it. almost a two decades ago, we knew our healthcare system was unsustainable. what do we have to show for all those years that have passed? absolutely nothing policy wise, but healthcare costs have risen from 10% of gdp to the 16% now. people need solutions now! stop bickering about the details and pass something, get it moving forward at least. i know the democrats and republicans have to agree on some pieces of the legislation, it can't be an all or nothing kind of deal. if it were up to me, i'd just tell the democrats to go it alone. they have the majority in congress right now, as well as the executive branch. the longer they wait the unhappier the public will get, the bigger chance they'll lose their mid-term elections this fall. pass it now while they have the majority! don't back down from the conservatives! why be so afraid? grow a pair already! to all those who think socialized medicine will be the end of the US... what the hell do you think medicare and social security are? they are two socialized programs! if you are so pro privatization and anti big government, i would urge you to drum up support for a national referendum to end social security and medicare! and for those of you who are currently enjoying the benefits of both and don't support healthcare reform... i don't even know what to say to you. get your head out your ass, do you even know what the issues are? are you even capable of logical thinking? do you understand your hypocritical position that makes absolutely no sense?
enough ranting about healthcare, i'll just leave you with a clip from western new york's own louise slaughter from president obama's summit. sums up how i feel about this whole mess pretty well.
on to hockey. wow. i really didn't expect the US to have such a monster game against finland. so it's up to canada tonight. slovakia has an up and coming team, and they have satan on their team (as in miroslav satan, former sabre, penguin, islander, oiler, and current bruin)! it would be great if canada didn't let up after their own blowout win over the russians. with a win, we've got an awesome US-canada rematch on the way sunday!
congrats to joannie, yu-na, and mao. good showing by mirai too!