Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/10/15

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Subject: [Leica] Socialism?
From: msmall at infionline.net (Marc James Small)
Date: Fri Oct 15 17:27:17 2004

At 11:11 AM 10/15/04 -0400, Robert Beaudoin wrote:
>  If your American capitalist system is so great and wonderful, please
>explain why older United States citizens are presently coming to Canada,
>litterally by the trainload, to purchase medications they cannot afford (at
>a reasonable cost) in their own country.  Hmmm, after all maybe your country
>considers the health of it s citizens a luxury to be purchased...and too bad
>if you don t have enough greenbacks!

fFirst, USians are going to Canada to purchase drugs not because they are
"unable" to afford them in the US but because they are cheaper in Canada.
When I was at Yale, I would roll up Interstate 95 some 90 miles (160km, for
the clueless in our number) for the same reason, to buy liquor and the like
in that large State Store in Keene, New Hampshire, where I saved about 20%
in total purchase costs over what I would have paid in Connecticut.

Second, the US Government's obligation is only to the "public" health, and
this, frankly, cannot be found within the United States Constitution in any
of its provisions.  I have problems with all such activities, as I feel
that such obligations rebound onto the states and not onto the Federal
government, but, in any event, the Federal Government's obligations, for
the most part, stop at the level of  dealing with issues such as
eliminating head-lice in school children and in ensuring that the water
supply is pure and that the excrement stream is properly filtered before it
enters the public waterways.  There is nothing in US law or traditions
which establishes any sort of general right for old folks to get their
medical services from the Federal Government.

(One point:  I am a veteran of service in the United States military.  As
such, I have to-the-grave medical services from the Department of Veterans'
Affairs.  My local VA hospital is five miles from my house and they take
exceedingly good care of me.  Many of those folks running off to Canada are
WWII vets too stupid to realize that they could get their necessary
medications for free from the VA.)

Third, yes, the US anticipates that the health care of its citizens is a
personal responsibility and not of a corporate nature.

Marc


msmall@infionline.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!




In reply to: Message from bussbearm at aei.ca (Robert Beaudoin) ([Leica] Socialism?)