On Health Care reform

[benlehman]

Apologies to non-Americans.

One of the things I see over and over again in the health care debate is the framing of the issue as about rights. "Do people have a right to health care?" etc.

Folks, this is not what it's about. Universal health care coverage is a public good, like the highway system or the military or the National Academy of Science. Health care improves quality of life for everyone in the country, even the wealthy. People who live in countries with universal health care coverage are just plain healthier, even if they would have had health care coverage otherwise.

Why is this? Because bacteria and virii are contagious.

Duh.

Comments

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Lost productivity hurts shareholder profit margins.
It also makes some of us write up recipes for shareholder in a slow-cooker.

[nekoewen.livejournal.com]

In general, there's a thing that if your workers are happy and healthy, they're more productive and loyal. American corporations seem to have a shaky grasp on that concept, and American retailers seemingly want to have disgruntled employees who steal from them.