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1. Dan 03.28.09 / 4pm

   And how is Obama not "too much government"? The Federal government is about to be more involved in your life than ever before.
2. Tom 03.28.09 / 4pm

   Well....My European friend I never respond to posts, but you got my attention today. First I must tell you that societies built upon allowing people to immigrate are not meant to be completely understood by residents of those who either restrict entry or for other reasons cause people to want to leave. I make this statement without specific reference to your country or any other...I simply mean, "Melting Pots" like the USA, have a much greater challenge in managing the "Massive and Increasingly Massively Different" points of view that define the American experience. But prior to the election of Obama there was general agreement on one thing...Too Much Government is a very Bad thing!

   I respect our "Diversity" and have always believed it was a competitive advantage because it was the strong from other countries who sought out our shores, but as the world has gotten smaller that is too often no longer the case....Excessive Immigration, particulary when it's illegal, dilutes us to the point where even we find ourselves difficult to understand. Americans have "Big Hearts" and we love to help others....but we need to help them where they are because we can no longer afford to help them here. Sounds a tad "Cold" I suppose, but that's only because so many other countries create conditions that cause their people want leave.

   On the subject of Life Expectancy....I caution you against using Life Expectancy alone key in measuring a Country's Healthcare System. I'm very familiar with this subject and can tell you it can vary considerably within a given County's own borders...In the USA it can Even vary considerably within the Counties of our States and there are many variables that must be considered, including "Race."

   The Japanese have the longest Life Expectancy in the World if your measurement is based upon a country having an acceptable population size to measure it....On the surface it would appear that their "System" is superior to ours, but if that were true then the large number of Japanese who immigrate to America, while still having meaning years of life left, would tend to shorten their Life Expectancies living here. Not so...They live considerably longer here than in Japan, especially women.

   This is True for many other cultures as well...The most obvious being the Mexicans. It's not surprising Mexicans would live longer in America than Mexico, but it is "Very Surprising" how rapidly the evidence is growing that once here they are even outliving "Us."

   Don't get me wrong my friend...We have plenty of problems here and it appears they'll get worse before they get better. It also appears we may "Pull In Our Horns" a bit, especially on the outsourcing of Jobs front....That would be good for us, but my guess is not so good for you. If you want to understand "Real Americans," the ones who grew up here not just "Showed Up," attempting to understand those dynamics would be a good place to start...And you're on the right track when you mention Education.

   I do business all over the World....I'm not an expert on other cultures, but the fact that I employ many people who live outside the USA at least gives me some perspective on how they're educated. You are correct when you say our Educational System falls short of others in many ways....I normally think of our deficencies in terms of "Technical Knowledge," but I respect and agree with your point about reading a Map. We also fail miserably with literature and the Arts....All of which puts us at a disadvantage when it comes to "Academic Competition." But a strange thing happens within the mind of an "Educated American" after he leaves "School," suddenly he is Very, Very Smart compared to his contemporaries in other parts of the World....Even Technically!

   For what it's worth here's the difference in my View....Living in America is itself an Educational experience because we have so many choices to make from the day we can "Walk and Talk" and those "Choices" are undiminished by the "Wealth of our Parents. Frankly many of our "Best and Brightest" don't come from wealthy families...which often "Fuels" the American Spirit" because so many of those choices go unfulfilled we tend to try harder. Before you begin thinking I'm equating even Education to the acquistion of material "Things" consider this....The Choices that confront us early in Life turn into the "Decisions" we make later and I can tell you it is this ability to contemplate and judge the "Hypothesis" that flows through our Education Model that sets us apart...American creativity and Ingenuity is built in.

   Now for the important "Stuff"....I love the Global Economy and I adore the people in it. I wouldn't trade several my foreign contemporaries and employees for 10 Americans....and here is a really "Scary" thought. I haven't even met 2 of my Armenian Web Developers, we met online, and I trust them more than anyone else in my organization. I respect them more too and one of the things I respect most about them is how much they love their Country. They love Armenia so much...I have fallen in love with it too and I've never been there!

   So....I hope to travel more in the years to come and I'm hopeful the countries I visit remain as "Distinctive" as they are in my "Minds Eye." All countries make a contribution to the World we live in and while we need to cooperate more and increase our understanding of each other...it is the differences between us that provide the "Stimulation" we need to want to know more.

   Here's One Final thought for your incredibly fertile "Foreign Mind"....A mind that in many ways is far superior to my own!

   There are 2 Basic ways to "Think"....The first is Convergent Thinking which is the process you go thru when you are seeking "The Answer" to the challenges you face...It is the kind of Thinking one often does in school or when taking a Test.

   The other basic way to Think is "Divergent Thinking"....When you think Divergently you are seeking "Multiple Answers" to the problem. Remember those "Choices" I mentioned earlier, it is thru Divergent Thinking that they can be found. It is thru Divergent Thinking that you gain access to your Creativity...Which is the highest form of Intellect in my humble opinion. But it is even more valuable when you consider how it enhances your ability to address the many mistakes we all make....Having more than one way to resolve difficult issues improves your ability to learn from your mistakes. And when you learn that you'll understand why "Questions are more important than Answers"...which will assist you in understanding Americans, not all of us by any means, but the ones you'd probably like to meet!

   Sorry I rambled on...but I enjoyed it and I wish you well!

   TL (Unedited)
3. M. 11.26.08 / 3am

   You said-

   Take it down to a hard-working, tradition-loving ordinary man and I have seen displays of solidarity and care that you can hardly find in Europe. The traditional American family relies on really solid, morale and humane values which is something the rest of the world can look up to. And it is a very beautiful country and a gifted nation, nation that sent humans to the Moon and spaceships out of our Solar system.

   I respond:
   It is not clear at all, that increases in socialism in a country may not severely damage such value sets. You criticise the US for not operating the 14% of its economy which is health care via the national government, but without clear understanding of consequences.
4. Lewis 06.02.08 / 6pm

   Hi Lori and Vladimir,

   I am also a very "regular" American, from Berkeley, California. I ride my bike to work, don't eat meat, and am married to a wonderful man. I have also lived in Europe, where -- in my personal experience -- the government health care was unbelievably superior to any private health care treatment I've received in the US. I think most Americans would jump at government-managed care if only the information could be presented well.

   Your anecdote about Universal Health care in your location in Europe was sad and sounds frustrating, but I wonder how representative it is. Are you really saying Europeans should abolish their health care system and have corporations take it over, charging them any price they like, and offering any service the like? In America, would you do away with Social Security, as Bush and his cronies have attempted? (European readers, 'Social Security' is the American government's universal health care for old people -- works great, except that big pharmaceuticals charge the system too much for drugs). It works amazingly well, and has done for 70 years.... It is much more effective than any private insurance, and the cost is ridiculously low in comparison. You, I, all of us, we will benefit from this government health care when we turn 64.

   Michael Moore is a great documentarian -- skilled, funny, experienced --, but not a great spokesman for health care, because his objectivity has been tarnished.

   But there are a lot of other sources of information on government healthcare besides Michael Moore, fortunately.

   One thing I do agree with you on, Lori -- love the US, love living here, wouldn't live anywhere else! I don't think we have it as good as elsewhere, but I still love it.
5. Vladimir 06.02.08 / 5pm

   Thanks for joining up Lori. You said a thing wonderfully, it doesn't matter where are we coming from, it is what we carry inside that matters. And I couldn't agree more.

   I could disagree on the view of universal health service. In my opinion it is better to have something controlled by government then by corporations. I've heard cases of governments being overthrown, never heard one such for a corporation doing bad job. And this does not have to apply for health service, it is my view in general.

   I have yet to see a good example of fierce independence in America, especially independence from government. The only thing America seems to be achieving nowadays in independence from the rest of the world.

   Coming from Flint, Michigan you surely have few good stories about what is it like to grow up in America midwest. I'd really like to hear them.

   Also I am very interested in you view on Micheal Moore.
6. Lori 06.02.08 / 1pm

   Vladimir,

   I am an American living in Europe for the second time in my life. I hate politics. I have simply tried to live my life, and be a help to others. I would echo all of what Beau had to say except for the 'bombing' comments. I am not well enough informed to make any comments.

   As a "regular" American, brought up in the Midwest (by the way I am ashamed to say that Michael Moore is from my hometown), I can only say that for all of her flaws (and I do admit there are many) I would choose The US as a place to live over anywhere else in the world. Healthcare, and Politics included. War and greed are not exclusive to America. Unfortunately this is a universal problem, and has been since the dawn of time. It is bad no matter where it comes from.

   Americans are fiercely independent, and so resist governmentally controlled programs, such as universal healthcare. I don't like that we have been conditioned our entire lives to depend on the government's Social Security system for our retirement. I am not wealthy, and have not come from a wealthy family. I am one of those people who wasn't able to afford a college education. I do not fault my government for this.

   Here is a recent experience we know about in the European socialized medical system: Our landlord is very ill. He is 84 years old. He not only has the health care system to depend on, he has been paying for additional private insurance for many years. So now he is ill, and has been taken to the hospital (he has been there recently as well with no diagnosis of the problem). He is in terrible pain, and is in a room with 5 other people ( I assume men) with no television, no phone, no access to a comfortable place for his wife. She is beside herself and is very unhappy with the (country ommitted) health care system.

   I don't say this to defend or disparage any one country. We live in a broken world. The biggest thing that needs to change is the hearts of men. And that, my friend, is a very large task indeed.

   I am happy, though, that you are honestly trying to understand our country and its problems as well as other parts of the world. It is so easy to be in our own little bubble of experience and never realize that there is an entire world out there.

   If Americans are guilty of anything on a person by person basis, I think that we largely don't know how really good we have it, and don't even see past ourselves to other cultures and nations, who suffer. My suggestion is to live somewhere else for a few years, and then go back to the US. Never have I appreciated my country so much as when I have been living somewhere else.
7. Vladimir 05.12.08 / 6pm

   That's why we invented wheel so that we can move faster, and airplanes so that we can fly. And blogs so that we can discuss and do something about politics.
8. david ray 05.12.08 / 4pm

   Hi..
   I stumbled upon this site while looking for good Wordpress themes. Far too much time later :-))) I found myself reading these comments. I would like to add that if you never read another book please read "The end of America" by the American author Naomi Wolf. As a Canadian I've been following events a few miles to the south for a long time. To read this book is to weep.
   If you want to understand America and all nations then take their top 20 television dramas; use a watch and add up the time it takes for the first gun to appear. I rest my case.
   David
   PS If life were fair coconuts would grow at eye level. It isn't and they don't.
9. David 04.02.08 / 8pm

   >You see, change is what brought us from stone age to where we are now. If you have a constitution that does not change to reflect changes in society that is a very bad thing my friend.

   This is the poster's fault, not yours, but the US Constitution has a built-in mechanism for change known as Constitutional Amendments.

   On top of the 10 excellent Constitutional Amendments created at the inception of the Constitution in 1791, 17 others have been added, may of them excellent and inspiration for people's worldwide: abolition of slavery (1865), right for women to vote (1920), presidential term limits (1951), etc. Despite 400 years of semi-irrational European anti-Americanism, don't underestimate the massive impact of many of these landmark amendments on the governments and daily lives of Europe and Europeans.

   Of course there was one extremely stupid amendment (abolition of alcohol) but that was corrected 11 years later by another amendment :)
10. Haris 04.02.08 / 5pm

    Vlade, good article!
11. Vladimir 03.23.08 / 11pm

    David: I meant unhealthy as a mirror of a poor health system. Everything else I agree with.

    Beau: Everything what you say makes sense, instead of one thing. We haven't been bombed in order to prevent far worse. What if 9/11 happened in order to prevent something far worse? Would you think differently about it?

    I'd wish I have the chance to spend more time in America.
12. Beau 03.21.08 / 9pm

    Vladimir- I wish for you the chance to spend more time here in America. Context and perception can be so easily influenced by the media over time. It's hard to describe, but the media and political rhetoric is often very far from the truth. Many of our individual "states" are as far removed from the media's reporting as you are. The filmmaker you mentioned is the opposite of what this nation represents, and most Americans do not share his views at all. I'm sorry you were "bombed" but that took place under the auspices of the United Nations and NATO in order to prevent far worse.
    Most of us are just like you- people working hard to make our lives better each day. We are proud of our country, our history, and our willingness to help others. It's not something easily understood, but then again- how many of us really understand another nation or culture? I've spent a great deal of time traveling throughout the world and don't pretend to understand other nation's values or to compare them to my own. I honor and respect the unique beauty and cultural treasures of so many other nations. But I wouldn't live anywhere else.
    Best regards-
    Beau
13. David 03.20.08 / 9am

    Why is America the most unhealthy environment in the world? Where I live (Oregon) %80 percent of the land is completely virgin (never inhabited by either native americans or whites). how is that unhealthy, in comparison to European countries that have endured centuries -- millenia -- of agriculture and habitation?

    Healthy food can also be acquired in many parts of the nation. And the lifestyle actually is psychologically healthy for most Americans.

    Having lived in Europe, I think the only markedly unhealthy element of American culture, in comparison, is the economic disparity -- I think that's what causes the pyschological, food, and environmental lack of general health.

    But it's a really big country -- it's different from state to state.
14. Vladimir 02.04.08 / 12pm

    So your candidate is pretty obvious, a young and energetic man coming from a different background.

    I am only a little bit concerned about one thing. History teaches us when a man comes from a repressed background he tends to want to prove himself by overdoing. In this case by it might be showing he is more "white" then others. Since I am not so proud of the "whiteness" of his predecessors I am afraid he does not fall into this trap.
15. stephen miller 02.03.08 / 7pm

    Hi Vladimir,
    Thanks for your comments- I'm watching the Serbian election, though coverage here is sparse... looks like a very high voter turnout so far.
    People seem to really get engaged now about who their "leaders" should be... finally!

    Friday night Barack Obama came to Santa Fe- we went 2 hours early to get seats and hit a 10 mile long traffic jam, where we sat for a couple hours until the radio announced that the event location would be closed and the access roads blocked due to the overflow crowds. It was really amazing. I haven't seen anything like it ever, including the Dalai Lama's visit in 1991.

    A lot of young people are stepping forward to vote for the first time... an internet-informed generation which may be able to see behind the media veil, and make smart choices. And I do think this internet-informed generation may be a world-wide phenomenon.

    Let's hope so, there's work to be done!

    Steve
16. Vladimir 02.02.08 / 12am

    Hi Stephen,

    I enjoyed reading your comment and it was a reflection of the impression I got when I first met you few months ago. I knew that restless spirit of yours has to be open minded and ready to critically review the present situation.

    You know, we are faced with similar situation in my country now. With presidential elections coming in two days, the nation is in the same kind of dilemma. And I think this dilemma is spread world wide. It is the people of all nations that are becoming aware of the severity of the problem.

    Words that shook the world site you mention contains impressive speeches by youth of America and I am optimistic when I hear them. I hope their voice will be heard much further.
17. stephen miller 02.01.08 / 7pm

    Hello Vlad,
    As a discontented American, I'd say your article was pretty fair. I'm not very well versed in exactly what happened that led up to the bombing in Serbia, so I won't comment on that, except to say that I would have wished that the European Community could have dealt with the problem in a more civilized manner.
    As for the rest, it's sadly true that there are very bright and forward looking people in America, and there are, like anywhere, insular, incurious, self-absorbed, and self-stupefying people also.
    In terms of our social discourse, it is unfortunately mediated by a corporate media which has no particular inclination to support the "smart" as opposed to the "stupid". In fact, if they make any calculation at all, it's that "stupid" makes for a better market for their lazy and self-aggrandizing claptrap which they pass for news. And they are all corporatists, don't forget.

    Leadership can bring out the worst in people- appealing to their fears and greed and selfishness, for example. We've had 8 years of that. America is not the only place that has succumbed to this poison of course; but it is frightening when we are talking about a country that has accumulated more weaponry than the rest of the world combined.
    The health care scam- and it is a scam- (people are often kicked off their coverage if they get sick for example), and the other lousy public services you can chalk up to corporate greed and bottom-line thinking, and 30 years of anti-New Deal propaganda from the right, the tools of the corporatists. And the fact that Americans are more and more functionally uneducated when it comes to social and political history and issues- unlike the French, as you correctly point out. So no-one seems to notice that the so-called stimulus package will do nothing to stimulate the economy but will sound good to those Republicans who drool when they hear the words "tax cut". We could for example spend that money on public works and infrastructure- which would employ many who desperately need the work, and begin fixing the the dilapidated public realm which no-one wants to spend their money on.

    We have become, due to intellectual laziness and selfishness, One Nation Under Mars, obsessed with the military, "enemies", and "threats". It is astounding to hear republican candidates averring over and over again that the principal job of the president is to "protect us". It's pathetic, and also scary. We are still now ruled by an oligarchy representing the military-industrial-pharmaceutical-financial service industry.
    After the collapse of Soviet Communism, the Complex sought a redefined role for itself- and Bush Sr. came up with the formula of the US being always prepared to lead coalitions of democracies in putting down "rogue" states and other threats to the New World Order, and demonstrated the principal with his Gulf War. Clinton's move on Serbia should be seen in that light- of paying obeisance to the concept of the guarantor of the New World Order.
    His son George, a more foolish man, fell under the sway of the NeoCons, who believed that while America was the strongest military force in the world, we should impose our will on the world, and prevent any other power from threatening that hegemony.
    Thus ensued the horrors of the Bush admin.

    It is seeming possible that a majority of Americans might just be ready for a change, from Mars to Venus, to complete the metaphor. This possibility is concentrated now in the candidacy of Barack Obama, so watch how this develops. If we end up electing Obama, Americans will be amazed at themselves, and happy, excluding some die-hard fear-mongers and manipulators. If enough people get behind the deep change, even these evil forces will have to withdraw for a while, then maybe we can heal the discourse and bring intelligence back into our public life. And I can imagine how the rest of the world would react- Obama! wow, there must be more good people in America than we thought! And there are more 'good people' than our last two elections have shown. Obama has the gift of bringing out our better sides. Like JFK did.

    Apart from the election and possible governmental change there is also the question of the so-called American Empire- catch words beloved by the impatient and intellectually lazy right-wing. I've long said that the whole idea is a delusion, inappropriate to reality, and only a measure of our collective ignorance of the world in the 21st century. The "Empire" is of course based on economic and military power. And the military power comes from economic power- we also spend more on ours than the rest of the world combined. But where is all that money coming from? From the rest of the world. Americans have a negative savings rate, and we buy most of our goods from China! Sooner or later, and I think you are seeing it already, other nations which have been advancing the money will find better things to do with it; they will use it to buy up US corporations, they will diversify their currency holdings, they may switch to the Euro for petroleum.
    Empires are never defeated. They go broke. And the American Empire is going broke.
    I'm looking forward to a post-empire America, one where bright people can engage others around the world to deal with the serious planetary issues that loom; where America joins the community of nations not as a bully, but as a brother.

    I am not the only one thinking like this, I can guarantee you; in fact in my circle of friends and family, I don't know anyone who thinks otherwise. To get a glimpse of how many young people think, go to Words That Shook The World, and listen to some of these high-schoolers give their prize-winning speeches, notably Anna from Minnesota on being a global citizen. These are the people who are excited by the Obama candidacy... so fingers crossed for the big primary day Feb 5th!

    Stephen Miller
    Dvmx.com
18. Vladimir 01.26.08 / 7pm

    Hi Peter

    That is a very interesting essay on American Dream. I haven't read all of it yet but it is written in clear and easy to understand manner.

    I think the turning point in American political behavior happened after dropping of two nuclear bombs which was about 60 years ago. They tested the world and the world did not respond. So they concluded they can probably get away with almost anything.
19. Peter Müller 01.26.08 / 1pm

    Hi Vladmimir,

    Since America has started to rather aggressively interfere with other country’s affairs about 20-30 years ago

    It's been much longer than that and was there right from the beginning. If you're interested in the roots of all that, you might find my thesis Star Trek and the American Dream worth a download (and a quick read). It was written in 1994 as a thesis for MA in English and is a PDF-File of 680Kb.

    In its first part I explore the roots of the American Dream. You'll read about myths like "The Vision of 'America'", religious aspects like "The City Upon A Hill" and political aspects of "A Democratic Utopia" with 'Manifest Destiny' and other strong beliefs.

    It might help Europeans (I am German) tend to develop a better understanding of the roots of "America as Good and Evil".
20. Vladimir 01.20.08 / 10am

    No one civilian deserves to be bombed.

    I have never complained about bombing, it is not my style to complain, I said I personally blame them for bombing. And I did not neglect anything (specially not "conveniently" as you try to ensue) I said I will be more then willing to discuss it when you make effort and read about what the other side has to say first. It's lot more easier to ask something in ignorance then answer with facts.

    Secondly, the article is called "Understanding USA today" and I wrote and spoke about that. If you write an article "Understanding Serbia today", I will be more then happy to take that discussion with you there.
21. wha 01.20.08 / 1am

    I agree with much of what you have written. It is unbelievable that a wealthy, powerful nation is unwilling to offer health care to all its citizens. And the low life expectancy is a result of mass obesity that has afflicted the USA.

    However, you complain repeatedly about the bombing of Serbia by the USA, while you conveniently neglect to mention the horrific crimes committed by Serbians and Serbian militias in those days. Regardless of whatever crimes have been committed around the world by other nations, including the USA, if you try to deny Serbia's crimes then you have no credibility. You are just like the East Germans who still refuse to admit the Holocaust. Don't you know that they are still digging up the mass graves in Bosnia? Entire villages and towns were wiped out, men women and children. So don't complain about being bombed. You deserved it.
22. Vladimir 01.19.08 / 12pm

    Thanks for that detailed insight Brian. Of course the truth is always somewhere in between nothing is as shiny as it looks on the first sight.

    But here is one thing that I do not understand. If Social security program is clearly headed for disaster, why don't they change it for the better right now? Why don't you as people take it to the streets?

    Now, the US leads the world in the development of life saving and improving medications which takes countless Billions of investment

    I whole heartily agree on that fact. Do you agree the US also leads the world on development of life ending means and pollution of our environment?

    For which of the two US spends more money, what do you think?

    so in a real sense the US is subsidizing part of the Canadian system and others in the world. Your welcome Canada!

    US is the largest "outsourcer" of low cost labor in the world. American industry would almost fall to pieces without low cost factories in China, Mexico, Indonesia and other undeveloped world countries. So in fact those countries are subsidizing US economy on a much larger scale then the example you mentioned.

    I am not saying that it is a bad thing, surely those factories provide work for people there, but Canada is not using those drugs for bad things either. America is just doing it on a much larger scale. And I haven't seen "Thank you China!" banners in US.
23. Brian 01.19.08 / 11am

    We have a program in the US called Social Security which is supposed to provide retirement benefits and security for us when we retire.

    The program started roughly 60 years ago and is projected to start paying out more than it takes in in 2009 with complete bankruptcy projected for around 2039.

    From a Previous article that I wrote:

    This is a program that started out taking only 2% of our income in taxes and had a retirement age of 55, it now takes 12% of our income and the retirement age is now headed to 67 and the program has only been around for 60 years, so our children 60 years out might be asked to pay 20% of their income and retire at 79 and the system would still be in trouble.

    Let us review this from a purely economic standing point, if you earned an average income of $50,000 for your highest payed 30 years of employment (this is how the monthly benefit is determined) and you are lucky enough to make it to the retirement age, your benefit would be $1,500 per month, now if you lived 10 years on that you would get $180K, sounds good? well, if you payed taxes for 40 years you would have payed in around 250K, most will never come close to getting back what they payed in and millions will never see a dime because they will never make it to retirement, and it is still in financial trouble.

    Now lets say that the program just required us to save and invest that 12% of our income for retirement, and lets say they regulated what we could invest in to say a few carefully selected mutual funds, CDs, Bonds, interest bearing savings accounts, etc… and those investments returned on average 5% annually, you would retire with almost $480K in your account, this would provide $4,000 per month for 10 years and more considering that the money would be earning interest every year during your retirement, by the time you retire 5% would be about $13K every year on that $480K that you had built up.

    Now if you only lived 2 years passed the retirement age you would be able to leave your family in very good shape, and for those who say that Social Security is a safety net and that people would get left out, lets say that if you die before you use the funds, whatever is left will be taxed at a 25% tax rate and the rest goes to your family.

    Now, Health care is 1/3 of our economy, and I’m sorry but if they can not run a solvent retirement program that mostly serves the retirement population on 12% of our income, (it does cover other things , like my brother breaking his back and he received a $9K benefit payment, but still, that means 10 years of retirement and he gets only $190K of the $250K that he payed in) what do you think is going to happen when they try to provide health care to every citizen and undocumented immigrant that makes it past the border?

    So, in effect, if we keep this program as it currently is I will have to pay $250,000 into a system that will not be there and will not pay any benefits for me, this is going to leave all of us of this generation in quite a bind.

    That is just the beginning, Medicare, our Government run retirement health care system is headed to broke a lot sooner than Social Security. As you will find in the article linked below, this program was supposed to start losing money in 2013 but that is going to actually start happening next year. Read the rest here

    To sum this all up, we have 2 programs that take up over 50% of the entire Government budget that are both headed to bankruptcy and at the same time we have our media and the politicians who we refer to as "Liberals" (who ironically were the ones who instituted those 2 programs) trying to take over our health care system in its entirety.

    Hopefully this gives you a better, more complete understanding of what is going on in these areas pf US policy.
24. Brian 01.19.08 / 8am

    Vladimir:

    My brother is one of those who did not have health insurance (by choice at the time) when he broke his back, he was taken directly to the best hospital that specialized in spinal injuries, they did excellent work on him and he was back up and walking in 1 month's time.

    The 40 million you quote is way off base, 1st, that # is achieved through surveys where they ask you if you have health insurance, this has a # of hugely misleading aspects to it, lets look at those below:

    1.) My other brother left a job he had that provided insurance, he moved down to San Diego and spent 4 months looking for work eventually finding another job that provides insurance. If my brother were one of those who were surveyed at that point he would have been counted as uninsured.

    2.) We currently have anywhere between 12 - 18 million illegal aliens in this country, if history is any indicator, that # is way low. These people were also included in the #s you quote. One thing that really pisses us off about this is that our system currently has no choice but to provide care to them with no prospect of being compensated. This costs our system Billions every year, a huge contribution to our costs.

    3.) The vast majority, like my brother when he broke his back, would be eligible for Medicaid and schip coverage. The survey asks if they currently have health insurance, the answer to that is obvious, No! Does not ask if they are currently eligible for medicaid or schip, those are not considered to be health insurance programs by us.

    As you can see the 40 Million # is an out of context # that Politicians are trying to use to take control of this industry.

    Here is exactly what we do not want here in the USA, form the article mentioned above you get the following experience from a Canadian doctor, this would never be the case for anyone in the US, covered by health insurance or not!

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    The Ugly Truth About Canadian Health Care
    David Gratzer

    Socialized medicine has meant rationed care and lack of innovation. Small wonder Canadians are looking to the market.

    Mountain-bike enthusiast Suzanne Aucoin had to fight more than her Stage IV colon cancer. Her doctor suggested Erbitux—a proven cancer drug that targets cancer cells exclusively, unlike conventional chemotherapies that more crudely kill all fast-growing cells in the body—and Aucoin went to a clinic to begin treatment. But if Erbitux offered hope, Aucoin’s insurance didn’t: she received one inscrutable form letter after another, rejecting her claim for reimbursement. Yet another example of the callous hand of managed care, depriving someone of needed medical help, right? Guess again. Erbitux is standard treatment, covered by insurance companies—in the United States. Aucoin lives in Ontario, Canada.

    When Aucoin appealed to an official ombudsman, the Ontario government claimed that her treatment was unproven and that she had gone to an unaccredited clinic. But the FDA in the U.S. had approved Erbitux, and her clinic was a cancer center affiliated with a prominent Catholic hospital in Buffalo. This January, the ombudsman ruled in Aucoin’s favor, awarding her the cost of treatment. She represents a dramatic new trend in Canadian health-care advocacy: finding the treatment you need in another country, and then fighting Canadian bureaucrats (and often suing) to get them to pick up the tab.

    But if Canadians are looking to the United States for the care they need, Americans, ironically, are increasingly looking north for a viable health-care model. There’s no question that American health care, a mixture of private insurance and public programs, is a mess. Over the last five years, health-insurance premiums have more than doubled, leaving firms like General Motors on the brink of bankruptcy. Expensive health care has also hit workers in the pocketbook: it’s one of the reasons that median family income fell between 2000 and 2005 (despite a rise in overall labor costs). Health spending has surged past 16 percent of GDP. The number of uninsured Americans has risen, and even the insured seem dissatisfied. So it’s not surprising that some Americans think that solving the nation’s health-care woes may require adopting a Canadian-style single-payer system, in which the government finances and provides the care. Canadians, the seductive single-payer tune goes, not only spend less on health care; their health outcomes are better, too—life expectancy is longer, infant mortality lower.

    Thus, Paul Krugman in the New York Times: “Does this mean that the American way is wrong, and that we should switch to a Canadian-style single-payer system? Well, yes.” Politicians like Hillary Clinton are on board; Michael Moore’s new documentary Sicko celebrates the virtues of Canada’s socialized health care; the National Coalition on Health Care, which includes big businesses like AT&T, recently endorsed a scheme to centralize major health decisions to a government committee; and big unions are questioning the tenets of employer-sponsored health insurance. Some are tempted. Not me.

    I was once a believer in socialized medicine. I don’t want to overstate my case: growing up in Canada, I didn’t spend much time contemplating the nuances of health economics. I wanted to get into medical school—my mind brimmed with statistics on MCAT scores and admissions rates, not health spending. But as a Canadian, I had soaked up three things from my environment: a love of ice hockey; an ability to convert Celsius into Fahrenheit in my head; and the belief that government-run health care was truly compassionate. What I knew about American health care was unappealing: high expenses and lots of uninsured people. When HillaryCare shook Washington, I remember thinking that the Clintonistas were right.

    My health-care prejudices crumbled not in the classroom but on the way to one. On a subzero Winnipeg morning in 1997, I cut across the hospital emergency room to shave a few minutes off my frigid commute. Swinging open the door, I stepped into a nightmare: the ER overflowed with elderly people on stretchers, waiting for admission. Some, it turned out, had waited five days. The air stank with sweat and urine. Right then, I began to reconsider everything that I thought I knew about Canadian health care. I soon discovered that the problems went well beyond overcrowded ERs. Patients had to wait for practically any diagnostic test or procedure, such as the man with persistent pain from a hernia operation whom we referred to a pain clinic—with a three-year wait list; or the woman needing a sleep study to diagnose what seemed like sleep apnea, who faced a two-year delay; or the woman with breast cancer who needed to wait four months for radiation therapy, when the standard of care was four weeks.

    Now, the US leads the world in the development of life saving and improving medications which takes countless Billions of investment $, an interesting fact is you have Canada who simply steals and reproduces these formulas after they have been developed here for pennies of what it costs us because we are incurring all of the research and development costs, so in a real sense the US is subsidizing part of the Canadian system and others in the world. Your welcome Canada!

    This is a large post so I am going to give you another example (in another post)of why people like me in the US want to keep the Government out of it.
25. Dan 01.18.08 / 4pm

    Just to clarify - in the U.S., a public hospital can not lawfully turn anyone away for treatment in emergency cases, even if the person owes money for unpaid bills of previous visits.

    Insurance crap is hammered out post-treatment, and if your insurance (or lack thereof) is a problem, you simply get billed. Most hospitals will work out a non-interest monthly payment plan with you to get it paid off fairly.

    It's not quite as bad as many outsiders like to claim. Don't misunderstand - it's bad - but not THAT bad.
26. Vladimir 01.18.08 / 1pm

    Bryan you have put lot of thought and consideration into that comment showing you are thinking very rationally. But it is within the reach of the facts available to you at the moment, if you agree.

    Which is great as I am somewhat limited in information since I do not live in US so the discussion can come to a certain conclusion hopefully.

    Don’t take this wrong, but I always chuckle when Europeans lecture Americans about democracy.

    I didn't if you didn't get my post wrong ;) I did grab a coffee though while reading your comment.

    the life expectancy numbers are skewed by our infant “mortality” figures. The U.S. has a high infant mortality, but if you look closely at those figures, it is caused by American medical technology that gives premature infants a chance at life that they would have no place else. So babies that would be still born elsewhere, are considered a live birth in the U.S.

    You have provoked me to do a further research on the topic and for the sake of presenting facts, in this document published by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.2% of all deaths are infant mortality cases (which is still strikingly high) and the major death causes were in fact heart disease, cancer and strokes (around 60%). There are more suicides (1.4%) and percent of those killed in an assault (homicide)is 0.7%.

    So unless you have another point can we conclude the more probable cause for low life expectancy is to be found in the society and the health system as such.

    as far as U.S. bombing Serbia, that was a NATO operation and if Western Europe could have taken care of affairs in their own backyard, the U.S. would not have been involved in the first place. Instead, Western Europe has squandered their GDP on social programs and neglected their militaries and as a result, the U.S. has to pick up the slack and we look like the bad guys. So, may I ask, why aren’t you blaming the other members of NATO as well?

    And what was the culpability of Serbia 8 years ago? Were there not war crimes trials against many Serbian politicians and military officials?

    I am personally blaming other members of NATO but the article was about US today and taking the story that way would not make the point article was having. On a personal note I believe the other NATO members have little to no influence on decision making in NATO, and US only used NATO for some credibility since the attack was made without consent of UN (first time in the history of UN).

    Secondly I liked your parallel with Michael Moore and Star wars and I take it as a very clever one. I do try however to listen to both sides and it is not hard for me to search for facts on the other side as you can see in the above example where I was citing documents from your government (even though it was actually confirming the first side in this case).

    However it will be difficult for me to discuss this point with you on the same level for one simple reason. The information you have and your knowledge on what was happening in Serbia (and still is) is based on a popular TV show called "Star Wars Serbia" featured on many stations like CNN, CBS, ABC etc. I hope you do not mind me using your analogy but it is a very important one which I hope you are aware of or just become aware of.

    I will touch the subject on war crime trials though cause it can be closer to you. Do you know that USA was the co-founder of that war crimes tribunal, but is the only country that requested (well US does not request, it imposes) to be excluded from trials of their own citizens. What do you think why? Does such tribunal in your opinion has credibility for an intelligent discussion about it's activities?

    Imagine a brawl on a football match and to solve situation both teams agree to form an "independent" commission to find out who was guilty. But one of the teams involved is excluded from any such decision by the constitution of the commission. Pretty amazing don't you think?

    And let me ask you this. What does government do well? Not a whole lot. And you want government to run a health care system efficiently? You want a bureaucracy to decide which medical procedure you can have, or not have? That is simply something a free people don’t abide by.

    In a universal health care system run by government there is no bureaucracy involved, everything is done automatically. You just appear at the doors of the hospital and say what is wrong with you and the best doctor to help you will do that, for free. I know this is hard for you to accept if not shocking, but that's just the way it is.

    As I understand in America when you appear on the doors of the hospital they first have to check with your health insurance corporation if you "qualify" to be helped, and they can deny it in which case you either have to pay the bill yourself or decide not to be treated. Maybe it is not that brutal (I hope not) but in any case there is much more bureaucracy involved. Please take it further if you did not change your mind.

    Another advantage of a government run system is as I pointed out in my article, the ability of the people the demonstrate against it on the streets if it's bad or turning against them, the right people in those countries exercise very well. On the other side when did you see massive demonstrations against a health care corporation in America? Is that possible at all? Is it good or bad in your opinion?

    Sure, our care is more expensive, but it is more advanced and more accessible and more innovative. Don’t forget, the poor and the elderly are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Poor children are covered by SCHIP. No one can be denied emergency care.

    I found the fact in this document (also by your government) that 45 million Americans do not have health insurance, which is about quarter of the population if I am not mistaken. If this number does not include elderly, poor and children as you say, it is pretty shocking that there are 45 million grown up, potentially rich adults that do not have health insurance?

    Either way or another, point is that's 25% of population. That is ten to fifty times more then in other industrialized countries. Can you cope with the magnitude of that fact?

    Also I want to make clear that I do not endorse universal health care as a perfect system, I was pointing out there are alternatives to USA's which is seriously broken (care for wealth not health).

    For instance, how long do you have to wait to get a cat-scan in Canada or Britain? Often months. Same goes for operations, where Canadians and the Brits often have year long waits where Americans expect and receive almost instantaneous care.

    It is true the complicated procedures either cost (wow!) or are waited for long time. But you have an alternative there. Do you want to wait or you want to pay for it done? In America the only choice is for someone to pay, right? Which is better?

    And Canadians travel to the U.S. for operations that health care system in Canada refuses to do in timely basis.

    But that is a good point for Canadian health system isn't it? Because it gives you a choice. And in Canada you are refused "on time basis" (with an option) in USA you are refused on money basis, which is better?

    Finally, if you look at Michael Moore as a sound and reasonable person, you are being mislead. Moore is an outright liar. His films are half truths. For instance, his latest one on the great Cuban health care system is a joke. Do a google search for some pictures from the best of the best of the Cuban hospitals. Check out this site that corrects Moore’s lies. http://www.moorewatch.com/

    Thanks I will check out that site. But do not call someone a liar before studying closely their work. It takes small effort to call someone a liar and a large one to clean up the name after that, life teaches us that.

    Getting a sense of America by watching Michael Moore is like me getting a sense of space travel by watching Star Wars.

    As I said I agree on this analogy but my sources are much wider then Micheal Moore. Internet to hear what other side has to say, and first hand experience in case of the first topic, Serbia.

    Funny thing, if they ever invent space travel, I bet it will be pretty similar to Star Trek or Star Wars, that's the power of it's influence.

    -Unhealthy? NO. Uneducated, the U.S. is third, behind Canada and Russia in terms of college graduates.

    I said unhealthy and uneducated as a mirror of a poor health and education systems. There are brilliant Americans and very healthy athletes, but taken on average is what I was talking about. In that sense yes unhealthy, and yes uneducated compared to the rest of the industrialized world, as proven in previous points.

    What is your comment on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

    Does it look in your opinion like true or fake representation of education state of America today?

    You did not comment on nation deeply in debt point, I would really like hear your view on that problem.

    And look at all the good higher education is doing the Russian economy right now.

    If you agree, this point proves that it doesn't take education to run a good business? I can not agree more.

    And I’ll leave you with this, what country in Europe, besides Switzerland, still uses the same constitution, that is over 200 years old, that guarantees freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, jury trial and so on?

    All European constitutions guarantee freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, jury trial, not to make a wrong impression there.

    The fact that US constitution did not change in 200 years is a bad thing for the citizens under that constitution. What would the world look like if the technology has not changed in 200 years?

    You see, change is what brought us from stone age to where we are now. If you have a constitution that does not change to reflect changes in society that is a very bad thing my friend.

    Because the U.S. is the only superpower left in the world, we get a bad rap.

    And I will leave you with this thought on that matter.

    When you have a "dictator" running a country, that is a bad thing and we will attack his country and at the end kill him.

    When you have a "superpower" running the world, we will... ? Think... What if there was a more powerful force in the universe and the same rule was put to practice? How would you feel then? Would you not demand justice? Would you not demand independent view? Would you not ask the God what is it that you did wrong? It would be too late then, the bombs are already falling on you.

    They are smart though, even if they accidentally fall on your house you may rest in piece knowing it was only collateral damage.

    It's not about a "dictator" (hail the King!) or being a superpower, it's ultimately what you do for mankind.
27. Bryan 01.18.08 / 5am

    First, as an American....

    -the life expectancy numbers are skewed by our infant "mortality" figures. The U.S. has a high infant mortality, but if you look closely at those figures, it is caused by American medical technology that gives premature infants a chance at life that they would have no place else. So babies that would be still born elsewhere, are considered a live birth in the U.S.

    Additionally, the numbers are exaggerated by the influx of illegal immigrations from a third world Mexico.

    -as far as U.S. bombing Serbia, that was a NATO operation and if Western Europe could have taken care of affairs in their own backyard, the U.S. would not have been involved in the first place. Instead, Western Europe has squandered their GDP on social programs and neglected their militaries and as a result, the U.S. has to pick up the slack and we look like the bad guys. So, may I ask, why aren't you blaming the other members of NATO as well?

    And what was the culpability of Serbia 8 years ago? Were there not war crimes trials against many Serbian politicians and military officials?

    -regarding universal health care, Americans are not socialists like our brethren in Europe. We do things differently. Our constitution limits government, purposefully.

    We believe in self reliance, hard work, and limited government. It is part of our national culture.

    And let me ask you this. What does government do well? Not a whole lot. And you want government to run a health care system efficiently? You want a bureaucracy to decide which medical procedure you can have, or not have? That is simply something a free people don't abide by.

    Sure, our care is more expensive, but it is more advanced and more accessible and more innovative. Don't forget, the poor and the elderly are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Poor children are covered by SCHIP. No one can be denied emergency care.

    And Americans do look at the national health care systems in Canada and Europe and see many things wrong.

    For instance, how long do you have to wait to get a cat-scan in Canada or Britain? Often months. Same goes for operations, where Canadians and the Brits often have year long waits where Americans expect and receive almost instantaneous care.

    This is one example of the problem: http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_3_canadian_healthcare.html

    "And if we measure a health-care system by how well it serves its sick citizens, American medicine excels. Five-year cancer survival rates bear this out. For leukemia, the American survival rate is almost 50 percent; the European rate is just 35 percent. Esophageal carcinoma: 12 percent in the United States, 6 percent in Europe. The survival rate for prostate cancer is 81.2 percent here, yet 61.7 percent in France and down to 44.3 percent in England—a striking variation."

    Because our health care is based on the market system, every hospital has an MRI or catscan. Life threatening problems are treated immediately. Yes we do spend more, but our technology and treatments tend to be more advanced and available to everyone on a timely basis.

    Single payer insurance policies can be had for $2500 a year.

    And Canadians travel to the U.S. for operations that health care system in Canada refuses to do in timely basis.

    Finally, if you look at Michael Moore as a sound and reasonable person, you are being mislead. Moore is an outright liar. His films are half truths. For instance, his latest one on the great Cuban health care system is a joke. Do a google search for some pictures from the best of the best of the Cuban hospitals. Check out this site that corrects Moore's lies. http://www.moorewatch.com/

    Getting a sense of America by watching Michael Moore is like me getting a sense of space travel by watching Star Wars.

    -Unhealthy? NO. Uneducated, the U.S. is third, behind Canada and Russia in terms of college graduates. And look at all the good higher education is doing the Russian economy right now.

    And I'll leave you with this, what country in Europe, besides Switzerland, still uses the same constitution, that is over 200 years old, that guarantees freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, jury trial and so on?

    Britain has tolerant tradtion, but no constitutional guarantees. The French are on their 5th republic, and constitution. Democracy was imposed by the U.S. on Germany. Spain was a dictatorship until the mid-70s, so was Portugal. Italy has had numerous governments since 1946, and stability is not in the national language.

    Sweden and Finland are limiting speech when it offends others these days. Greece had a military coup in 1967.

    And let's not forget all the problems created by the end of European colonization in the 1950s and 1960s, with Kenya being only being one example.

    Don't take this wrong, but I always chuckle when Europeans lecture Americans about democracy.

    Because the U.S. is the only superpower left in the world, we get a bad rap.

    For instance, the EU was supposed to help Darfur, but it couldn't come up with enough helicopters to do the job last year. The entire continent of Europe couldn't muster enough military helicopters! http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article25076
    http://www.ramadji.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=599&Itemid=2

    So the U.S. will ultimately get dragged into another conflict and we will look like the bad guys again.
28. RobG 01.17.08 / 5pm

    Hey you forgot celebrity obsessed! People seem to spend a lot of time obsessing about others lives instead of there own. I agree with you on many points. If we could use half of what we spend on war on education and research...wow. We don't. We should be using the huge amount of resources we have on this country. But it is in the hands of the people who do little or nothing with it. I live in Portland, Oregon which is very different then many parts of the US. Much more relaxed and much more active (healthy)and a very nice place to live.
29. Vladimir 01.17.08 / 3pm

    I always try to have a critic view on things and it took me long time to understand US in this way.

    I think you have a great potential as a country, maybe the greatest potential of all countries. When the care for people and nature overcomes the care for money, only then you can expect to truly prosper.

    But this is something you, the American people have to change.
30. 0racle 01.17.08 / 6am

    Very interesting article. It's good to see that people think rationally.I am glad that you realize that we are not idiots who believe in the ways that our Government acts(especially our idiot Pres.) Don't even get me started. :)

    I think the whole world is pretty f*d up right now.

    We are all human beings. No matter what race, nation, religion etc. The leaders of countries and the money hungry rich, and radical religious leaders have ruined the world.

    I still hold out hope though, don't get me wrong.

    Imagine what these Billions and Trillions of dollars could have done for the world and it's people. There have been wars throughout history over borders, religion, greed and just plain he said she said.

    The only ones who suffer are the regular people and even worse the less fortunate.

    My friend, I can only hope that things change someday and the bombs turn into flowers, and the tears turn to water and the innocent deaths turn to life.

    Peace

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