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EDITOR: During his recent trip to Israel, Mitt Romney declared to an Israeli audience: “Do you realize what health care spending is in Israel? 8 percent. And you’re a pretty healthy nation. We spend 18 percent of our GDP on health care. We have to find a way to manage our health care costs.” Great idea.
Mitt might have added that, in spite of our profligate spending ways, we are a far less healthy nation than Israel. What he really should have also said is that Israel is a healthy nation because, in 1948, the country adopted universal health care with an individual mandate. Israel’s then-Prime Minister David Ben Gurion also headed the Labor/Socialist Party. Ben Gurion, one of history’s great men, was mindful of what the father of universal health care, Otto von Bismarck, had said: “A healthy nation makes for healthy soldiers.” Ben Gurion knew that newly-created Israel faced daunting challenges and would need healthy youths to defend it; universal health care was the answer. Nothing socialist, or communist or fascist about common sense — a rare commodity in today’s GOP.
Israel’s experience parallels that of Germany, Canada, France, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and a host of other civilized nations that have a form of universal, single-payer health care: they all spend far less than we do and they are far healthier.
The Tea Party is soon having a big anti-Obamacare rally and it has invited a host of so-called “experts” to preach and throw some red meat to the TP choir. Facts are irrelevant in the TP firmament if they contradict TP ideology, but it would be interesting to hear how the “experts,” including McClintock’s chief of staff, square Romney’s speech in Israel with the “healthy nations” facts published by WHO and HEW, and with his record as the Governor who gave us Romneycare, Obamacare’s father.
JOHN C. GARON
Placerville
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James E.August 07, 2012 - 3:38 pm
Mr. Garon, Mitt will just deny he said it. It's what he does. And, regarding his record as Governor, his explanation is that it was a state, not federal plan. McClintock and the TP choir eat it up.
readerAugust 07, 2012 - 4:11 pm
Speaking of welfare, since WWII Israel has been the single largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. TOTAL: $140 billion. Obama’s FY2013 request for Israel exceeds $3.1 billion.
JohnAugust 07, 2012 - 8:07 pm
Reader: U.S. foreign aid to Israel and Egypt is dictated primarily by domestic politics. If a Congressman or Senator even suggested that we cut back aid to Israel, he/she would be impeached on the spot, such is the power of the Israeli lobby. And another downer: the $140 billion you cite is only the tip of the iceberg--what we are told. Five or 6 years ago, total aid to Israel was thought to have reached the $1 trillion. Much of our aid to Israel is classified, much of it is channeled through various U.S. Govt. agencies (like the Agriculture Dept., the Energy Dept, etc.). The Pentagon awards billions in military research grants to Israeli universities and companies and, insofar as I can tell, the yearly interest Israel is supposed to pay on U.S. loans is always forgiven by Congress. It's a charade, of course, allowing Israel to claim that 'loans' are not 'aid' since they are repaid--wink, wink. And, to add insult to injury, every time the Israeli PM comes to the U.S., the Israeli amen corner (99% of Congress) invites him to speak to a joint session. This is a privilege accorded usually to a Head of State or some unusually important figure. We (Dems and Repub.) have delegated our Middle East foreign policy to Israel, just as we have delegated our Afghan foreign policy to Pakistan.
Evelyn VeerkampAugust 08, 2012 - 5:04 pm
John, I'm not so sure whether we've delegated our Afghan policy to Pakistan (and by that I mean I need more information before coming to a conclusion) but on every other point you make I'm in total agreement. Thanks for your very concise summary.
Jack MartinAugust 13, 2012 - 10:01 am
Funny how Garon cherry picks these tiny little nations with homogenous populations to trumpet his socialist vision for "free" health care. Last time was Norway, wasn't it, Garon? This time it's Israel, a country about the physical size of Riverside County, CA with a population of 7.8 million, two million FEWER than Los Angeles County. And their population of people 65 years or older is less than 10%, a critical variable in the equation because we all know we require more medical attention as we age. Furthermore, Israel did not have compulsory universal health care until 1995, when the National Health Insurance Law was passed. With a population that small, and relatively young, it will take two or three decades to see the fiscal impact of that law. The comparison of Israel to the US is irrelevant. What's next, Garon, Guatemala?
4 corners boyAugust 13, 2012 - 2:48 pm
I have been to Israel and experience their health care system. No wait. Only cost was a prescription for $6.50 that would have cost $60 here. They have a higher life span and lower infant mortality. Not taking sides just a fact.
Jeff GoodrichAugust 13, 2012 - 10:22 pm
Valid arguments, Jack, at least on the surface. I looked at a developed country with a population much older than ours --- Japan --- and found the same system as Israel's, costing 8.5% of GDP and resulting in the longest lived citizens in the world. Okay, you say that's fine for Israel and Japan because they have a homogeneous population (which you claim, without evidence, is less expensive to treat than a mixed population. Well, let's look at the U.K with its large population of Commonwealth immigrants from India, Pakistan, Australia, and the Carribean -- precisely the populations you claim are more expensive to treat. Gee, they, too, spend 8.5% of GDP on healthcare and their citizens live longer than do Americans. There will come a time, John, when perhaps you can put your ideology aside and just look at the bare facts. IMHO, that time cannot come soon enough for other Americans blinded by the propaganda spread by our healthcare lobbies.
JohnAugust 13, 2012 - 10:51 pm
Jack Martin ought to think before writing and thereby avoid making an idiot of himself. For its size, Israel is far more diverse than we are: from religious diversity (Hassidic to Reformed Jews) to the million+ Russian, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Iranian and sundry other nationalities that Israel has absorbed in recent past, Israel puts us to shame when it comes to diversity. Furthermore, it's no excuse for a country to cop out of taking care of its citizens because it is 'diverse'. What is lacking here is the political will and the ignorance of reactionaries like McClintock, trying to take us back to the 16th century. Australia not diverse? Germany not diverse? Norway not diverse (with a huge Muslim minority?) Martin, you need to leave your Tea Party ideology at the door and deal with facts for a change.
JohnAugust 13, 2012 - 11:01 pm
Evelyn: When I say we've outsourced our Afghan policy to Pakistan, I mean that Pakistan has blackmailed us for years (arms, money, name it) in order for us to have free access to Karachi's port and Pakistani roads: we need them to resupply Afghanistan. We also need Pakistani air space as well as their cooperation to chase Talibs into Pakistan. They, in turn, have turned hot and cold on cooperation, depending on what they thought they could get from us. We, in turn, have acceded to most, if not all, their demands, because Afghanistan is landlocked and our only feasible way in and out is through Pakistan. In other words, because 'George Bush the Imbecile' declared war without first looking at a map, Pakistan is able to lead us by the nose.
JohnAugust 13, 2012 - 11:04 pm
Jeff Goodrich: Are you asking me, "John", to put my ideology aside or did you mean "Jack Martin". I'm confused; I thought my letter dealt with facts only.
MikolAugust 14, 2012 - 7:32 am
John, Thank you for this well spoken op-ed. I was afraid I was alone up here in the foothills, surrounded only by crotchety and bigoted tea party members. The American people are unfortunately turning into a flock of sheep, with the special interest powers (big oil, pharmaceuticals, etc) controlling government and eventually the media through trickle down governing (the GOP like that term so I thought I would turn it around) and eventually dictating what is spoon fed to the masses (as observed through Jack's comments). The ideology of the Tea Party as a grass roots movement was nice in the beginning, but if you give a child an inch...
one of the flockAugust 14, 2012 - 7:57 am
Mikol - El Dorado County residents gratefully welcome you and your enlightened perspective to our fold. As you rightly note, some of us are crotchety and bigoted. However, with the assistance of your remediating spirit we may overcome. If you give a child an inch he may learn to walk. You will be our role model.
Jack MartinAugust 14, 2012 - 10:45 am
Jeff Goodrich, your counter example of Japan also appears to be a valid argument - on the surface. Before I go any further, let me say that your presentation was fair and even handed. That said, let's dig a little deeper - far beyond where Garon and company are intellectually equipped to go in this discussion. First, life expectancy is a very poor and inaccurate measure of a country's health care, as delineated in this very well written 3-page report seen here: http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/does-the-us-lead-in-life-expectancy-223/ As you see in the report, when causes of death are removed for traffic deaths and violence, we rank right at the top for life expectancy. Second, what really jumped out at me when I examined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and their data tables examining the health care systems of the world's developed nations. There was one very huge disparity between Japan and the US - "Mortality Amenable to Health Care". The US suffers 96 deaths per 100K while Japan suffers only 61 deaths per 100K. Huge difference, what is it? It's the statistic of persons aged 75 or less that might have survived an "event" had they been able to receive treatment in a short period of time. But here's why that statistic is so high. Japan's population is densely and centrally located. A guy in Japan falls down a flight of stairs and, statistically speaking, the hospital is right down the street. In the US, the same injured guy might be in Mojave CA, or Enid OK or Naubinway, MI and the hospital is a 45 minute (or more) drive away. The OECD report itself SAYS these factors are very strong determinants in skewing the results toward an unfavorable view of the US health system. This report also addresses the very significant effects of a non-homgenous population, as Garon attempted to dismiss. As we all know, the discussion of health care and how to control it is a complicated one. But understand this - the people bringing personal views and political agendas to the discussion are NOT me.
DarrinAugust 14, 2012 - 11:35 am
Interesting that Jack Martin calls anyone opposed to his view names and denigrates them for lack of intelligence instead of valid arguments to the issue at hand. Did you skip kindergarten? I am sure you will find fault with comparing the Canadian Health Care system to the U.S.(38th in life expectancy) Japan, by the way, is first. Canada(10th) has similar Urbanization to the U.S. and very remote areas far from medical care yet still has a higher Life Expectancy than the U.S. Since the population is small per your Israeli Socialized Medicine argument with John Garon. So with that in mind, how do you manipulate the data for your argument? Maybe you could stop counting Americans who die on weekends? ... to estimate how much mortality rates from homicide, suicide and accident influenced mortality,...Their result: The U.S. would have (would have, really, don't those things still exist???) ranked first, at 76.9 years of life expectancy. So if we take away all factors other than death by old age, the US WOULD have beaten out first. The thing is, those things DO EXIST, murders, accidents, etc. in the U.S. The U.S. is 38th, Cuba(36th) has higher Life Expectancy! Of Suicides, tobacco use, alcohol consumption the U.S. and Canada are similar. Thought the MUCH LARGER(sorry, I could not resist) USA has 28.4% greater obese population per capita. Canada has long boasted a higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality rate and much smaller obese population, despite spending less on health care as % of GDP. Parroting what you read instead of thinking for yourself... sad. "Arguing with a fool proves there are two." - Doris M. Smith.
Kirk MacKenzieAugust 14, 2012 - 11:59 am
Mr Martin -- FWIW, I appreciated your low-nonsense comment.
JohnAugust 14, 2012 - 12:12 pm
Darrin: Thanks for your thoughtful additions to this 'debate'. As you rightly point out, Mark Twain's advice applies when Tea Party types get into the act: "Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not know who's who, and he'll eventually beat you with his experience". By now, reasonable people have come to a decision on many matters: the sun sets every day, gravity is real, climate change is real and single payer health care systems are cheaper, and have far better outcomes, than those run for profit. The numbers, the experience, the statistics---everything proves the point, but ideology is a powerful magnet for a variety of people, many of them not necessarily stupid but uneducated and/or feeling disenfranchised. Tea Party dead-enders are useful idiots for the insurance industry and the likes of political extremists like McClintock.
James E.August 14, 2012 - 12:53 pm
In kindergarten I learned to not hit, kick, spit, call names, or say ill (especially their IQ) of my classmates. Wait, I didn't go to kindergarten -- entered first grade instead because the school didn't have kindergarten. So,I must have learned those social skills at a later time. Medicare for ALL, Mr. Martin, Medicare for ALL.
Jack MartinAugust 14, 2012 - 1:19 pm
Darrin, I singled out Garon because he has a long, unblemished track record of trying to make socialist philosophies and perspectives appear superior to the Representative Republic and Free Market Capitalistic society that we have. Anyone with a lick of common sense can look back over the world history of the past century and see that that view is patently false. And anyone who cannot see that view is, in point of fact, an idiot. Now to your point: The reason it is a legitimate exercise to rule out traffic deaths and deaths by violence is because they have almost NOTHING to do with the health care system. I suppose you could argue that each nation's trauma care providers could be compared and evaluated with that data, but not the routine, day to day health care system of hospitals, clinics, HMO's, doctors and nurses. And I did not interpret the reports: I quoted them. If you disagree with the information I presented, then find your own from a credible source and present it.
Wilfred MonahanAugust 14, 2012 - 3:30 pm
Wow, Jackass Martin certainly has an "interesting" perspective, doesn't he?
Jack MartinAugust 14, 2012 - 4:58 pm
Opinions are always welcome, Wilfred, and disparaging names are something I sort of expect from the Left wingers, but do you have anything of substance to add to the conversation?
kggAugust 14, 2012 - 6:13 pm
There is a map of the world showing which countries have universal health care here: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/heres-a-map-of-the-countries-that-provide-universal-health-care-americas-still-not-on-it/259153/
DarrinAugust 14, 2012 - 10:04 pm
KGG, great map, thank you. It is amazing to see that the U.S. is on par with other such powerhouses of the world as Venezuela, Nigeria, Laos, and Haiti without health coverage for its citizens. Sad to know that the U.S. system costs almost twice as much per capita yet millions are not covered.