Quote from jonnyy40:
It was mentioned before that for them to have a 'right' it means that the money must be taken/stolen from someone else to pay for it. BUT as Paul says,the slack would be taken up by Church hospitals/charity. Evolutionary psychology says we are hard wired to display the traits that helped us survive in the trees/caves.(Those 'survival' genes were passed down).If i'm sick this week,you help me.If you're sick next week,I help you.Most people don't like seeing a baby cry.We would all try to save a drowning person.In a true free-market society I would imagine the wealth would be tremendous.I for one would find it hard to stomach a person dying in the street and if I paid no income tax,I'd be more likely to do something further for their welfare.
Quote from cgar:
Do the Canadians and UK citzens think thier systems are good and cheap?Are you satified with your system?
Anyone.
Quote from Moriartron:
As a Canadian now living and working here in the US for the past 10 years I feel I have a good grasp on the realities of both systems.
Having lived in both countries and experienced the 2 systems I can tell you that you Americans already have the better system here. Canadians are taxed beyond belief......in return they get terrible healthcare. But it's "free" (yeah right). You think you want that system because you imagine the US system here but "free". There is nothing worse than watching someone you love waiting 8 months for a treatment that would be taken care of here in a week. The average wait time in Canada is 5 months for surgery. Walk into an ER in Canada and ask some of them how long they have been waiting. "Days" Surely not? Yup - it happens all the time. My uncle waited 2 years to see a sleep specialist. My brother... almost a year for severe stomach pain. He was told to change his diet and "hopefully it wasn't cancer but he'd have to wait to see a specialist". Would you wait a year thinking you might have stomach cancer?? People only "think" they want socialized healthcare. Trust me you don't. Ironically the people that claim it's a right and want socialized healthcare will eventually realize that the goverment ends up restricting your access to procedures and tests - thereby infringing upon your rights. I have a hard time believing Americans here who have become accustomed to a much higher quality of healthcare would be satisfied with a socialized system. I hope and pray as a Canadian living here that Obama's healthcare system never sees the light of day.
Quote from poyayan:
You don't have the right for food, water, healthcare for free because in order for someone to have those, you have to take that from someone else.
When you are getting more from the gov than you put in, that is call welfare, entitlement, etc...
Quote from lrm21:
Wow its amazing to see so much ignorance.
1) Rights are not granted by the government they are inalienable.
2) You have rights whether they government acknowledges those rights or not.
3) The government cannot take away a right or grant a right.
When we speak of rights some refer in summary to the declaration of Independence, while not a legal document it lays the foundation for understanding that your basic inalienable rights transcend government or man.
Our rights are affirmed in the constitution by placing restrictions on what the Federal government can do.
The whole purpose of free liberal republican democracies. Are that individuals are protected to pursue their own interests. Irrespective of your government frame work my rights are the same whether I live in New York, Baghdad or London.
A legitimate government plays a modest role and maintains the basic social order and the safeguarding of individual rights.
Notice that goverment again does not determine your rights. Goverment can oppress your right, and can win the battle over your life but it does not make it legitimate.
"Healthcare", "clean air", "safe highways", "terror free airplanes" are not rights, these are not guaranteed because they are not inalienable.
You can not be born with "healthcare", just as you are not born with "clean water."
Your rights are there because they are God Given, in summary the right to life and liberty and property. In fact the right to property encompasses all rights because it includes the right to your body, mind, the product of your labor, and your right to defend and secure what is yours.
Government Healthcare is a service and in order to deliver a service for "free" from your perspective as the consumer it implies slavery of another. You need to steal property from another in order to provide yourself the service of healthcare.
Government mandates are in fact illegitimate because they place the interest of the collective over the right of the individual. Notice a collective can never have rights only Individual have rights.
Free people will resist such encroachment, given the United States has the largest concentration of "Free" thinking people, I believe these attempts will fail politically or worse case violently.