Ill Health

The old adage is that "you get what you pay for".

Unfortunately, as far as the American health care system goes, that just isn't the case.

We pay more and get worse results than any other "civilized" country on earth.

(For the sake of this post, I'm going to give us the benefit of the doubt as far as being civilized goes. It would be hard to prove in a court of law is all I'm saying.)

A quick look at the latest "spending on health care per person" and average lifespan charts shows the U.S., the best country there is and ever could be, spending the most (by far!) and living the shortest.

Sure, you'd expect the Scandinavian countries to be ahead of us. But Spain? And Italy?

They both spend less than half as much as we do per capita and yet, on average, citizens of both countries live longer than we do.

And let's not even mention our obesity levels--especially childhood ones. Suffice it to say that the Land of the Supersize Me and Big Gulp has no competitors when it comes to those categories. We're #1, we're #1, we're #1, USA, USA, USA!!!!

How can that be? There must be some mistake! Everything is better here--we all know that. The free market, for profit system, was designed by God himself and given to us, his chosen people. And anyone who tampers with that is the anti-Christ!

If you can't afford to pay for better health care it's your fault. Don't come crying to me.

Besides, those other countries practice some form of socialized medicine and we all know how wicked and corrupt and cruel that is. You've heard the stories, "People dying in the streets for want of a tongue depressor."

So, no thank you, none of that single payer Marxism for the good old red, white and blue!

No, we're much better off letting the insurance companies or the size of your bank account decide who lives and who dies.

Remember what Jim Morrison said, "no one here gets out alive."

The United States' health care system is designed to constantly remind us of just how fragile life is and to spare a good portion of us from the the sorrows of old age.