[asa-sf] Thanks to everyone who attended and helped with Steve Kubby's reception

Discussion
1

Thanks, Michael Acree, for participating last evening, and for the update. I also think that any faith Kubby's supporters have placed in the government to "do the right thing" is misplaced.

Below, find another report, cross-posted from the ASA-SF list.

Rich

noon8window.pdf (36 Bytes)

2

Hi,

I apologize if this has been covered in previous
posts, but I am looking for some opinions as to what
the Libertarian solution to the healthcare crisis
might be.....?

Thanks very much,
Christine

3

Healthcare crisis?

4

I will start the long list about how to improve healthcare in this country:

1. Eliminate the FDA
2. Eliminate government sanctioning of physician credentials, and
artificial restriction of supply of caregivers.
3. Massively expand entry visas for nurses, doctors, and other
healthcare providers.
4. Eliminate restrictions on importation of overseas prescription drugs.
5. Phase out medicaire and medicaid (how fast is a matter of debate).
6. Greatly reduce the size of government, which will allow people to
spend and save their own money for healthcare instead of funding a
blated federal bureaucracy.
7. Stop federal funding of medical research (which tends to try to
"pick winners", instead of more succesful market-based approaches)

But I still don't know what is meant by a "healthcare crisis". If you
defined it more precisely, then I could give a more targetted answer.

5

I worked at Highland General Hospital in Oakland from 1985 through 1988,
and all the while everyone was talking about the "Health Care Crisis."
One of the infection control nurses I worked with was even profiled in a
television documentary entitled "Critical Condition" that predicted the
imminent collapse of the American healthcare system by the end of the
20th Century (due largely to the AIDS epidemic). The documentary
clearly suggested that the Canadian healthcare system was superior and
should serve as a model for the United States.

Flash forward to 2003, when a Canadian feature film by Denys Arcand,
"The Barbarian Invasions," won the Oscar for best foreign language film.
I encourage everyone to see this wonderful film, which depicts the grim
reality of the Canadian healthcare system as seen by Canadians
themselves. If the first half hour of this film doesn't convince you
that Canada's healthcare system is no model for the world, then you must
be incapable of reading between the subtitles.

But the rest of the film will charm you, haunt you and bring tears to
your eyes as you watch characters you truly love deal with death and
dying. It is particularly powerful if you have also seen "The Decline
of the American Empire," Arcand's 1986 film that features all of the
same characters (albeit much younger and more foolish). Watch them both
back-to-back for an unforgettable evening of laughter and tears.

But there is no more of a "crisis" in healthcare today than there was 20
years ago when I worked on the frontlines in a county hospital. For
that matter, I'd wager that thousands of hand-wringing chicken littles
were declaring that there was a "healthcare crisis" back in the 1960s
when heart transplant techniques were being pioneered by doctors in
South Africa.

Terry Floyd

6

Christine,

You might appreciate Mary Ruwart's take on the health care issue.

http://www.ruwart.com/Healing/chap5.html

I think many of us will be happy to try and discuss specifics once you
understand the general approach most of us would take toward reform.
Our post-meeting social is a fun, non-confrontational venue for that,
if you are able to attend.

Regards,
Morey