Next on the hit parade is to rag about health care. Sorry Brit, but I don't really have any complaints. I know, everyone is supposed to have some pet peeve about HMO's or some Big Evil Drug Company, but I really don't. Not that I am complaining about not having any complaints, at least I don't think I am?

So let us delve into this a bit deeper. I've heard much over the past few years about how great the socialized health care system of our Northern neighbors is. Actually, my wife and I spent a couple of years in Canada, and the health care was, for us, great. Of course, that was because we didn't get sick and weren't making much money. Considering the waiting time for any advanced service in The Great White North - like MRIs, surgery, chemo therapy, transplants, and the like - if we had needed any of this, we would have been back home in the States before we got them. If we had been making even a modest amount of money, we would have paid for those services through the exorbitant tax rate, for who ever was lucky enough to be at the top of the list.

Here, in the good old US of A, instead of letting the government have control of this complicated, and very personal, process, we figure most people can do better making their own decisions. Of course, this leaves the poor and stupid in a bad spot, as proponents of Big Brother Health Care are quick to point out, although not in those exact terms. To which I say, all the more reason not to be poor and/or stupid.

Allow me to phrase this in personal terms. My wife and I are not wealthy, in monetary terms anyway. Still, we manage to pay for our health insurance, an HMO plan by the way. I will admit that it's not cheep, costing roughly what the payments on a new car would. This is why we are driving older vehicles, like my truck shown here. Of course, I know people who don't have health insurance and bitch about why the government isn't doing anything to help, but who are driving fancy new cars. While they are obviously not poor, I believe I mentioned stupid? This is because they have, not only made a stupid choice of where to spend their money, but also because they haven't thought about what it would cost them, personally, to have government provided health care.

Really people, who do you honestly think is going to give you the best service for your medical dollar, your doctor or the Government? Last time I visited my doctor, I arrived ten minutes early (traffic was better than I expected) and had to wait five minutes to get into the examination room. There I was seen by a nurse immediately, to take a blood sample and my blood pressure. The Doc came by in another ten minutes, checked me out, and spent several minutes advising me about what I needed to do to improve my general health. We even took time to exchange family gossip and a joke or two. My last dealing with the Government was to renew my driver's license. Picking an off day of the week, at a time most people are working (one of the benefits of farming), I spent 20 minutes standing in line to find out which line I needed to stand in for several hours to have my picture taken.

While my experience with the Department of Motor Vehicles is what people in the US who either can't, or won't, afford medical insurance face if they get sick and have to seek treatment at an Emergency Room, I see absolutely no reason to inflict it on the rest of us.

the Grit