Uneducated electorate

[c9]

You know what's unfortunate? The 31,990,000 Canadians (roughly) who won't bother to read the NDP's 2006 platform.

(it's also unfortunate that about 31,980,000 Canadians will also ignore the other parties' platforms.)

Comments

[c9.livejournal.com]

1. I worry that if there's a parallel private system, it would end up paying more to Doctors and Nurses, and health professionals would not want to be in the public system. THerefore the quality of the staff in the public system would go down, and the quality of the health care would go down. All of a sudden, people with money get better health care.

2. Here's an example of people needing to read the platform. The NDP do not want to raise taxes. At all. CBC's Reality Check says that they are in fact offering larger tax cuts overall than the Liberals.

3. You may have too much exposure to provincial NDP politics, which is very union-focused still. The federal NDP is not very union-focused at all, and in fact Buzz Hargrove started the campaign telling his members to vote Liberal.

[jamincan.livejournal.com]

One of these days I should really take a close look at the healthcare systems in Sweden and France. Neither is exclusively public, but both of them are highly ranked internationally. Of course, being immediately adjacent to the US causes a few problems of our own, but I do think healthcare reform has to be a bit more thorough than a cursory change here or there.

[c9.livejournal.com]

I wonder how much the higher taxes play into the stability of their system? Because we would not be able to win that argument in North America...

[disasternat.livejournal.com]

Can you come work for me :D as the MYTH BUSTER, cause those are absolutely correct answers to some regular questions.

In fact when you look at the NDP Budget, according to proposed spendings you get a balance budget... not a debt like the Conservatives will have and not outrageously huge surpluses like the Liberals and we do it all without raising taxes...

[c9.livejournal.com]

The punchline is I haven't read the platform yet either!

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

On (1), I've worked with (many, many) physicians in both the private and public US systems in treating my neuropathic pain issue and find that the quality between the doctors in each system isn't really any different. If anything, there are doctors I'm not so fond of, and doctors I'm more fond of in each system. Really, the most significant difference has been the lux factor of the waiting rooms.

One of the things slowing my move back to Canada is the lack of a private health care option. If I were to move back tomorrow I'd likely go up to Vancouver so I could continue to come down to Seattle for treatment - in effect, creating my own private health care option, without keeping any of my health care dollars in Canada to pay for better equipment, etc... for use by everyone.

[c9.livejournal.com]

Apples to oranges. You are not viewing the real public system, you are viewing one tiny aspect of it. I'm worried about the large-scale long-term change, not what the upper-middle-class see in ER only. Think hip replacement for someone on food stamps.

It's a huge, tricky issue. I'm not claiming to know better than anybody of course. Surely if it were simple enough for me to fully grasp, we could have solved the issue and millions upon millions of Americans wouldn't be healthcare-free.

[cap-hill-latte.livejournal.com]

I feel badly about starting a conversation only to call a time out, but think I'll have to recuse myself from this for now because I could spend all day arguing medical ethics – but should really spend at least one day this week developing software. :-).

I do want to have this conversation though, I need to work on my bioethics arguing skills in preparation for a time that I find myself being either strongly pro or strongly anti-transhumanist in the near future. (We had a chat about this on NYE, but I think you were drunk at the time so you may not remember. :-).)

[c9.livejournal.com]

I remember only enough to confirm there was a conversation, not enough to actually remember the content. :)

[p00kster.livejournal.com]

Hi Cam,

In regards to 1... a few things happen when there is a parallel system (depending on how closely it is regulated). Many Euro countries cap fees so that they are the same in the private and public system. (If a parallel system does develop, I'd hope we have these strict regulations. That said, int'lly our public system performs quite well.)

When fees aren't capped though, there is this dichotomy that occurs... you end up with cost-saving measures in most hospitals. This means that they hire RNA instead of RNs or people with less experience or lower on the salary scale. Also, they get rid of pensions and full-time status. Doctor-wise, the same thing happens. Of course, at the most expensive luxury hospitals, etc... doctors and nurses are paid considerably more.

3. I think Buzz said to vote Liberal, if there is no chance of the NDP winning in the riding ... otherwise, vote NDP.

[c9.livejournal.com]

3. True. I also meant there's more when you read between the lines. Buzz was on stage with Paul Martin for his campaign launch. He was not on stage ever, anywhere, with Jack Layton. I suspect they don't get along too well, sometimes.

[p00kster.livejournal.com]

True that.