CelticBear’s Musings

Was reminded on a talk show today of how McCain, whenever he’s asked why he’s against socialized health care since, as the son of an Admiral and as a Senator, has had socialized government medical care all his life–he deflects the question or simply demonizes Canada’s and Europe’s health care as if Canadian hospitals have dirt floors.

My brother lives in Canada, and I usually distrust all anecdotal evidence, but his experience with socialized Canadian health care has been quite good. Meanwhile, I and people I know who pay for insurance here in the U.S. wait as long or longer for specialists and appointments than most of the selected horror stories the anti-socialized care advocates like to bandy about.

What does this have to do with the cost of lettuce? Because I think if prices for gas and things went up in the U.S. to match European norms, we’re going to be in a heck of a mess if we don’t also treat workers with the same amount of value as they do in western/northern Europe where socialism is a viable and working socio-political mode. In Canada and Europe, the worker often has 4-day work weeks and many times as much as two-months worth of vacation a year. As far as I can tell, gross pay isn’t much different than the U.S.

Now, Canadians and Europeans (who from this point on I’ll call CanEurs) have slightly less take-home than U.S. workers because of taxes. Oh nos! Evil socialism! But here’s the trade-off: I have to pay most of the same amount they do out of my check for taxes and Social Security and insurance–plus a at least the difference and probably a whole lot more in out-of-pocket medical expenses. In CanEur you pay some more in taxes, but never have to go bankrupt, have your credit destroyed, your life turned upside down when it’s already dealing with illness, possibly made homeless, because of medical expenses. Evil, terrible socialist CanEurs!

Also for that extra tax money, the CanEurs by and large have far superior public transit systems, making it often unnecessary to even own a car and pay car loans, high gas prices, and auto insurance (not unnecessary, but a lot more so than it is in the U.S.). They also have a more effective and fluid pension program, and without being trillions of dollars in debt. (In fact, many CanEur countries own some of the U.S.’s debt; China’s not the only one who owns us.)

Most CanEurs countries see corporations as a means for the people to earn money, not like the U.S. in which the laws and poli-economic dynamics see it more like the people only exist to serve the corporations and make it profit. (As Marx said, “Profit is unpaid labor.”)

The way our American labor and business ethic is, the more those in power continue to unfairly flow wealth up toward the top (the U.S., “the richest country in the world,” has the highest gulf between the wealthiest and poorest citizens. The top 1% of Americans have the same amount of wealth as the entire rest of the 99%. The U.S. has the highest rate of infant death than any other modern industrialized nation, the greatest number of homeless, and the highest percentage of poverty–how’s that capitalist “by your own bootstraps or bust” ideology working out?), as long as we continue like this, these higher prices are going to crush the middle class. For the 6th straight year capital gains have increased while the number of people falling below the poverty line has increased. This means corporate profit has increased while those working to make the obscene CEO compensation packages are earning less and less.

McCain’s solution? We should all start thinking about working two jobs. (Clinton’s probably not much better, and I have no idea about Obama.) More and more Americans ARE working more than one job. Don’t know if it’s related, but divorce rates are climbing. And how’s those Republican “family values” getting appreciated when family members hardly see each other as they’re working stagnant or decreasing wages to pay for their gas and daycare and lettuce?

Evil, terrible socialists with their higher literacy rates, shorter work weeks, not having to worry about medical care and costs, and generally happier, more fulfilled citizens. How can they live with such terrible conditions.