Government Health care. I keep hearing people bleat on about how the government should pay for our health care, and these people frequently point to the (formerly) Great Britain as an example. These people complain that the rich get the best care, while the poor get poor care. To those people, I give you this story. That is right. This lady has to wait 18 months for a hearing aid.
A hearing aid. That isn’t all. Apparently, this is more than common. According to the article:
A spokesman for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf said: “I am afraid this is a common problem. In some parts of the country there are over two year waiting lists, which is shocking.”
Digital hearing aids can be had on the open market for as little as $1500. With no wait.
Free health care isn’t free. The US spends 15% of the GDP on health care. That means that “free” health care would mean increasing taxes by a corresponding amount.
So, the rich still get the care they can afford, the poor still get crappy care, and we all get to pay higher taxes, especially the rich. We sure punished those rich guys with those higher taxes, which I suppose was the point. Or was it just another vote buying tactic? I can’t remember.