Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
This is what I was thinking, and I could not have said this better. While CE makes some good points, I think their perspective is a little pie in the sky for my taste. Just throwing away a few nukes, and transferring the money to health care just ain't going to cut it. We have a far larger population than both Canada and Australia put together times six. We are not concentrated in a few areas of our country, but spread out all over it. Our health care started as an employee based one, theirs on a universal based one. Our health care system basically worked well until most of our larger companies went multi-national, and the insurance companies went public and became more beholden to their stockholders than to the premium payers. Our health system has gotten sick, but when it was created, it fit the situation well. It just needs a major overhaul because what worked back in the Nixon days does not work now.

This issue is far more complex than that simple transfer of capital. Universal health care, while being the ultimate goal, cannot just be carved out of the present system. Many changes in perspective of the consumer side, structural changes on the employer/employee side, and many system wide structural and resource changes have to occur before universal health care can be put in place. This is a long term goal, but what I am interested in more is the short term goals implemented until we get there.
Big Daddy, this is what I've always respected about you...we can come from a completely different perspective, a different viewpoint but a respectable dialogue can be had...I know that your opinions, thoughts and instincts differ from mine greatly but, ultimately, the solution will be found through moderate and thoughtful discussion....and not polemics...

...as always, thank you...