An Observation On Universal Health Care

It's a big topic this election season - Universal Health Care. Well, it's big on the Democratic agenda and I'm guessing it's because the Dems are betting most voters are stupid. They might be right. Lots of people are getting behind Clinton and Obama because of the promise (made by polititians remember) that they will provide health care to everyone. Wow.

Of course both of these political creatures gloss over the important issue of how it will be funded though Shrillary has hinted that participation would be mandatory. However, the nut and bolts of Universal Health Care are not what I want to write about at this time. Rather, I want to share an observation somewhat related to Universal Health Care.

Have you noticed that people living in countries that have Universal Health Care keep coming here to the United States of America where we don't have Universal Health Care? I've noticed...and I've made the observation that it happens with incredible frequency.

According to pseudo-documentarian Michael Moore, Cuba has some of the best health care in the world and it's available to every Cuban - it's Univeral Health Care. So, if Cuba has such wonderful health care that's free to every citizen...wait for it...wait...WHY THE HELL DO THEY RISK THEIR LIVES COMING HERE? Cubans literally risk their lives in makeshift boats and horrible rafts trying to get away from the free health care paradise they live in to come to the good ol' US of A where they would have to pay for it. Of course they realize all to well that they DO PAY FOR IT in Fidel's Cuba in ways Americans have a hard time understanding.

Canada, another Michael Moore favorite, has Universal Health Care yet Canadians come across the border with alarming frequency to PAY for health care. Why? Well, the why is simple...they get better health care here and they get it when they want it. Again, Americans have a hard time understanding this because we don't generally have to wait, but in the Great White North waiting months for a hip replacement or even a coronary bypass operation isn't unusual at all. How about something as simple as having a baby? No, Canadians don't reproduce through cloning that's just a terrible rumor. But, a couple of months ago there were several news stories about Canadian women being flown to American hospitals by the Canadian Government to have their babies because the Canadian Univeral Health Care system's maternity wards were overloaded. Hmm, what else....oh yeah, how about Canadians moving to the United States? Why on earth would they leave a country with free health care to come here? I can guess.

Strangely, people from all sorts of places that have free Universal Health Care from England to Panama keep showing up here in the United States. They all know we don't have Universal Health Care but they leave their home countries to come here. Sometimes they just come for the best health care in the world, and sometimes they move here to improve their lives in general but they do keep coming despite what we don't have. Don't you find that at least a little interesting?