tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post8561262872577469768..comments2024-02-08T05:04:18.484-08:00Comments on J'S THEATER: Review: SiCKO + Charles on Harry Potter + Baldwin HillsJohn Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08073378940347627766noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-77868869780617351302007-07-23T20:32:00.000-07:002007-07-23T20:32:00.000-07:00OK, I won't even go into the intersection between ...OK, I won't even go into the intersection between healthcare, race and poverty here. Sliding off my soapbox...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16096802635378323445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-5393215026670987872007-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:002007-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:00John, excellent observations with which I fully co...John, excellent observations with which I fully concur. I totally agree that the state of healthcare is a shameful scar for the US. How can the wealthiest nation on this earth spend more than any other industrialized country on healthcare with such poor coverage and outcomes for its citizens?<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, healthcare is not widely seen as a basic human right but is more and more becoming a service commodity for those who can afford it. The "fix", as badly as it is needed, cannot come from a humanitarian or fairness perspective. This has never worked and will never fly in the US. Ask any American about universal coverage and you will more often than not hear "why should I pay for some loser's healthcare when I can barely affors my own?" The fact that, once everyone contributes into a single pot, costs for individuals will actually come down is darn near incomprehensible to most.<BR/><BR/>The answer will be an economic one: Healthcare needs to be restructured so as many people as possible can lead healthy productive lives (i.e. contribute to economic output versus being sick), employers' crushing financial burden is lifted, healthcare providers can deliver efficient services and the US economy as a whole can stay competitive globally. When GM spends $1000 per car on employee healthcare versus Toyota's $100 per car, the math ain't about healthcare it's about economic viability.<BR/><BR/>The problem with US healthcare is that SOME stakeholders benefit hugely from this status quo, and those players keep lobbying hard to keep this current system alive.<BR/><BR/>Deep down, I really wish it were about true fairness and patient-focus. I believe a certain moral obligation should be at the core of any serious discussion. But I'm also a pragmatist.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure we can fill a whole evening on this topic :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16096802635378323445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-64339049256931624852007-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:002007-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:00Zun, your points are excellent. I agree that we h...Zun, your points are excellent. I agree that we haven't yet reached the terminus at which people will begin demanding changes to the health care system at threat of revolt, but we're getting there. One of the reasons I wish that Moore had explored foreign systems <I>outside</I> the national capitals--or asked more questions about Cuba's treatment of foreign patients--is that I felt we might have seen more complications in the smooth narrative that Moore presents. Or maybe not. But I can easily imagine--and in the case of Britain, am quite aware of--some of the crises other wealthy nations' national health care systems are facing. The fact remains, however, that the US system is the costliest and yet it not only doesn't cover everyone, but badly covers quite a few people who do have health care insurance. One recourse that so many turn to in arguing this fact is personal anecdotes, but system-wide studies have shown that the US health care system is in bad shape, and it needs to be not just restructured, but rethought and rebuilt, sooner rather than later. Perhaps foreign systems are not the model to follow, but they may offer some guides--I'm not an American exceptionalist and I don't believe that this country has the answers to all its problems, even if only we who live here are the ones who can implement them.John Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08073378940347627766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-87584520879497130142007-07-22T10:37:00.000-07:002007-07-22T10:37:00.000-07:00John, as a healthcare executive and Canadian citiz...John, as a healthcare executive and Canadian citizen, this is definitely my pet peeve and soapbox. Watching Sicko against the backdrop of the current US healthcare crisis was definitely not a pleasurable feeling. I applaud the fact that Moore brings back healthcare as a major focus in the public debate and he's essentially on point with his analysis of the issues (his polemic style however, remains an acquired taste...)<BR/><BR/>However, his implied solution(s) and the portrayal of other nations' healthcare systems as superior, is more counterproductive than helpful. I can assure you that Canadian healthcare is in as much of a crisis as the US', for different reasons and with different results. The fact remains that - as individuals - receiving our "bang for our buck" is as much an elusive concept as it is for Americans.<BR/><BR/>As buzz phrases like "single payer", "socialized medicine", and "universal healthcare" get tossed around without proper definition or context, what is needed is a comprehensive "apples with apples" comparison of various jurisdictions, how they fund healthcare, how it is delivered to its citizens, and what the major issues in these approaches are. As much as Moore touts Canada, France, and even Cuba as virtuous models, the fact is that all systems struggle with exploding costs and sustainability.<BR/><BR/>In the end, US healthcare is a result of societal priorities. Much like gun laws and tax allocation, the US laws reflect what Americans value most: individual versus societal benefit; personal gain over communal well-being. Before solutions from foreign countries are proposed, healthcare needs to consider how much US society as a whole would have to change for alternate solutions to gain ground. As painful as the current US healthcare crisis is, I believe the actual pain inflection point has not yet been reached.<BR/><BR/>Just think about it: why is it that, for example, the auto and home insurance industry is much more tightly regulated, transparent and consumer-focused? nobody challenges that everyone who drives a car requires insurance. At the same time, consumers drive prices down by being able to comparison-shop for the cheapest rates and the best service.<BR/><BR/>What and who is preventing consumer-focus, price transparency and healthy competition to happen in the US healthcare industry? How can healthcare be put back into the hands of patients? The answer lies not in looking abroad, but in looking at what works at home and and what won't.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16096802635378323445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-52946920623070044562007-07-17T17:43:00.000-07:002007-07-17T17:43:00.000-07:00Audiologo, I did see Rich's article, but since it ...Audiologo, I did see Rich's article, but since it was focusing primarily on children's reading, I didn't blog about it, but I will add it as an update. I haven't read the Snickett books, but I know they're also very popular. Pullman's books strike me as perhaps too philosophical for some readers (and too advanced for a number of young adults--I think of the children I taught some years ago), though that may change if the movie starring Kidman and Daniel Craig is a success. Still, all three of books present formidable challenges in terms of the content, not just in terms of children's mortality, but also in terms of the overt critique of Christianity and power relations.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure if the Baldwinhillites have seen <I>Hot Ghetto Mess</I>, but it's clear that they do possess a certain level of propriety as well as a wariness--or at least consciousness--that they're being broadcast to a wide array of people, and--perhaps I'm reading too much in here, though given what I've seen of the parents, I doubt it--they have not only the race's, but their CLASS's reputation to...uphold? At least not sully in the way that that other show, and far too many on TV (which as you note, do always have to find a black "unstable drama king/queen" (or several), have done. (<I>Real World</I>, beginning with Kevin Powell's derangement during its first season and continuing on through today, comes immediately to mind.) Does that make sense? The politics of black upper middle-class racial respectability are not dead, at least among this crowd.John Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08073378940347627766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11122973.post-39442894378311487442007-07-17T08:31:00.000-07:002007-07-17T08:31:00.000-07:00John, Charles comments touches on some of the issu...John, Charles comments touches on some of the issues raised in Motoko Rich's NYT article, <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/books/11potter.html _r=1&8bu&emc=bu&oref=slogin" REL="nofollow">Potter has limited effect on reading habits</A>. I will admit I've read each successive installment, as well as the Pullman trilogy. The latter collection is definitely much more complex, better written, with more richly drawn characters, and, with WWII-impacted British sensibility, doesn't pull punches with the horrors that can befall children. That last element, along with its solid footing in literary fiction, may be why the Pullman series hasn't caught on like gangbusters in the U.S. It certainly has none of the (pseudo-British) dry witted, tongue-in-cheek approach to serious issues found in the <B>Lemony Snickett</B> books. I haven't seen any BET shows in a long while (I've been forgoing cable), but have looked at the <I>Hot Ghetto Mess</I> website where some of the <B>Hot Ghetto Mess of the Month</B> photos actually left me speechless. If the young adults on <B>Baldwin Hills</B> have taken a look at that site, plus been inculcated with years of reality TV formula, then it's not surprising they're self-conscious; one of them is due to be cast as the "unstable drama king/queen". Since "black" is often portrayed as synonymous with that title already, wouldn't that be like being cast as the absolute monarch of instability? And really, who wants that title? Thanks for reminding me of the Peskine show. I read about it at <A HREF="http://www.codezonline.com/" REL="nofollow">Code Z</A> (formerly <B>Electric Skin</B>), but had forgotten to make plans to go.audiologohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06599965770258902030noreply@blogger.com