I know weighing in on politics can come off a bit heavy-handed on Facebook, but Id just like to say this, as Ive been hearing people talk about wanting information about voting. I wanted to post something that isnt a statistic or poster, but something a bit more relatable and conversational. It might be a bit long - bear with me. So we hear people talk about the American healthcare system - paying over a grand for some stitches, and people hospitalised after accidents given bills for $100,000 plus, which pretty much sounds like the worst day of someones life. This is mostly caused by the privatisation of healthcare in the US, meaning private investors buying the important bits of the medical system; hospitals, etc. The investors then try to keep costs for the patient as high as possible, and spend the least on equipment as possible. This ensures a profit, as the hospital then becomes a business. In New Zealand, our taxes go towards these things, which are controlled and owned by the state. Im not saying that John Keys re-election would spell the end of affordable doctors visits. But his mindset, and the National Partys stance on selling off state assets to investors (privatisation) shows us a huge shift in thinking. It will sound okay - lowering taxes, new money in the country - but, modelled after the US, it can increase costs that we count on to be low (relatively). What Im talking about is the long run, maybe decades and generations down the track. But voting matters, right now. I stayed in hospital for three days after a whitetail bite last November. Had my own room (isolation time), TV, and decent food. It would have cost around thirty thousand dollars (!) if I lived in America. It was free.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 08:39:31 +0000