Fix It!!!

Now that Obama has finally offered his vision of “Obamacare” (let’s not forget that every plan up until this point has come from congress not Obama), it’s time to get some positive, progressive work done.

Some notes:

Health care spending as it relates to GDP [let’s look at some numbers here]:

Super-powers: Singapore 3.3%; Cuba 7.7 %; Czech Republic 6.9%; Greece 9.5%

Not-to-mentions: Canada, France 11%; Germany 10.6%; Japan 8.1%, and the UK 8.2%

The US—15.3% (more than any country in the world!!!)

What has spending the most money in world on health care gotten us?

Life expectancy—the US is 26^th—behind such super-powers as Singapore, Greece and Puerto Rico (Not to Mention Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK)

Infant death mortality—the US is 29^th—behind such super-powers as the Cuba, Czech Republic, and Greece (Not to mention Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK)

A report out of the University of Maine contains more than a few interesting points. Here are a couple:

The United States is ‘the only country in the developed world, except for South Africa, that does not provide health care for all of its citizens.’

The U.S. health care system ranked 15^th in the world for overall attainment…and 37^th in the world for performance.

Obviously those folks screaming at town hall meetings, calling Obama a liar, and generally decrying health care reform and making claims that ours is the best are more than misguided.

It’s simple. We’ve got a problem, and I say “Fix it!”

And I’m not the only one. One of this county’s best rock bands is now lending their name to the cause of health care reform. Well known for their socially progressive stance, R.E.M. has teamed up with Moveon.org and produced a video utilizing their song “You Are the Everything” and some striking images to further make the point that we need serious health care reform.

Truely, there seems to be few who question the need for reform. The question is what shape that reform takes. It is important to remember that the form of our health care does not define "America." What should define America are the values that we express as shown in how we take care of our citizens. Let's look at those countries that do it better than us. Let's do it better than those health care systems. Let's "Fix it!"