I am sure that some of my more right wing readers may take some exception to this column but I am offering it anyway. I am a capitalist. I believe in free markets. I believe in profit. I believe in success. But, I also believe in restraint. Today greed is killing the very fabric of the society of America. Let us examine some of the more flagrant examples of this greed.
It is easy enough to pick on Wall Street and they are a clear example of what I am talking about. The idea that they can, with a clear conscience, pay themselves the exorbitant salaries and bonuses that have been reported is ridiculous. It would be bad enough if those payments came from profits but the fact that these bonuses came from taxpayer bailouts is criminal. Every one of them who participated should be rounded up and prosecuted.
The clowns who have been involved in Ponzi schemes, Petters, Madoff and others absolutely must spend their remaining years in jail. Every asset that they have including those hidden in other parts of the world must be recovered for those who were cheated. The government agencies charged with the responsibility of over seeing their activities must be cleansed of their incompetence. How many of these regulators are on the take? More jail time.
Who is watching the watchers? Who is watching the peanut processors? Who is regulating the amount pharmaceutical companies can charge for their products? What is the purpose of meat inspectors if they can be paid off by the meat packers and then look the other way when suspect product come to them for inspection? Wouldn’t you think that somebody’s conscience would get the best of them at some point? How many in the Congress are for sale to the highest bidder? Who really believes campaign contributions are for anything but access and favorable votes on pet issues?
All of these are examples of the greed I have been talking about. Corporations say they have to pay these huge salaries to get talent. If what they have is talent, then I would say that they have been sorely misled. Talented executives wouldn’t need the government bailing out their companies. No, the culture of greed has spread like a virus throughout the upper echelons of big business.
This same greed is permeating the entire fabric of our country. You see it in sports, in small business as well as in real estate prices. I remember when people bid up homes often offering more than the asking price in order to buy them. Their thought was apparently that real estate would continue to climb in value. That has proven to be folly.
Today real estate prices are retreating to saner levels. New home starts are down and empty homes are flooding the marketplace. This is called a correction. It needs to be corrected because it was incorrect before. The government is going to do everything it can to stabilize the market, but the correction will continue to take place. In the final analysis the result will be good for everyone.
Government tax revenues are down dramatically. This is also a correction. Programs which were never ending in up times are facing the reality of this correction. Many will be cut back and many will be eliminated.
Capitalism will survive this change. America will survive this correction and will be better for it. Greed will be with us forever, but it will be tempered by the lessons of today.
What we need now is patience. The pain is going to continue for a time but it will come to an end. The crooks and thieves will be rounded up and become footnotes in our history. Our markets will stabilize and better times are ahead. My hope is that in the future we will not forget these times. We absolutely must demand and expect from our elected officials and our regulators a level of excellence not seen before. Those who would practice greed without restraint must face the reality of the law.
Ron Scarbro February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
BLACK SOCKS
(The following was published Jan 16,2009 in the Newsleader)
You’ve seen them. They mostly are visible in the summertime. They are there year round but you really see them in summer. What am I talking about? I’m talking about older men in shorts with black socks on.
I can remember my thoughts when first viewing this phenomenon. What a terrible fashion faux pas I thought. Everybody knows that with shorts you wear white socks. Don’t these guys know what they look like? I never ridiculed them out loud but I sure had my thoughts even though I kept them to myself. I excused the act by just figuring that these old guys just don’t care what they look like. They have much more important things to deal with.
Well judgment day has arrived for me as it always seems to do. It began innocently enough. I started having some mild swelling in my left foot and in my lower leg. It occurred mostly during high humidity. When weather moderated, the problem usually went away. Then I began experiencing mild pain in my leg. Finally, after much nagging from my wife, I went to the doctor.
Superficial phlebitis was the diagnosis. What? Isn’t that what old people get? It is basically an inflammation of the blood vessels. Left untreated, it could get much worse and eventually it could be fatal if clots occur and travel through my system and lodge in my lungs. This is what sometimes happens to long distance flyers who sit for long periods without moving. Blood settles in their lower extremities and when disturbed can travel through the system and cause deadly results.
Believe me I was sufficiently frightened into taking care of the problem. So, I ask, what is the treatment? How do I deal with this? The doctor looked straight at me and replied, black socks. Black socks? You’ve got to be kidding. Oh they were serious all right. Actually they are compression stockings which put pressure on my legs and restrain the runaway flow of blood. They just happened to be black. I suppose one could find these stockings in a different color but at over fifty dollars a pair I will just stay with what I have.
I call them my dork socks. On my dork scale I figure these socks rate a ninety three on the one hundred scale. When asked what would it take for the scale to register higher I replied wearing them with shorts and dress shoes. I draw the line there. I have my standards.
So what is the message here? What have I learned? In a nutshell it is a lesson I should have learned years ago. Don’t judge too harshly situations you don’t have enough information about. In other words, don’t judge a book by its cover. I also learned there are some things that are worse than someone thinking you look like a dork. Besides, you might be a dork. You may not have to look too far to find someone who has a much worse situation than merely black socks.
If you see me or one of the many others so afflicted this summer, don’t snicker out loud. Be patient with us and we promise not to act as dorky as we look.
Ron Scarbro September 17, 2008
You’ve seen them. They mostly are visible in the summertime. They are there year round but you really see them in summer. What am I talking about? I’m talking about older men in shorts with black socks on.
I can remember my thoughts when first viewing this phenomenon. What a terrible fashion faux pas I thought. Everybody knows that with shorts you wear white socks. Don’t these guys know what they look like? I never ridiculed them out loud but I sure had my thoughts even though I kept them to myself. I excused the act by just figuring that these old guys just don’t care what they look like. They have much more important things to deal with.
Well judgment day has arrived for me as it always seems to do. It began innocently enough. I started having some mild swelling in my left foot and in my lower leg. It occurred mostly during high humidity. When weather moderated, the problem usually went away. Then I began experiencing mild pain in my leg. Finally, after much nagging from my wife, I went to the doctor.
Superficial phlebitis was the diagnosis. What? Isn’t that what old people get? It is basically an inflammation of the blood vessels. Left untreated, it could get much worse and eventually it could be fatal if clots occur and travel through my system and lodge in my lungs. This is what sometimes happens to long distance flyers who sit for long periods without moving. Blood settles in their lower extremities and when disturbed can travel through the system and cause deadly results.
Believe me I was sufficiently frightened into taking care of the problem. So, I ask, what is the treatment? How do I deal with this? The doctor looked straight at me and replied, black socks. Black socks? You’ve got to be kidding. Oh they were serious all right. Actually they are compression stockings which put pressure on my legs and restrain the runaway flow of blood. They just happened to be black. I suppose one could find these stockings in a different color but at over fifty dollars a pair I will just stay with what I have.
I call them my dork socks. On my dork scale I figure these socks rate a ninety three on the one hundred scale. When asked what would it take for the scale to register higher I replied wearing them with shorts and dress shoes. I draw the line there. I have my standards.
So what is the message here? What have I learned? In a nutshell it is a lesson I should have learned years ago. Don’t judge too harshly situations you don’t have enough information about. In other words, don’t judge a book by its cover. I also learned there are some things that are worse than someone thinking you look like a dork. Besides, you might be a dork. You may not have to look too far to find someone who has a much worse situation than merely black socks.
If you see me or one of the many others so afflicted this summer, don’t snicker out loud. Be patient with us and we promise not to act as dorky as we look.
Ron Scarbro September 17, 2008
Sunday, February 8, 2009
SANTA CLAUS
(The following was published December 2008 in the Newsleader.)
Grandpa, Grandpa, Tommy told me there wasn’t any Santa Claus. He said it was just your Mommy and Daddy. Well, I asked, what do you think? No Grandpa, I want you to tell me.
Okay jump up here and sit on my lap and let’s talk about this.
Santa is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For me He is real and always been real and I’ll tell you why I think that way. One day many years ago I asked Santa for a special person to spend my life with. Then, as if by magic, your Grandma appeared. I looked into her beautiful face and into her bright eyes and saw love, hope, and joy. I knew then for sure that Santa was real and that He would bring gifts if you just asked right.
Some time later I asked Santa for a special little person to share my life with. I told Him it didn’t matter whether it was a boy or a girl, just a special person to come into my life and bring more joy. Then again as if by magic, I looked into the gorgeous face of your mother. She was tiny and as I held her in my arms, she looked up at me and I saw Santa. I saw love, hope, and joy. I knew all over again that there was indeed a Santa and that He did indeed bring gifts to us if we just asked right.
I think you know what came next. I asked Santa for yet another special person to come into my life and share it with me. This was a few years after your mother had arrived. Well Santa didn’t disappoint me. One day I got to once again look into the beautiful face of baby girl. In that face I saw Santa. I saw love, hope, and joy in eyes that sparkled and shone. I was looking into your eyes. In fact, every time I see you, I am reminded of Santa.
You see, Santa Claus is love. He is hope and He is joy. He is the vision I see when I look at Grandma. He is as real as your Mommy. He is everywhere at the same time. He’s not just around at Christmas. Some day when you are older, you may ask Santa for a special person to share your life with. I believe if you ask right Santa will bring such a person to you as He has to me. So don’t ever let anyone tell you that Santa isn’t real. As long as there is love, hope, and joy in the world, Santa Claus will be there.
Grandpa, Christmas 2008
Grandpa, Grandpa, Tommy told me there wasn’t any Santa Claus. He said it was just your Mommy and Daddy. Well, I asked, what do you think? No Grandpa, I want you to tell me.
Okay jump up here and sit on my lap and let’s talk about this.
Santa is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For me He is real and always been real and I’ll tell you why I think that way. One day many years ago I asked Santa for a special person to spend my life with. Then, as if by magic, your Grandma appeared. I looked into her beautiful face and into her bright eyes and saw love, hope, and joy. I knew then for sure that Santa was real and that He would bring gifts if you just asked right.
Some time later I asked Santa for a special little person to share my life with. I told Him it didn’t matter whether it was a boy or a girl, just a special person to come into my life and bring more joy. Then again as if by magic, I looked into the gorgeous face of your mother. She was tiny and as I held her in my arms, she looked up at me and I saw Santa. I saw love, hope, and joy. I knew all over again that there was indeed a Santa and that He did indeed bring gifts to us if we just asked right.
I think you know what came next. I asked Santa for yet another special person to come into my life and share it with me. This was a few years after your mother had arrived. Well Santa didn’t disappoint me. One day I got to once again look into the beautiful face of baby girl. In that face I saw Santa. I saw love, hope, and joy in eyes that sparkled and shone. I was looking into your eyes. In fact, every time I see you, I am reminded of Santa.
You see, Santa Claus is love. He is hope and He is joy. He is the vision I see when I look at Grandma. He is as real as your Mommy. He is everywhere at the same time. He’s not just around at Christmas. Some day when you are older, you may ask Santa for a special person to share your life with. I believe if you ask right Santa will bring such a person to you as He has to me. So don’t ever let anyone tell you that Santa isn’t real. As long as there is love, hope, and joy in the world, Santa Claus will be there.
Grandpa, Christmas 2008
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
MORON OF THE MONTH, FEBRUARY
Today we are beginning a new feature for this blog. It is to be called the “Moron of the Month”. It is my opinion that I will have many candidates to choose from each month but I would welcome any suggestions from you. If you do offer a particular moron for this feature, just let me know and give me a few good reasons why they should be so honored. I will be happy to do the research and report to you their qualifications for this blog.
Today however, I select Mayor Bloomberg of New York City. You may remember that recently he was at the forefront in an attempt to legislate the type of cooking oil a private citizen/chef could use in the preparation of foods in his own restaurant. This essay chooses not to debate the value or the harm caused by any cooking oil. It chooses instead to report the usurpation of the freedom of choice. Bloomberg’s latest fiasco? He has now declared war on salt. You heard me, salt. It apparently is his opinion that salt is detrimental to your health so therefore government must intrude and take care of you. You, the private free citizens of the great city of New York, are not capable of deciding for yourself what you should or should not eat or in what amount you should consume it. What the Mayor has decided is that he should be the arbiter of all things healthy and unhealthy.
So what you are telling us, Mr. Mayor, is that of all the problems facing your city, too much salt is what you wish to concentrate on. Never mind that you have run away crime and illegal aliens feeding at the public trough. Never mind that traffic movement in New York City is a joke. Never mind that you have the highest taxes of any city of any size in the country. No, it is much better that you put your energy into controlling the intake of salt in the diets of the free citizens of your city.
Bloomberg was originally elected as a Republican but has since converted to become an Independent. It would appear to me that a more appropriate affiliation might be Socialist.
I have a few questions for the Mayor and those who think like him. Number one, what part of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, do you not understand? Do you really believe that being elected Mayor is license to become the Mommy and Daddy of the residents of New York City? Once again I am not debating the health benefits or the problems with salt. No, this is much more important than diet choices. This is about the very basic freedom of American citizens to be left alone and protected from the intrusion of government into their lives.
As for me, I would never consider living in New York or even visiting for that matter. So the question is why would anyone else care what happens in that particular cesspool? Why do I? The reason is simple. If Bloomberg pulls off the legislative control of salt in the diets of New Yorkers, it will just be a short time until it will be tried in other parts of the country. We are losing our basic freedoms at an alarming rate in the name of what’s good for us. Listen up Mayor Bloomberg, neither you nor anyone of your ilk is in any position to decide what is best for me. I will make those choices for myself. If I choose to eat salt by the bucketfuls, that is my choice. If I choose to drink cooking oils by the gallon, that is also my decision. Butt out.
I have reported but a couple of reasons I chose Mayor Bloomberg as this blog’s first Moron of the Month. As we go forward, I will be on the look out for the next qualified candidate, and believe me there are many. Consider if you will the Wall Street executives who paid themselves huge bonuses from the bail-out money. No this will be an easy task. Please offer your suggestions as you have them and stay tuned.
Ron Scarbro February 3, 2009
Today however, I select Mayor Bloomberg of New York City. You may remember that recently he was at the forefront in an attempt to legislate the type of cooking oil a private citizen/chef could use in the preparation of foods in his own restaurant. This essay chooses not to debate the value or the harm caused by any cooking oil. It chooses instead to report the usurpation of the freedom of choice. Bloomberg’s latest fiasco? He has now declared war on salt. You heard me, salt. It apparently is his opinion that salt is detrimental to your health so therefore government must intrude and take care of you. You, the private free citizens of the great city of New York, are not capable of deciding for yourself what you should or should not eat or in what amount you should consume it. What the Mayor has decided is that he should be the arbiter of all things healthy and unhealthy.
So what you are telling us, Mr. Mayor, is that of all the problems facing your city, too much salt is what you wish to concentrate on. Never mind that you have run away crime and illegal aliens feeding at the public trough. Never mind that traffic movement in New York City is a joke. Never mind that you have the highest taxes of any city of any size in the country. No, it is much better that you put your energy into controlling the intake of salt in the diets of the free citizens of your city.
Bloomberg was originally elected as a Republican but has since converted to become an Independent. It would appear to me that a more appropriate affiliation might be Socialist.
I have a few questions for the Mayor and those who think like him. Number one, what part of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, do you not understand? Do you really believe that being elected Mayor is license to become the Mommy and Daddy of the residents of New York City? Once again I am not debating the health benefits or the problems with salt. No, this is much more important than diet choices. This is about the very basic freedom of American citizens to be left alone and protected from the intrusion of government into their lives.
As for me, I would never consider living in New York or even visiting for that matter. So the question is why would anyone else care what happens in that particular cesspool? Why do I? The reason is simple. If Bloomberg pulls off the legislative control of salt in the diets of New Yorkers, it will just be a short time until it will be tried in other parts of the country. We are losing our basic freedoms at an alarming rate in the name of what’s good for us. Listen up Mayor Bloomberg, neither you nor anyone of your ilk is in any position to decide what is best for me. I will make those choices for myself. If I choose to eat salt by the bucketfuls, that is my choice. If I choose to drink cooking oils by the gallon, that is also my decision. Butt out.
I have reported but a couple of reasons I chose Mayor Bloomberg as this blog’s first Moron of the Month. As we go forward, I will be on the look out for the next qualified candidate, and believe me there are many. Consider if you will the Wall Street executives who paid themselves huge bonuses from the bail-out money. No this will be an easy task. Please offer your suggestions as you have them and stay tuned.
Ron Scarbro February 3, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
THE MIDDLE EAST
War has been a fact of life in The Middle East for centuries. It certainly didn’t start in this century and it probably will not end in this century. From all indications the Palestinians now seem bent on self destruction. For several years they have been poking and picking at a giant bear who has, for the most part, allowed the harassment to go on. That giant bear is of course Israel. It would appear now however that the giant bear has awakened and is about to grant the Palestinians their wish of destruction.
Gaza will be only the beginning. Iran and Syria will follow with virtual total destruction of all their major cities and what commerce they have. If Israel does it right, the whole episode will take less than a week. If you don’t think they possess the ability then you are mistaken.
The world through the august body known as The United Nations will be aghast. Condemnations will abound. Trials will no doubt be held at the World Court and Israel will probably be found guilty of all sorts of crimes. Why, you ask? Well, it would seem that for Israel to defend her territory against her enemies and to try to stop the continuing missile assault on her cities and schools, they would be committing a crime in the eyes of a part of the so-called liberal minded European world.
Iran and Syria must be punished for their participation in the scheme to eliminate Israel. Their ability to pose a threat to Israel must and will be neutered. Israel needs to end this nonsense once and for all. I would hope that Lebanon will see the only answer for them is to stay out of it and control their semi-feral populace. If they step into the fray, they will surely suffer the same humiliation as their neighbors.
So, why should we care? What difference does it make to us so many thousands of miles away? There are many reasons for us to examine. First in my view is that Israel is our ally. We were there at the beginning and we have pledged our support as an ally. That cannot be taken lightly. Secondly, if Israel is allowed to fall at the hands of the radical Muslim world we will surely suffer right along with them. This brings me to the final reason. We are the pre-imminent World power and our allies are under out protection. We need to act like the world power that we are and the world needs to understand exactly what that means. If we fail in our duty to our allies, we lose all credibility in the eyes of others. In addition if we fail to show the world that we, along with Israel, are serious in our defense of liberty and freedom, we cheat the world and deceive them into thinking that they could compete with us militarily. That just invites more death and destruction.
Our path is clear here. We give Israel any support they need whether that lies in fly-over permission of Iraq, or armaments to fill their storehouses. Our job is to clearly be there for them. It is my belief that when these would be enemies see what they face, the survivors will try to return to a peaceful life and stay out of trouble.
Will that end the conflict? No. What it might do however is to give the radicals pause. It may allow them to re-examine their thinking before they get too aggressive again.
To those among you who think my solution is too extreme, I offer this. The only way any war can truly end is for there to be a winner and a loser. That has been the case since the beginning of time and nothing has changed. We need to make sure that Israel is the winner.
Ron Scarbro January 14, 2009
Gaza will be only the beginning. Iran and Syria will follow with virtual total destruction of all their major cities and what commerce they have. If Israel does it right, the whole episode will take less than a week. If you don’t think they possess the ability then you are mistaken.
The world through the august body known as The United Nations will be aghast. Condemnations will abound. Trials will no doubt be held at the World Court and Israel will probably be found guilty of all sorts of crimes. Why, you ask? Well, it would seem that for Israel to defend her territory against her enemies and to try to stop the continuing missile assault on her cities and schools, they would be committing a crime in the eyes of a part of the so-called liberal minded European world.
Iran and Syria must be punished for their participation in the scheme to eliminate Israel. Their ability to pose a threat to Israel must and will be neutered. Israel needs to end this nonsense once and for all. I would hope that Lebanon will see the only answer for them is to stay out of it and control their semi-feral populace. If they step into the fray, they will surely suffer the same humiliation as their neighbors.
So, why should we care? What difference does it make to us so many thousands of miles away? There are many reasons for us to examine. First in my view is that Israel is our ally. We were there at the beginning and we have pledged our support as an ally. That cannot be taken lightly. Secondly, if Israel is allowed to fall at the hands of the radical Muslim world we will surely suffer right along with them. This brings me to the final reason. We are the pre-imminent World power and our allies are under out protection. We need to act like the world power that we are and the world needs to understand exactly what that means. If we fail in our duty to our allies, we lose all credibility in the eyes of others. In addition if we fail to show the world that we, along with Israel, are serious in our defense of liberty and freedom, we cheat the world and deceive them into thinking that they could compete with us militarily. That just invites more death and destruction.
Our path is clear here. We give Israel any support they need whether that lies in fly-over permission of Iraq, or armaments to fill their storehouses. Our job is to clearly be there for them. It is my belief that when these would be enemies see what they face, the survivors will try to return to a peaceful life and stay out of trouble.
Will that end the conflict? No. What it might do however is to give the radicals pause. It may allow them to re-examine their thinking before they get too aggressive again.
To those among you who think my solution is too extreme, I offer this. The only way any war can truly end is for there to be a winner and a loser. That has been the case since the beginning of time and nothing has changed. We need to make sure that Israel is the winner.
Ron Scarbro January 14, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
CANADIAN HEALTH CARE, EH?
Just recently another Canadian died while waiting to travel to America for a cancer treatment that wasn’t available in Canada. This treatment was to have been paid for by their system but it took months for approvals. Unfortunately she couldn’t wait.
Some think Canada is just like America only with better beer. I have learned some facts that go with the previous story that every American needs to hear and it doesn’t have anything to do with beer.
I recently heard a story of a couple’s experience with the Canadian Health Care System that was chilling as well as enlightening.
The lady and her husband were on a cruise to Alaska and had returned to Vancouver, B. C. While in port there, he suffered a stroke. He was taken immediately to a hospital in Vancouver. As you may know Canada has a universal health care system that covers their citizens free of charge. Of course that is their citizens.
I will try to shorten this story because it was rather long. The lady’s first shock came from admittance to the emergency ward. She had to come up with six hundred dollars immediately before anything else would happen. This event happened on a Friday evening and she was unable to reach her health care insurer in the states as they were closed for the weekend. So out came her credit card and he was admitted. They were lucky, they were told, because he needed an M.R.I. and the only one in Vancouver was at this hospital and was only available on the weekend as all other citizens are scheduled during the week. Most Canadians wait up to eight or nine months for an M.R.I. His hospital room cost three thousand dollars a night. The hospital required the money up front. They didn’t care about her private insurance. Fortunately they took her credit card. His room was a four bed ward separated by a flimsy sheet with absolutely no room to even turn around. His ward mates were all women. There were no chairs to sit in and it really didn’t matter because there was not enough room to put a chair in the room anyway. In four days of hospitalization he was not bathed, until she insisted that he be cleaned up and took him out to the communal shower to clean him up herself. His sheets had not been changed. She again insisted that if necessary she would change the bed herself. They relented and finally changed the sheets. The lady knew her husband was just getting sicker being in this hospital. After much debate and discussion the medical staff finally agreed that he was healthy enough to fly. She had gotten in touch with her insurer who had convinced the hospital and the doctors that they would cover their eighty percent of the bill.
This lady also related that the place was filthy. Blood soaked cotton balls and bedding were strewn on the floor. In three days it wasn’t picked up. The hallways were littered with junk and equipment and cleaning supplies. She was assured that this was one of the finest facilities in Vancouver and was lucky they were there for her husband. She described it as a nightmare however.
When they finally arrived back home in the U.S. he was immediately taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and other respiratory ailments as well as the stroke. It took months for him to begin his recovery and is doing well today.
So what is the message here? For sure they have better beer and theirs is a beautiful country, but that’s where it ends. Their socialized medical system is a joke for the Canadians as well as anyone else who happens to fall ill there. This lady related that even though they were only fifty miles from America, they were truly in a foreign country. She hastened to add that this was just their experience however and may not be everybody’s. There is a reason though why Canadians, who can afford it, come here for medical care.
Another message is if you travel to a foreign country, carry trip insurance. Whether you are fifty miles from America or five thousand, the rules are different and like it or not it is their rules that apply.
A final message is just this. I believe some sort of universal health care is coming to America. Is this what we want? Can we do it better? We should be careful what we wish for. It may turn out to be something we truly don’t want.
Ron Scarbro January 3, 2009
Some think Canada is just like America only with better beer. I have learned some facts that go with the previous story that every American needs to hear and it doesn’t have anything to do with beer.
I recently heard a story of a couple’s experience with the Canadian Health Care System that was chilling as well as enlightening.
The lady and her husband were on a cruise to Alaska and had returned to Vancouver, B. C. While in port there, he suffered a stroke. He was taken immediately to a hospital in Vancouver. As you may know Canada has a universal health care system that covers their citizens free of charge. Of course that is their citizens.
I will try to shorten this story because it was rather long. The lady’s first shock came from admittance to the emergency ward. She had to come up with six hundred dollars immediately before anything else would happen. This event happened on a Friday evening and she was unable to reach her health care insurer in the states as they were closed for the weekend. So out came her credit card and he was admitted. They were lucky, they were told, because he needed an M.R.I. and the only one in Vancouver was at this hospital and was only available on the weekend as all other citizens are scheduled during the week. Most Canadians wait up to eight or nine months for an M.R.I. His hospital room cost three thousand dollars a night. The hospital required the money up front. They didn’t care about her private insurance. Fortunately they took her credit card. His room was a four bed ward separated by a flimsy sheet with absolutely no room to even turn around. His ward mates were all women. There were no chairs to sit in and it really didn’t matter because there was not enough room to put a chair in the room anyway. In four days of hospitalization he was not bathed, until she insisted that he be cleaned up and took him out to the communal shower to clean him up herself. His sheets had not been changed. She again insisted that if necessary she would change the bed herself. They relented and finally changed the sheets. The lady knew her husband was just getting sicker being in this hospital. After much debate and discussion the medical staff finally agreed that he was healthy enough to fly. She had gotten in touch with her insurer who had convinced the hospital and the doctors that they would cover their eighty percent of the bill.
This lady also related that the place was filthy. Blood soaked cotton balls and bedding were strewn on the floor. In three days it wasn’t picked up. The hallways were littered with junk and equipment and cleaning supplies. She was assured that this was one of the finest facilities in Vancouver and was lucky they were there for her husband. She described it as a nightmare however.
When they finally arrived back home in the U.S. he was immediately taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and other respiratory ailments as well as the stroke. It took months for him to begin his recovery and is doing well today.
So what is the message here? For sure they have better beer and theirs is a beautiful country, but that’s where it ends. Their socialized medical system is a joke for the Canadians as well as anyone else who happens to fall ill there. This lady related that even though they were only fifty miles from America, they were truly in a foreign country. She hastened to add that this was just their experience however and may not be everybody’s. There is a reason though why Canadians, who can afford it, come here for medical care.
Another message is if you travel to a foreign country, carry trip insurance. Whether you are fifty miles from America or five thousand, the rules are different and like it or not it is their rules that apply.
A final message is just this. I believe some sort of universal health care is coming to America. Is this what we want? Can we do it better? We should be careful what we wish for. It may turn out to be something we truly don’t want.
Ron Scarbro January 3, 2009
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