Healthcare with an occupy tie in

[michaelangelo]

Economies of scale make any socialized medicine approach non-workable here in the United States. The two largest entitlement programs (Social Security and Medicare) are teetering on the edge of insolvency and WILL crash and burn in the next 20 years when the baby-boom generation fully enters both programs. Where is the money going to come from to fund such a system? In Canada my tax burden would approach 45-50% depending on which province I live in. Sorry, but I'm not about to take a 10% hit to pay for someone else's insurance. That doesn't even begin to deal with how much is going to be necessary to try and salvage Medicare and Social Security. You might be ok with a nominal tax rate of 60-70% but I'm not.

Also...if your 34 million Canadians face 12-18 month waits for services...how do you think that'll translate to 315 million people?

You'll die in line.

in Alberta, I pay 32% taxes, the highest tax bracket in Alberta is 39%. My father in law was diagnosed with lymphoma (a type of cancer) and started treatment almost immediately (since it was critical to start right away). Our provincial governemnt went through many cutbacks over the past few years in health care and education, but they are now trying to 'right the ship.' I don't use the health care system that much, but i am glad i don't have to worry about medical bills that could potentially bankrupt me if something were to happen to me. that's just my .02, our system obviously is not perfect, and it's been pretty bad, but it's getting better.