4 ms·

I was blown away at the intensity of the propaganda blitz when the Obama administration was working on healthcare - I haven’t seen so much manipulation outside

I was blown away at the intensity of the propaganda blitz when the Obama administration was working on healthcare - I haven’t seen so much manipulation outside an election cycle. The ‘American healthcare is the best in the world!’ line that was oft repeated stands out to me, since by most objective standards it is far from the best.

vxNsr 8y ago
The more I read about it the more convinced I am that there is no way to know who is right, both sides are so invested in their arguments and both sides have so many incentives to skew the numbers are play with the outcomes that it's become impossible to get any sort of definitive answer on this. You say that the US is objectively worse, but I can bring you to 10 people who will argue convincingly that it's objectively better, and then turn you around to 10 people who will convince you of the opposite again. All with real numbers and facts that don't contradict each other.
- tialaramex 8y ago
  Then bring this argument. Or don't. Insisting that "10 people will argue convincingly that four is prime" isn't a convincing argument that four is or even might be prime.
- oliwarner 8y ago
  Objectively worse? To what end? What really matters? Do you care more that your healthcare is 10% more effective at its peak, or that 30% of the population is uninsured, without access to good preventative care? From there you have to extrapolate because nobody can predict the cost of these societal schisms, or that of the cost to heal them. There is no objectivity to be had here; just morality, hope and fear.
- code_duck 8y ago
  I was sick for years as a growingly impoverished self employed person with no non-emergency healthcare access. This situation is, as far as I know, unique to the US as other countries don’t tie health benefits to private employment.

4 ms·

I was blown away at the intensity of the propaganda blitz when the Obama administration was working on healthcare - I haven’t seen so much manipulation outside

by code_duck 8y ago

vxNsr 8y ago
The more I read about it the more convinced I am that there is no way to know who is right, both sides are so invested in their arguments and both sides have so many incentives to skew the numbers are play with the outcomes that it's become impossible to get any sort of definitive answer on this. You say that the US is objectively worse, but I can bring you to 10 people who will argue convincingly that it's objectively better, and then turn you around to 10 people who will convince you of the opposite again. All with real numbers and facts that don't contradict each other.
- tialaramex 8y ago
  Then bring this argument. Or don't. Insisting that "10 people will argue convincingly that four is prime" isn't a convincing argument that four is or even might be prime.
- oliwarner 8y ago
  Objectively worse? To what end? What really matters? Do you care more that your healthcare is 10% more effective at its peak, or that 30% of the population is uninsured, without access to good preventative care? From there you have to extrapolate because nobody can predict the cost of these societal schisms, or that of the cost to heal them. There is no objectivity to be had here; just morality, hope and fear.
- code_duck 8y ago
  I was sick for years as a growingly impoverished self employed person with no non-emergency healthcare access. This situation is, as far as I know, unique to the US as other countries don’t tie health benefits to private employment.