4 ms·

The thing that is unique to the US is the level of corruption. Politicians are 100% beholden to corporate interests and nothing else. America’s dominance is ent

by yunwal 3y ago

The thing that is unique to the US is the level of corruption. Politicians are 100% beholden to corporate interests and nothing else. America’s dominance is entirely reliant on industry, so nothing can be done to upset the big corps.

wolverine876 3y ago
Is corruption actually worse in the US than in countries with single-payer? I doubt it. Let's stop making excuses for ourselves and get it done. Maggie Thatcher, who I don't pretend to love, once said (IIRC what I read, paraphrasing), 'Ask military leaders if something can be done, and they'll give you a hundred reasons that it can't. Tell them it will be done and ask how, and you'll get a hundred solutions.' Adjourn the 'can-we-will-we-it's-so-hard' meeting, and convene the 'how' meeting.
- yunwal 3y ago
  > Is corruption actually worse in the US Yes, in particular America has by far the largest pharmaceutical and medical devices industries in the world, so politicians in other countries have no particularly strong incentive to prioritize healthcare profits over wellbeing. Ask a thousand healthcare economists why healthcare in the US is so expensive and 99% will have this in their top 3 answers. > Tell them it will be done and ask how, you’ll get 100 solutions Here’s the solutions: demographic shifts due to death, labor strikes, or violence. Voting in 2024 isn’t one of them. I will still vote because it’s easy and makes some minuscule difference, but there is no mainstream political will for change here.
  - crazygringo 3y ago
    I just wanted to say thanks for that perspective -- I've often wondered what made the US so "different" from other developed countries in not having single-payer, and had always assumed the root cause was a cultural frontier-settler-independence attitude. I never thought about the fact that we have a domestic pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, that's present in a way that's unique to the US. That's a factor you don't get in Spain or Norway or Australia. Very enlightening -- TIL!

by yunwal 3y ago

wolverine876 3y ago

Is corruption actually worse in the US than in countries with single-payer? I doubt it. Let's stop making excuses for ourselves and get it done. Maggie Thatcher, who I don't pretend to love, once said (IIRC what I read, paraphrasing), 'Ask military leaders if something can be done, and they'll give you a hundred reasons that it can't. Tell them it will be done and ask how, and you'll get a hundred solutions.' Adjourn the 'can-we-will-we-it's-so-hard' meeting, and convene the 'how' meeting.

yunwal 3y ago
> Is corruption actually worse in the US Yes, in particular America has by far the largest pharmaceutical and medical devices industries in the world, so politicians in other countries have no particularly strong incentive to prioritize healthcare profits over wellbeing. Ask a thousand healthcare economists why healthcare in the US is so expensive and 99% will have this in their top 3 answers. > Tell them it will be done and ask how, you’ll get 100 solutions Here’s the solutions: demographic shifts due to death, labor strikes, or violence. Voting in 2024 isn’t one of them. I will still vote because it’s easy and makes some minuscule difference, but there is no mainstream political will for change here.
- crazygringo 3y ago
  I just wanted to say thanks for that perspective -- I've often wondered what made the US so "different" from other developed countries in not having single-payer, and had always assumed the root cause was a cultural frontier-settler-independence attitude. I never thought about the fact that we have a domestic pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, that's present in a way that's unique to the US. That's a factor you don't get in Spain or Norway or Australia. Very enlightening -- TIL!