On the recent furore surrounding Obamacare; I'll try to
summarise what I see with an analogy, where the people around the table are
American citizens.
Obama's opponents see a group of 7 friends sitting at a
table with a big cake they are about to share. They accuse Obama of saying that
he's going to invite 4 other friends around to share the cake while at the same
time promising that the 7 people's share of the cake won't be any smaller. Obama is saying that the USA
Both sides seem to be lacking two vital things; 1) The
solution of making the cake bigger, and how to do it. And 2) The fact that
there is more than one type of cake, and by inviting friends over you might
have to change from a cake you like to one you don't. Moreover, it would be
more fruitful for some of the critics (on both sides) if they learned the
difference between health care and health insurance*.
One thing's for sure - every time I look at health care
systems in America , I think
of the National Health Service in the UK
* Those who had a
healthcare plan and voted for Obama again probably thought those who were the
most recent to sign up would get whichever leftover options were available.
