Okay, so this is "Sarah's Soapbox" Round Two.
What brought this about? Well, I got annoyed with a news article and sent an email to my Dad who is an architect currently working in Singapore. The title of that email was something along the lines of "On my soapbox" which is how I refer to the pseudo-political rants constantly fermenting in my brain.
This morning I opened my inbox only to find a dozen inquiries from total strangers - "Hey, can I subscribe to "Sarah's Soapbox"?"
No, you cannot. There is no soapbox.
I should know, because I'm the Sarah who's supposed to be standing on it. To clear up any confusion - Yes, I am only 26 years old. I am not a student. I currently hold an MA in History (that would be 6 years of study, 2 - 10 years short of a Doctorate of Philosophy, depending on whether you prefer to take the suicide route or the scenic route through graduate school). I have used my basically useless degree to acquire the exceptionally low-paying job of my dreams in a small town in Texas (Hollywood it is not). I work as a museum curator,
I enjoy fencing (with swords), classic science fiction, philosophy, theatre, photography, skating, computers, theoretical physics, cooking, archery, cartoons and snowboarding. Until recently, I lived in Seattle which is my favorite US city. I was unable to find a decent job, so I resorted to working at a Domino's Pizza for about eight months until I decided to relocate.
I have previously lived in Gunnison Colorado, Moscow Idaho, Cambridge UK and La Maddelena, Sardenia. I have insufficient respect for any authority and my current roommates include a german shephard and an exceptionally stupid seven foot boa constrictor named "Leonard".
The phrase "on a soapbox" dates back to the 19th century when soap was still packed in sturdy wooden crates which people could actually stand on. In the days before blogs and social networking sites, opinionated assholes (and geniuses) actually had to physically get up in front of thier peers.
I believe what I believe and I am not afraid to say it. If you don't approve, you may pelt me with rotten fruit just like they did in the old days. God knows that Youtube could certainly use a few crates of moldy tomatoes. Ditto for CBS News.
I've decided that need a coffee mug with a picture of Socrates on it - done up like one of those motivational posters. The caption would read
"Philosophers - In ur base, killing ur ideas."
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/in-ur-base
If this makes no sense to you - it's probably because you don't play video games. Personally, I find shooting things to be incredibly therepeudic, and when I can't enjoy filling a haybale full of arrows from my Hungarian bow, I'll settle for firing a virtual rocket launcher at a patch of terrorist pixels.
But I digress. People seemed to enjoy my first rant, so here's another one. This is a touch more personal and makes heavy use of this thing called LOGIC that our government is clearly terrified of.
I think I mentioned free medical treatment briefly in my rant about immigration. Frankly, I can't even begin to express how absurd "Obamacare" is - the system was clearly devised by individuals who have no understanding of basic economics.
Medical care is bloody damned expensive, and if doctors must treat more patients without pulling in more money - you can bet anything that the quality will go downhill. Early modern medicine was so bad that most people preferred not to call a doctor until they were certain that they were going to die.
Let's do a little story problem here. Pretend that I have $5.00.
With this $5.00 I am told to buy a bottle of asprin which has twenty pills in it.
I am told to give these pills to anyone who comes in to my clinic with a headache.
Five people come to me with headaches. Each person gives me $1.25 and I give them four pieces of asprin.
I now have $6.25. I use $5.00 to buy another bottle of asprin for my patients and I take the remaining $1.25 to pay my own paycheck and my bills.
But then heathcare becomes free. I still only have $5.00, which is enough to buy one bottle of asprin.
Ten people come to me with headaches. Five can pay, the rest cannot.
Each of these ten people demands four pills. But I only have twenty pills to give out.
I could buy a second bottle of asprin, but I can barely afford the asprin I've already bought. If I don't want a riot, my only choice is to give each person only two asprin and tell them that two is all they need. Let's call this "The Soviet Option".
Alternatively, I can raise the cost of the aspirin from $1.25 to $2.50 - but only for the people who can pay. That way, when my five paying customers come in, I can use thier money to buy asprin for those who can't afford it. This is "The IRS Option".
So is "free" medicine actually free?
No. Logically speaking, free medicine is impossible.
Uh oh. I used the "L" word, didn't I? Looks like I won't be up for reelection.
There isn't a single government agency in this country which efficiently does its job. A federal medical system will most certainly operate with all of finesse of FEMA. Just think, we have so much to look forward to!
And please do ignore the fact that there are already free clinics in this country which will treat patients who cannot pay. Here's an example of one. I have been there myself, and it was not too bad.
http://www.countrydoctor.org/
But universally "free" medicine for the public good? Equal care for everyone? Sounds a bit like an Orwellian party line, doesn't it? Before we buy into this crap, we'd best remember that some animals will always be "more equal" than others - and that someone always has to foot the bill. If you work, that "someone" will be you.
Of course, what we currently call medical care is also a tremendous scam - right up there with presidental elections, Nigerian emails and insurance sales.
If you make under $20,000 (like me) you cannot afford to carry medical insurance. Hell, you probably can't afford car insurance, but you've got to have that. If you are uninsured, the warning I received when I first moved to Italy also applies in the US. Put simply, DON'T GET SICK.
I've chosen to make medicine the topic of my second "soapbox" for personal reasons.
You see, I currently have an eye infection. I correctly diagnosed my condition, threw away my contacts and applied first aid procedures. When the infection refused to clear up on its own, I realized that I would need antibiotics.
If such a thing were available over the counter, I would have bought a bottle days ago. But of course, drugs can't simply be made available to consumers!
And why? Because consumers will abuse drugs, use them incorrectly and take things they shouldn't without reading warning labels. Even relatively harmless drugs must be accessed only through a vast bureucratic chain.
All pharmaceudical companies know that the Average American is far too stupid to figure out what kind of medicine he needs.
Personally, I get sick only twice a year, usually once with strep or bronchitis and once with a sinus infection or eye infection of some kind. I have never gotten a flu shot and have not had "the flu" since I was in elemetary school. I am a healthy person. I excersize and I eat well. And let me tell you, when I get the same damned infection every year at the beginning of allergy season - I know what I have. I can feel an eye infection coming on like I'm staring into the headlights of a Mack truck. I know that I need Ciprofloxacin - taken one drop every two hours for seven days.
But I can't go get that for myself. A doctor must tell me that I need it. Just as a doctor must tell me that I need Zithromax when I get a sinus infection because I am allergic to penicillin.
Now this is the ridiculous part. How many people are completely honest with thier doctors?
"Doctor - I have been dieting/exercising/watching my cholestrol/sugar? Doctor - I haven't been smoking/drinking/having unprotected sex?"
Think about it. Does anyone actually mark "yes" at the hospital when they ask you to check whether or not you are an alcoholic? Of course not! Alcoholics check "no" on that box! The same goes for "recreational drugs". Even if you do them, you never admit it - not unless you've been hospitalized for an overdoes. And if your doctor tells you that you've contracted an STD, you always tell him that you were being careful. Even if you know damned well that you weren't.
But you can't medicate yourself, even if you do know more than your doctor does.
You don't have that right. The doctor makes the call on what you "need".
And fairly soon you won't have the right to elect what kind of medical treatments you would like either. Can universal health care pay for everyone's lasik? Who needs a nose job or liposuction? I'd sure like to have laser surgery done myself - if I didn't have to wear contacts 24-7, I'd probably have a lot less trouble with eye infections.
So, I had an appointment at 2:45 today. After signing away my soul and writing a check for $82.00 (which is a substantial chunk of my bi-weekly paycheck) - I waited more than an hour for a ten minute consultation with the doctor. The doctor took one look at me and said "You have an eye infection. You need Ciprofloxacin."
I pointed out that this was the reason I'd made my appointment in the first place. I had drawn two columns on my paperwork when I arrived, one titled "symptoms" and the other "diagnosis/treatment".
The doctor tells me I can pick up my prescription at the pharmacy. Again, I have no insurance. The cost of that miniscule bottle of eyedrops is $47.16.
Total cost of an eye infection - $129.16
Time invested - 3 hours
Percentage of Sarah's bi-weekly paycheck - 21%
Consensus? - If medical care gets any worse than it already is, we're all going to die..
Good evening, everyone.
I'm glad to be of service to the thinking people of cyberspace.
- Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment