Peter Chowka has written a good piece on the “universal health care” project contemplated by Barack Obama and other Democrats. One of the article’s best passages involves the effect of incessant media crisis-mongering. Discussing a recent public opinion survey, Chowka points out the following:
Vast majorities of those sampled – including 93 per cent of Democrats – say the system requires “fundamental changes” or “needs to be completely rebuilt” … However, in response to a question about “The health care you receive,” 90 percent of Republicans and 74 per cent of Democrats said they are “satisfied.”
Why would people with such positive personal experiences with our medical delivery system tell pollsters that the system needs to be overhauled?
Americans, when answering general questions about the country’s health care, are parroting back negative information that’s been drummed into them for years by the media, politicians, special interest groups, etc., to wit that the American health care system is in crisis and is approaching breakdown.
This crisis-mongering has long been with us. As I noted in this post, journalists and politicians have been forcasting the imminent collapse of American health care for the best part of four decades.
The public should ignore this apocalypticism. It is designed to sell the voters on a set of policies that will do serious damage to a health care system that has its faults but which (the propaganda notwithstanding) is still the best in the world.
Comments 2
A really neat, easy way to intentionally create a heath care crisis where none exists is to to systematically reduce doctor fees, year after year. At the same time place unfunded massive extra practice costs via bureaucratic fiat.
Soon there is no access to “care” for Medicare/Medicaid/RomneyCare.
Posted 10 Feb 2008 at 11:54 am ¶Yep. Then, once they have created the crisis, they can step in and “solve” it by taking over the whole system.
Posted 10 Feb 2008 at 2:47 pm ¶Post a Comment