THE BEST HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE WORLD

“That is not the issue,” Sen. Mitch McConnell said. “The question is how to go step by step to improve the American health care system. It is already the finest health care system in the world.”

There is not doubt that the American Health Care system is the best in Kentucky.  It's in the other 49 states that we have a problem.  The World Health Organization places the United States Health Care system at number 23 in the world.  That means that there are some countries well entrenched in the 3rd world ahead of us.  

I think about things that politicians say a lot.  I actually take very few of them seriously, even though I have a deep seated conviction that what comes out of their mouths is mostly untrue.  I hesitate to accuse them of lying because I am not sure that they make it a point to lie in order to deceive us.  I think that they are so irreversibly warped to fit into their own parallel universe that they can't relate to the truth the way the rest of us perceive it.  Take Ol' Mitch, for instance.  I would be willing to bet you $5.00 that he knows right good and well that the U.S. healthcare system is not the best in the world.  He knows that the rest of the western world and some of the eastern world as well as far ahead of the U. S. in the delivery of health care.  He knows that the citizens of the U.S. pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.  He knows it because he voted to make it a national policy that the U.S. government would not negotiate with the big pharmaceutical companies for preferred pricing.  We have the best healthcare system in the world because Mitch McConnell gets huge campaign donations from the healthcare system machine.  So, that's his definition of "best."  Hey, he can't mess with them, right?

There is one truth that you will never hear a politician mouth and that is that the U.S. has one of the lower personal tax rates in the world.  Actually, number 23 among the first world countries.  The other things that you won't catch them saying is that no matter how you slice the statistics, the U.S. leads the world in per capita income.  Before you read it here, were you aware of that?  

I find it interesting that this is true despite the fact that the U.S. is only 7th in the world in number of college graduates every year.  When I put that all together, it makes me understand why those who can, ship their manufacturing processes to other countries around the globe.  Are the politicians doing anything to make it easier for the average U.S. citizen to graduate from college?  Of course not, they will tell you that we have the best education system in the world.  Actually, according to the statistics we are paying higher wages to a less educated population than can be found across the pond.  If I can come to that conclusion, why can't they?

Here's a personal anecdote.  I have a young cousin who lives in Italy.  He is about in the 5 or 6th grade.  The only advantage that he has is that he is "acing" English as a second language.  The rest of his grades are respectable B+ GPA.  His mother assures me that he is at least two years ahead of his U.S. peers in general education achievement.  I'm not surprised.  Some five years ago a young nephew came to this country from a village in the Philippines.  He was in the fourth grade.  He coasted for three years because he was totally "underwhelmed."  Sounds to me like we're paying people too much.  

Example:  I heard on the PBS station from San Diego today that the  employees at the convention center must be payed a "living wage" of #13.77 per hour.  Huh?  For that kind of money, I'll sweep your floor, wash your windows, clean your toilets and take out your trash.  $13.77!  No wonder no one wants to graduate from college.  There's money to be made sweeping floors.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Politician.  Keep living in your world.  Just remember, when you tell us that we are the best in the world, we do not believe you.