Healthcare in America: No Pony for Us
Wise up, America! Only the richest little girls get ponies (Scene from "Gone with the Wind")
W.J. Astore
The comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore has a great sketch about Americans not getting a pony. The "pony" in question is taxpayer-funded, single-payer health care. Only the most naive or gullible or spoiled Americans could possibly believe they deserve such a pony -- this is an argument advanced by Democratic sages like Hillary Clinton, among many others, like Nancy Pelosi. She's supported today by "sensible centrists" like Joe Biden and "Mayor Pete" Buttigieg, who argue that Medicare for All is wildly impractical and crazily expensive.
As my wife quipped, for "sensible centrists" and their ilk, we don't get a pony -- but we do get to pony up.
Yes, Americans get to pony up -- and up -- and up, in the form of high insurance costs, deductibles, co-pays, and the like. And let's not forget the high cost of life-giving prescriptions, such as insulin, which under our wonderful private systems have soared in price.
Those who attempt to sell Medicare for All in America, like Elizabeth Warren this weekend, are dismissed as delusional. Take this headline at Reuters: Republicans, Democrats, 'SNL' attack Warren's U.S. 'Medicare for All' plan.
Wow! Everyone is against her -- even liberal comedians at Saturday Night Live (SNL). No pony for us!
Yet, as Jimmy Dore pointed out in his skit, other countries and peoples get ponies. The Canadians do. The British do. The Germans. The French. The Italians. The Japanese. And so on.
Want a pony, America? Better move to Finland. Or Hong Kong. Or Greece. Or New Zealand. Or Tara. Because you're not getting a "pony" here.