First kill all the lawyers??
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Chit Chat
Forum Discription: Non Boating Related Discussions
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6041
Printed Date: 20 May 2025 at 7:29pm
Topic: First kill all the lawyers??
Posted By: arnobarno
Subject: First kill all the lawyers??
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 5:31pm
Saw what is copied below in the newspaper today. Obviously, this is a personal tragedy for this woman and it is hard not to feel sorry for her situation. BUT, where is personal responsibility? Do stories and accidents like this lead to less access to rivers in general? And, my quote from Shakespeare notwithstanding, the lawyer is (probably) only responding to market demand. Clearly, as paddlers, I expect most people would say that they expect to take responsibility for their actions and would never think about suing a city, state, etc. if an accident occurred. But, what about in other aspects of your life. What do folks think?
Bellingham sued over swimming hole injury
By The Associated Press
BELLINGHAM — The city of Bellingham has been sued by a woman who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole.
The lawsuit filed last month says the city knew the whirlpool area
of Whatcom Falls Park was used by swimmers and failed to post
conspicuous warning signs.
Katie Hofstetter fell two years ago while climbing on rocks and
broke her back, leaving her without the use of her legs. The suit seeks
money for her medical care and disability.
The city parks operations manager, Marvin Harris, says large signs
near the park entrances advise there are no designated swimming areas.
He says smaller signs inside the park have been torn down.
Firefighters have rescued injured people from the creek five times in the past two years.
------------- arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)
|
Replies:
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 6:20pm
She's so stupid. She should've sued the rocks and the river. Swimmers are dumb. When did common sense leave this country, anyway?
------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman
|
Posted By: dave
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 7:21pm
Just hearing about this makes me want to go swim there! Can I sue the press for informing me about the swimming hole after I get hurt, I would have never swam there if they hadn't advertised it as a swimming hole. (Stupid Press)
------------- Nomad
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 8:10pm
Brett - Are you saying I'm dumb?
-------------
|
Posted By: Kyle K
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 9:24pm
Good one Leif. I like it!
------------- "I used to be somebody, now I'm somebody else." Bad Blake
|
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 9:32pm
Originally posted by leifkirchoff
Brett - Are you saying I'm dumb?
Ummm? 
------------- Sure?
|
Posted By: justin
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 10:04pm
Our society tends to not let us take personal responsibility. Hence all the labels on things like window cleaner telling you not to spray it in your eyes etc. Hopefully the courts in Bellingham will see through this shallow case.
|
Posted By: Yotes
Date Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 11:08pm
We've got a similar case developing here in the tri-cities. The family of the kid who drowned in the culvert at beer falls is suing the kennewick irrigation district for not having warning signs telling people not to swim through the culvert. This was the same incident that cause the KID to fill in the pool at beer falls, ruining the great park and play spot that was 5 minutes from my apartment.
|
Posted By: jondufay
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 9:18am
on a side note, there is some video of big bad devin smith running that same drop that the chick got messed up on. chris t made the video. it comes at 1:35 in the clip. the rest is just good ole' b-ham whitewater....
j
------------- ahh, f--- it dude, lets go boating...
|
Posted By: hardboof
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 11:16am
First, kill all stupid people. Second, kill all money groveling PI lawyers. These are the kind of cases I defend against. You think this is bad? Sadly, this case has stronger legs than most we see where folks go after deep pockets to profit from thier own stupidity. Deep pockets is not even the word for it. As the defense of this lawsuit is inevtibly paid by us the tax payers, its an attack on multiple shallow pockets.
|
Posted By: arnobarno
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 11:44am
As I said in my initial post, I don't think that lawyers, in general, are really the problem here and I'd view you as the good guy if you are defending against this nonsense.
Why do you think this case has stronger legs than most?
------------- arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)
|
Posted By: dave
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 11:55am
I'm leaving to try out that swimming hole right now! I really need the money, is this a sure thing?
------------- Nomad
|
Posted By: PowWrangler
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 12:07pm
Ya, unfortunately frivolous lawsuits happen quite often. There needs to be a law put in place that monetarily punishes those that bring these to court......but what would be the criteria for that?
My main concern with some kind of sweeping legislation to remedy all of this is that legitimate lawsuits will be very hard to prosecute. If a public/private entity really f*&k's up, they need to learn a lesson the hard way, and that is usually through a lawsuit.
Corporations view business through a cost/benefit analysis and some will cut corners because the savings will be greater than the potential lawsuits. If you drastically cut the chances of a lawsuit, you can see what will happen.
|
Posted By: arnobarno
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 1:41pm
Well, I think the "standard" proposal to monetarily punish is what is the law in England and most of Europe - i.e. loser pays. The idea being that the lawyers would vet cases better. Strong cases (even when the injured party doesn't have any money/resources) would still go forward but weak cases would be winnowed out. I think some jurisdictions say that it is the judges discretion to enforce this (so a reasonable case might still lose but not have to pay).
I am still very interested in hearing why this particular case might have long legs. Because, on the surface it seems pretty frivolous - certainly more so than other cases I've read about.
------------- arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)
|
Posted By: septimus prime
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 1:42pm
I say, the loser of the decision pays everone's legal fees in the case.
Damn, arn. beat me to it.
------------- Jon Shell Bee
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 1:44pm
I guess I am a bit puzzled by all this "kill the lawyer" mentality. After all, lawyers give predominately to the dems (over 75%), which I would guess, given the political sensibilities of the kayaking community, would make kayakers love lawyers.
What am I missing?
-------------
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 1:49pm
Looser pays is one of those great ideas that few support, because no one really knows where they will wind up (loosing or winning) if our legal system sees that big of a change.
It is kind of like the immigration issue. Until recently, no one (on either side of the political spectrum) wanted to talk about illegal immigration, because no one was really sure how it would impact the bottom line of their existing base in the hispanic community. Because neither side new whether they would win or loose, little happened of consequence until the last mid-term election when the issue was elevated by the voters as a cornerstone in this current presidential election.
-------------
|
Posted By: Tobin
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 2:04pm
Originally posted by leifkirchoff
I guess I am a bit puzzled by all this "kill the lawyer" mentality. After all, lawyers give predominately to the dems (over 75%), which I would guess, given the political sensibilities of the kayaking community, would make kayakers love lawyers.
What am I missing?
Ummm the boat????
And all republicans are what? Pedofiles? I heard that somewhere ?
------------- Sure?
|
Posted By: PowWrangler
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 2:10pm
Originally posted by leifkirchoff
I guess I am a bit puzzled by all this "kill the lawyer" mentality. After all, lawyers give predominately to the dems (over 75%), which I would guess, given the political sensibilities of the kayaking community, would make kayakers love lawyers.
What am I missing?
Well, the title was given by Arn who is a righty....errr Libertarian so I don't know if you can subscribe that line of thought to everyone here. I think most people see the silliness of this lawsuit and are reacting to that.
Personally, I despise corporate interests bribing politicians to vote certain ways so the fact that lawyers bribe disproportionately to Dems doesn't make me anymore inclined to like them.
|
Posted By: PowWrangler
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 2:14pm
p.s. I'm friends with several graduates of UW law and they're all bloodsucking hounds.
J/K 
|
Posted By: dave
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 2:37pm
I'm at the trends trade show in seattle right now and I'm so bored, someone come visit my booth and shoot me! So sleepy...............zzzzz........so bored...............
------------- Nomad
|
Posted By: arnobarno
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2007 at 3:48pm
Dave (D4), Why are you in a booth when you could be swimming off of a waterfall into a hole?? And, weren't you talking about suing the car manufacturer on Saturday when you were locked out of your car - through no fault of your own??
------------- arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)
|
Posted By: dave
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 2:47pm
Unfortunately, that was my fault...
------------- Nomad
|
Posted By: hugo
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 4:54pm
Remember when Lief drove his roof rack into the parking garage and tried to sue the owner of the garage...? That was funny.
would you still want the looser of the case to pay all fee's there?
------------- suck it
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 5:19pm
Small claims court filing ... $35 dollars
Driving to Issaquah ... $15 dollars
An hour of my time ... $100 dollars
Making Kemper Freeman, Jr drag his fat ass into small claims court ...
Priceless
-------------
|
Posted By: dave
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 7:44pm
Wow! Is that all your time is worth, Could I rent you for a while?
------------- Nomad
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 8:21pm
The incedent in question happened several years ago. My billing rate is several times higher than that at present.
-------------
|
Posted By: Kyle K
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 9:13pm
I wondered what would bring this woman to sue the municipality for a mistake she obviously made. Is she a complete whiner? Can't she accept responsibility for herself? Is she just a greedy blood sucker?
But then it occured to me that she could be overwhelmingly burdened by her medical costs and this was the only straw that she could grasp. I don't know whether or not she had health insurance. If not, she is likely indebted for life. If she did, she still could be in serious financial trouble, facing bankruptcy. If you look at most health insurance policies closely, you will find that they are severely lacking in coverage for catastrophic injury.
An example would be for durable medical equipment. The average "good" policy pays up to $2500 for this kind of equipment. Priced a wheel chair lately? Way over $2500, and that's just for the manual kind. Try a motorized one. And then there's home care coverage. Many policies limit home health care to 25 days per year. Someone with a spinal cord injury could need much more care than that. Imagine a quadraplegic with no immediate family to help out, if they even could. They might need a lifetime of home health care.
What I'm getting at is this: I have a hunch that many "frivolous" law suits in the case of a catastrophic injury might be considered "desperate" instead. They are simply an attempt to overcome the huge financial burden most people will acrue from their medical costs, with or without insurance. While I agree that the municipality isn't responsible for what happens when you knowingly risk life and limb in the pursuit of a thrill, in many cases said municipality is the only entity with deep enough pockets to cover the tremendous cost of the necessary health care should you have an accident. I think most folks would find it much easier to rationalize sueing a "faceless" city than an individual.
Which brings me around to our little community. There is no doubt that we increase our risk for spinal cord injury, hypoxic injury, brain injury and more by pursuing our passion. And that risk is well worth it to us or we wouldn't paddle. But how many of us have adequate, or even any, health insurance? How many of us know exactly what our insurance covers and what it doesn't?
If you have health insurance, I suggest you look at it closely and learn exactly what it covers and what it doesn't, along with the maximum amount of coverage. When looking, assume the worst scenario for every type of incident and see how you would fare if that incident were to happen. This can be a very sobering excercise, not to mention it might seriously piss you off when you consider how much you pay.
If you don't have insurance you can always move to Canada, New Zealand, Norway or any other westernized country and utilize their socialized medical system. Not that I want any of you to go away but I could always use a crash pad when visiting a foreign paddling destination. I promise not to stay for more than a week or two.
As for making a judgement about this woman, what do we know from that article? Not much really, and can we trust the press to get the facts straight, or even include the pertinent ones? Maybe she was a very experienced rock climber who was knocking off an easy move that was well within her ability and she just slipped... Hmmm... Could that be compared to any one of us w
------------- "I used to be somebody, now I'm somebody else." Bad Blake
|
Posted By: arnobarno
Date Posted: 12 Dec 2007 at 10:29pm
Very interesting and thought provoking reply, Kyle.
Of course, the story as written provides precious little details to really understand what is going on. There is little doubt that she is in a terrible situation that I wouldn't wish on anybody.
You start to get on a very, very slippery slope though when society (all of us) bear the cost for people making questionable decisions or having bad outcomes.
For example, I would guess that if someone was seriously injured while kayaking, the vast majority of people would say that said person was engaging in very risky behavior. And, then think, "why should I pay for said person's lifestyle choice?" Furthermore, this type of thinking leads to restrictions on allowable activities. If the municipality (or water district), etc. fears that they will be sued, at the very least they will start requiring waivers every time you put on or restrict access all together. This, to me, is what is so dangerous about this type of lawsuit - frivolous or desperate.
But, to get off topic a little, and continue your thought about looking at coverage around health insurance, I'll briefly mention another morbid topic. How many folks have durable power of attorneys for health care and advanced directives? Or, more simply put, documents that spells out what your wishes are if you are thrust into a medical situation in which you can no longer - hopefully temporarily - make decisions on your on behalf.
I realize that I am older than many on this forum (but not Kyle! ) but I've sadly seen situations where these documents needed to be used. Everyone thinks that it can't happen to them until it does. Realize also that often these documents aren't just for you but to ease the burden on other people in your life. It is easy to say, hey I'm in such a such a state and I am not going to care but w/o these types of documents, spouses, children, parents, friends, etc. are left in terrible situations (and often are in conflict with each other).
Lots of food for thought from what I thought was a silly little press piece.
------------- arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)
|
Posted By: hardboof
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:14am
I say this case has stroger legs than most because I have seen way worse get settled.
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:18am
I guess if you were any good, you wouldn't have settled.
Ok - too harsh, not harsh enough? I want to get in on some of this insulting fun...
-------------
|
Posted By: hardboof
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:20am
I have seen worse settle - i did not say I have settled worse. Read carefully.
|
Posted By: hardboof
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:21am
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:25am
It's been done before...and I wouldn't want to take credit for failures either.
Now don't take this the wrong way...I just remember you being a bit feisty on some other threads...
-------------
|
Posted By: Kyle K
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:28am
Arn, you're right, the durable medical power of attorney is something everyone should take care of and make very clear. Most of us never think about our family and what they will have to deal with in the case of a "what if" situation. It's true that this is a lot to think of for someone in great health in their twenties or thirties but I too have seen a few too many tragic situations to believe it won't happen to everyone in one form or another, whether it's us specifically or someone we love.
So, what do you think of socialized medicine? If you like the idea, why? If not, why not? Now there's something that might need an entirely new topic heading.
------------- "I used to be somebody, now I'm somebody else." Bad Blake
|
Posted By: hardboof
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:43am
No No. All good fun. Yes - fiesty - although I am rarely serious - unless we are in some sort of trouble on the river.
|
Posted By: Otter Boy
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 3:55pm
There are a lot of factors around socialized medicine, but Arn nailed something in the fear that it would be used to restrict activities. I've already seen arguments like that made in the U.S. (in reference to state responsibility to make schoolkids eat healthy food to reduce health care related to obesity). The fact is that once you give government the responsibility for health care you give them an incentive to cut costs. A great way to do that is to restrict risky activites.
Does anyone have any info one way or the other as to whether this has happend in other countries with socialized medicine? It's certainly not the case in New Zealand......so that's a data point against my argument.
- OB
|
Posted By: justin
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 4:02pm
Well, Canada sure lets you do risky activities and they have socialized medicine. You just might have to wait in a longer line.
|
Posted By: PowWrangler
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 4:25pm
You can pretty much do anything you want in Europe and most of them guarantee some form of coverage to everyone.
If you're poor in Canada, you might have to wait in a line for somethings, but trust me, those with adequate income don't have to wait in line for every med service they get.
|
Posted By: arnobarno
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 4:38pm
Believe it or not, I am going to stay out of this one in terms of taking a position.
I will; however, forward a message a Canadian friend sent me a few days ago. It is funny because I have been dealing with a shoulder problem and knee problem and so is he. You can skip all the detail in the message and look at the information in bold below regarding wait times (my bold to make it clearer and of course, my removal of names).
I had my appointment with Dr. xxx and xrays on both knees and on my shoulder. xrays looked great. Dr. xxx thinks the knee thing is just over irritated bursa and IT at the
same time...so I just got off the roller doing the IT band...man
that hurts. The shoulder is the bad news. He thinks it is a
partially ruptured biceps tendon...the long head but there are two
tendons at that end. So off to see Dr. YYY two times, once for
shoulder and once for knee...they can't do both at the same appt...go
figure. Anyway, wait times are terrible, even to get a MRI so if its
surgical it won't get done till next fall
------------- arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 5:02pm
If you don't like our health care system, don't let the door hit you...
I actually would like to start a charity focused on helping socialists escape to Canada.
-------------
|
Posted By: PowWrangler
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 8:17pm
Originally posted by leifkirchoff
If you don't like our health care system, don't let the door hit you...
I actually would like to start a charity focused on helping socialists escape to Canada.
Ha, I knew that comment would get a few reactions. For the record, I'm not saying we should switch to exactly what Canada has although I have a friend living in Victoria who has no problems with the system (although I know it has problems, every health model does and will).
I'm hardly a socialist Leif. I'm a strong advocate of equality though. And when our system is built so it is almost guaranteed that millions will not be able to afford or obtain through a job, decent health coverage, then I think something needs to be changed. For christ's sake, were like the leaders of the free world n'shit.
And because I'm concerned with the lack of healthcare afforded to millions of hardworking adults and innocent children, I should leave the country?? Believe it or not there are a lot of people out there without the ability to see a doctor (just an emergency room visit charged to tax payers) since they'd have to stop their car payments, or not pay their rent, or not buy their kids adequate clothing.
You grew up in a very privileged environment so I wouldn't really expect to you understand that anyway.
|
Posted By: Steven M
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 9:09pm
Arn
I am 62 years old and have had three serious injuries during the last eight years. The first one was a mountian climbing accident, I slide down a glacier and slambed into a rock face and got busted up pretty bad. The insurance company paid for the ER but would not pay to have my face put back together. They called it cousmetic surgery. So I had to pay for that. My eye socket was broken so bad the doctor told me I could loose my eye. The second one was at work, I fell and broke my foot. Because I had no insurance the doctor would not see me and told me to go home and lay on the couch. It worked two months later I could walk on it. The third time was this fall I broke my hip in Boulder Drop. I borrowed the money from a friend to pay for the hospital visit. It was $20,000. I still plan to boat and I think that insurance and law suits both drive the cost of health care up so I don't think either one of them is the answer to our problems. We all need to assume responsiblity for our actions as painful as that me be it is the best way to go.
------------- Steve McCollough
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 9:37pm
I thought a little humor was in order, but I didn't expect to be attacked on the basis of being privileged. Really, you have no idea how I grew up, and it is probably not as you would expect. Simply because I would not advocate another government program does not mean I do not have empathy for those in need. Our healthcare system is a complex animal - there are problems both on the supply and demand sides of the equation, and there isn't a simple solution. For every hardworking adult that truly cannot afford health insurance, there are several people who choose not to afford it (this is something I have extensively researched).
I do believe there is a solution, including, among other things, scaling back of existing government free health programs, the addition of a low-income insurance purchase tax credit, legislation to reduce the burden of malpractice insurance (including punitive damage caps), requirement that employers of "guest workers" (and any other class of immigrant) show proof of insurance, increased education about and deductibility of medical savings accounts, and tax breaks for companies with policies removing lower income staff from government programs. The last issue is of particular interest. By providing free healthcare to families below the poverty line, firms like WalMart have gotten (and thus the consumers), in effect, a subsidy from the government. Because WalMart does not provide insurance for many of there part-time workers, the government picks up the tab. It would be disastrous for our economy to further legislate employee rights, but we can encourage good behavior by incentivizing firms through tax breaks. Employer mandates lead to higher unemployment, which is clearly detrimental to society. Recent studies have suggested that Health Spending Accounts (HSAs) have allowed substantial cost reductions for small businesses and their employees alike. High-deductible plans, coupled with a company-sponsored HSA have reduced costs for employers, and have empowered employees with a sense of consumerism and fiscal responsibility for minor medical issues. Ultimately, when heath benefits are provided to consumers below their appropriate cost, those benefits will be oversubscribed. When the demand exceeds the supply, one winds up having to wait a year for treatment. This is, and always will be the fallacy of socialized medicine.
I'll leave you with this Milton Friedman quote, along with a short essay he wrote on the health care issue.
"Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully
as he spends his own. Nobody uses somebody
else's resources as carefully as he uses
his own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness,
if you want knowledge to be properly utilized,
you have to do it through the means of private
property."
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=12157
-------------
|
Posted By: justin
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 9:49pm
has anyone here seen sicko?
|
Posted By: RemAcct2
Date Posted: 13 Dec 2007 at 10:02pm
Steve - Glad to hear you are recovering from your injury. I am sorry to hear about the costs of the visit.
I happen to be doing to self-employed thing right now - far more interesting that while I was at Accenture (my prior employer). I purchase insurance direct from Regence BCBS. I have a $3000 deductible and 70% co-insurance with a $5000 stop loss. I pay $95 a month for this coverage. I have a rate sheet in front of me because they just raised the rates because Washington decided that mental care coverage was compulsory. The firm has more expensive plans with higher co-insurance, and cheaper plans with lower co-insurance.
I have found this plan to be quite reasonable, with very acceptable terms and conditions. Steve, according to the rate card I have, a premium for someone of your age would be $306 a month. I recognize that is expensive, but I thought I would mention, as I am quite pleased with the coverage I have received from this plan. My last doctor visit actually cost less than it would have with my prior employer-sponsored plan.
- Leif
-------------
|
Posted By: justin
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2007 at 10:30am
Lief, I'd love to be one of the first socialist that you send to Canada!!!
On another note I just watched a TED talk where the guy talked about how the more choices you are given the less likely you are to make one.
|
Posted By: Kyle K
Date Posted: 14 Dec 2007 at 10:56am
Just a little fyi about socialism in the US in case you were thinking you live in a purely capitalist country. The following are all socialized and have been for some time.
Fire, Police and Emergency (ambulance) in most communities
Travel: Roads, airports
Defense: All branches of the military
Anyone want to get rid of these programs?
Yes, I've seen Sicko. It was very interesting and I tried hard to temper any jumping to conclusions based on this movie but it turns out my spouse has been making the same assertions for the last 10 years or so, almost exactly in line with what the movie portrayed. It was one of those "Wow, I've been hearing that forever!" experiences.
As to her qualifications to speak about our current health system: She spent the last eight years on the Medical Examiners Board of Colorado (the board entrusted with all things medical in that state) and worked with the new national board that is trying to co-ordinate all of the state boards. In addition she was a long term board member of Craig Hospital in Denver, one of the leading brain injury hospitals in the world. And for the record, she has never seen Sicko.
Our health care system is embarrasing, considering we're the wealthiest nation. To think that it should be run for profit is ludicrous. When profit is the goal, human interest takes a back seat every time. Do you run your family on a for profit basis? The health of our nation as a whole is of paramount importance to us for ethical and economic reasons. If everyone is healthy they are much better equiped to be a contributing memeber of our society.
I think capitalism is just fine, in fact I like it a lot. However, before we worry about profit we need to make sure we are healthy, housed, educated and prepared to contribute. Then we start making money for money's sake.
And as for the Canadian medical system, while it may not be perfect, it does not bankrupt those in need of medical care. The number one reason for bankruptcy in the US? Overwhelming medical costs.
Lief, make sure and look at your policy very closely. I'll bet you can determine a number of situations where you would not receive adequate coverage. Don't bet on not getting in a major auto accident. Don't bet on not ending up with a hypoxic brain injury due to getting pinned under water. These things happen, not just broken bones.
As for not allowing fun activities like kayaking in socialized medical systems, I can see that might be a possibility, altough I don't condone it and am not convinced it actually happens. However it already happens here. Put "whitewater kayaking" as a key activity next time you fill out an insurance application and watch it get turned down then and there. It's happened to me.
------------- "I used to be somebody, now I'm somebody else." Bad Blake
|
|