Wake up people!

Today a guy in an elevator told me that this is becoming a communist country. This was no PHD or senior politician, just your average building maintenance worker. He listed off reasons about cars and taxes, but what was most interesting was his take on healthcare. He said that if life-saving expenses exceeded a certain amount, the government will just let you die. I'm sure he's been listening to some extremist with a microphone. He was clearly out of shape, and didn't bother mentioning that his health could have anything to do with his longevity or quality of life.

I believe that we, the United States of America, do not have a healthcare crisis, but a health crisis. Our costs are out of control. We can no longer build cars domestically and sell them with enough margin to pay for our health insurance. Some may argue that our inflated prices are contributing to what they call the "best healthcare in the world." While our doctors and machines will stack up against any other country, I offer a different take on that ranking. If you're going to say "we" (meaning the USA) has the best healthcare, shouldn't that go for everyone? I would argue that those with good health insurance and plenty of cash to cover the other expenses have the world's best healthcare. And any rich foreigner can say the same.

It is time we start measuring the quality of our healthcare by the health of it's people. If our average person's health declines as technology advances, I argue that we are just back to square one. I don't know what it will take to convince people that it's worth the money and time to buy and prepare fresh food. I know most people don't have the time in their day to work-out, but a gym is not a magical place that will erase fat. Push-ups, jump-rope, running, etc, etc; these are all things that can be done in little time, and for little money. This issue may look too big to solve, but if we could just get one example, make one city a poster-child for what can be done, there's no telling what kind of positive impact that could have.