Marc

When they discovered the links between the 'radical' Imam Rauf and The Kingdom Foundation that has in the past funded him?

The head of The Kingdom Foundation is named Alwaleed Bin Talal, you should google him and decide for yourself. The Kingdom Foundation has supported radical madrasses and the Park51 Imam.

These are all facts, so i'm asking for serious debate not knee jerk partisan reactions. I've taken the time to ask a serious question, the least you can do is take the time to answer it in the same fashion.

In fall 2009 there were 46.3 million Americans without health insurance. 75 years ago America was near the top of the list in terms of life expectancy, now it ranks 49th. Jean De Kervasdoue a french health economist noted " The poorest third of the population in england and france live longer than the richest third in the United States. Considering the amount of money spent in the US on health care ( 16% of the GDP, by far the highest in the developed world.), that's all pretty lousy.

In the US, if you don't have health insurance, the only option is to go to the ER, i don't think anyone can argue that even if you do have health insurance, a trip to the ER is no picnic. Even the best health insurance can still result in you paying 20% of your final bill, which can run into the thousands. Insurance companies also don't pay on procedures they consider 'elective', even if it can help your quality of life.

If you lose your job in the US, you lose your insurance, a medical emergency can wipe out your savings, investments, and put you into serious debt.

Compare all that to France, in France ( they have national health care) , you don't go to the emergency room for basic medical treatment, you call your doctor, and you go. If you do have an emergency the basic charge for treatment at an ER is 22 Euros, actually because the national health insurance reimburses 70% of that, you end charge is 9 Euros.

Twice in the last decade the French system has been named best in the world, in 2000 it was recognized by the World Health Organization ( W.H.O) for the high quality of their care, for covering every person in their country and doing it relatively inexpensively ( cheaper than it's done here). United States rank...37th. I should also note, when i said the French system reimburses 70 % of your cost there's fine print. If you have a really serious condition, cancer, heart disease, or a stroke, it won't reimburse you 70%. It'll reimburse you 100%. The sicker you are, the better your coverage. Right now, serious illness in the US can run into 6 or 7 figures, Over half the bankruptcies in America cite out-of-pocket medical costs as a contributing factor.

Under the French system, your health insurance is tied to you, not your job, every citizen gets a carte vitale- the green health insurance card, a card accepted at just about every health provider in the country. A system that's perfectly built for a world where people switch jobs as often as we do now. And that coverage stays with with you even if you lose you job. It's not based on the individuals ability to pay.

America spends the most on health care. SInce 1990 it's spent more on health care than any other country in the world, and yet it shows the third smallest increase in life expectancy. We've seen that the market can't fully regulate the financial system, you cannot believe that the market can control the health care system.

Right now health care in America, is based on chasing profits, health is a common good, it's not soda. You can't base the health of your society on a bottom line, and having everyone pay into a health care system actually reduces the individual cost. That's basic economics.