Please, someone, explain to me what the problem is with socialized medicine in the US?

You make some very interesting arguments.

For the people at the top making the decisions, it's all about the money and status quo. A lot of doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, drug companies and politicians could care less who gets what kind of service as long as they get their paycheck or get re-elected.

For the common person, the issues are based on fear. Thanks to a propaganda effort that North Korea would be proud of, many assume that the few horror stories we hear about are the norm. Waiting for months, being denied a certain life-saving procedures, etc. Then there is the fear of the government controlling every aspect of our lives. Check out this ad currently running on our televisions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSAri6cOJsc&feature...

I hope we can move past our fears for the benefit of the future much like we did when we elected Obama for president.

Your comparing apples and oranges with your police and firefighter analogy. Local law enforcement leaders are usually elected or appointed by elected officials. That is democracy not socialism. And they need the authority of the government behind them, because if an individual working for a private firm showed up at my house and tryed to perform a search and seizure or any thing else he would be shot.

I blame two factors:

1. We're not as homogeneous as most of the European Countries are, or at least were when socialized medicine was approved. So there's a sense of "otherness" that whitey has about paying for African-Americans and Mexican immigrants.

2. We're less secular. And our particular poison is mainly Protestantism. The problem with that is the concept that you technically don't have to be your brother's keeper. Because at the end of the day, "faith alone" really does mean "faith ALONE".

I think the tide has generally turned though, so sooner or later it is inevitable. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgxdR...

first off you can't compare state funding for police and fire services with health care! people don't choose to be the victims of crime or fire!

most of the health problems in western countries are as a direct result of lifestyle choices! obesity, drug abuse, cigarettes, alcohol and so on.

the problem with socialised medicine is that those who do the right thing have to pay for those who do the wrong thing!

there would be a case for some tax money being used to protect a nation from certain infectious diseases say a highly infectious virus but nothing beyond that.

i live in the UK where i pay thousands of pounds for socialised medicine here yet i havent been to the doctor in years and if i had to pay for private insurance it would have cost me a fraction of what i have paid. basically i'm paying for other people to have medical care

I'm not sure how it works in your country I think the back lash comes from all the doctors and hospitals You know in Canada the doctors make less money then the doctors do in the USA so maybe it has to do with them making less and less money we have a good system here in Canada I'm so glad and yes sometimes people have to wait a while but its not as long as the media in the US has put out there and we don't let people die on the streets waiting when there's an emergency we see to our people so I'm thinking it all has to do with money The big doctors are afraid there going to loose out and so are your big hospitals! oh and all those big insurance companies must be in a panic that is going to make them loose so much money no wonder they don't want it!

You are completely correct. Over my military career and after I visited various VA's for routine things and I did indeed notice that VA's in remote locations similar to Wyoming had good care for the soldiers there while the ones in more crowded places basically turned them away. Each VA has separate policies based on how many people they need to service. Wyoming has fewer people than a medium-small city in another state.

Class struggle between rich and poor is always the driving force for all kinds of growth in a society. If government helping those poor too much, that driving will lose its momentum and the whole society will be doom.

--"People are afraid of the lack of care they would get with the govt. running it""---

So the righties feel that it would be much better if all Americans just paid out of pocket for health care? That would be like saying, "You don't need the Post Office because you don't want to wait in line for lousy service." OK Let's see them get the mail delivered all by themselves !

I for one am grateful for the National Health System we have here in Britain and all the other public services our taxes pay for. I don't envy people who live in countries where you have to pay for everything.

The people are afraid of government funded healthcare because of the quality of care they would recieved.