Showing posts with label france. Show all posts
Showing posts with label france. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thoughts on socialism
I went to take care of some nightmarish paperwork for my national health care. I'd been putting it off for quite some time. I forgot to change my address back in November, and when I went to the doctor on Monday I finally realized I should probably take care of it in order to get reimbursed for some of my medical expenses.
So I showed up, all manner of papers in tow, and waited . . . 10 minutes. That's right. All that procrastination, and I got right in! They took care of my problems in another 10 minutes, and they didn't even need half of my documents. What a relief.
I guess the trick is to just go to the office. I did the same for my government housing assistance, after months of unsuccessful phone calls and e-mails. The problem was resolved in a manner of weeks.
I was thinking about it, and I think I've found an appropriate analogy. Now mind you, I'm still a good capitalist at heart, but nationalizing certain services necessary for basic care is REALLY great. So here's my analogy. Nationalized health care is like a vacation. You can organize your own trip; this could result in an amazing trip, even on a shoe-string, full of sites you could never see otherwise. Or you could end up getting ripped off, mugged, and bleeding in an ally. The other option: an all-expense paid cruise ship. It may seem more expensive at first, but once you are on that ship, everything is taken care of, which means for certain people, you may be able to enjoy certain aspects of the vacation you would have been loathe to opt for if paying for everything separately (like preventative care). Now, both options can be great, but with the cruise, everyone is guaranteed a minimum of fun. This also means the other passengers don't have to pick up the tab for passengers that dash and dine.
This may not be a perfect analogy, and you may be bored out of your mind right about now. I just needed to share my appreciation for the French health care system and all that it has done for me.
So I showed up, all manner of papers in tow, and waited . . . 10 minutes. That's right. All that procrastination, and I got right in! They took care of my problems in another 10 minutes, and they didn't even need half of my documents. What a relief.
I guess the trick is to just go to the office. I did the same for my government housing assistance, after months of unsuccessful phone calls and e-mails. The problem was resolved in a manner of weeks.
I was thinking about it, and I think I've found an appropriate analogy. Now mind you, I'm still a good capitalist at heart, but nationalizing certain services necessary for basic care is REALLY great. So here's my analogy. Nationalized health care is like a vacation. You can organize your own trip; this could result in an amazing trip, even on a shoe-string, full of sites you could never see otherwise. Or you could end up getting ripped off, mugged, and bleeding in an ally. The other option: an all-expense paid cruise ship. It may seem more expensive at first, but once you are on that ship, everything is taken care of, which means for certain people, you may be able to enjoy certain aspects of the vacation you would have been loathe to opt for if paying for everything separately (like preventative care). Now, both options can be great, but with the cruise, everyone is guaranteed a minimum of fun. This also means the other passengers don't have to pick up the tab for passengers that dash and dine.
This may not be a perfect analogy, and you may be bored out of your mind right about now. I just needed to share my appreciation for the French health care system and all that it has done for me.
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