A vision of the future - why we must save our NHS

A few weeks ago I went on holiday for a week to Portland, Oregon. It took me weeks to book the tickets as the thought of going somewhere so far away and so unknown terrified me. Not the going itself, but how it would affect me. I was terrified it would make me feel worse.
But I promised myself I would get to America one day and given that MS is a degenerative disease, this could be my last chance. So I did it. I found a ridiculously cheap flight, some decent travel insurance and whacked it on my credit card. The one I got when I was still a productive member of society and hadn't used in two years. I debated the pros and cons of spending out that much money but in the end I decided it was worth it to have one less regret. One thing ticked off my bucket list.

I had a great time there. I met some wonderful people; having known them online for more than two years, I finally got to see them in the flesh. I saw some fantastic scenery - the mountains of Oregon and Washington reminded me strangely of Wales but the waterfall at Multnomah Falls was like nothing I've seen before. I finally got to visit one of those giant department stores only seen on telly. Macy's to be exact. It was great, I could have spent a fortune in there. I learned that there really is a Starbucks on every corner. I even saw a Libyan protest, where people spoke so passionately for freedom for their home country that it made me cry.

But I also saw this



I stood staring at this for a good ten minutes, most of that with my mouth open. It seriously shocked me.
I knew America had a terrible system of healthcare but to see some thing like this was horrifying.

And it made me more determined to fight for our NHS. Because if we lose it, then this is our future.

The joke's on us.

Since Barack Obama became President of the USA, one of his main agendas has been that of healthcare reform.
The Democrats have struggled to pass any sort of reform, with the Republicans vetoing anything they can.
The right wing thinking of some of the Republicans echoed some of the opinions here in Victorian Britain - that being poor is your own fault, you're just lazy or not working hard enough. The insurance companies need to make a profit. We don't want a socialist America.
Yaddah yaddah yaddah.

We in Britain watched and shook our heads and extolled the virtue of our beloved NHS. We couldn't understand how some Americans could be so backwards thinking and so uncaring towards their fellow countrymen.

Now, thanks to George Osborne and his austerity measures, the joke is on us. The Americans are now shaking their heads as they look at us and wonder how on earth a Government could be so foolhardy as to adopt these measures.


From Paul Krugman of the New York Times:

It was all about the apocalypse looming if Britain failed to go down this route. Never mind that British debt as a percentage of national income is actually below its historical average; never mind that British interest rates stayed low even as the nation’s budget deficit soared, reflecting the belief of investors that the country can and will get its finances under control. Britain, declared Mr. Osborne, was on the “brink of bankruptcy.”

What happens now? Maybe Britain will get lucky, and something will come along to rescue the economy. But the best guess is that Britain in 2011 will look like Britain in 1931, or the United States in 1937, or Japan in 1997. That is, premature fiscal austerity will lead to a renewed economic slump. As always, those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

The truly sad thing is, most of us know this. But Mr Osborne refuses to listen.

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