Earlier in the month, we decided to head for our BOL as a bit of a summer fishing trip. It gives us an excuse to get away from the hot Florida summer. We were here for a bit when we got a bit of bad news: there had been a death in my wife's side of the family. We headed to New York for the funeral. While there, we were invited to another of her relative's home in Canada. We went back the BOL for a few days, and then headed for the Canadian house.
That is where we were when the shooting in Toronto occurred. The Canadian politicians were going ballistic. They were demanding a reinstatement of the long gun registry, even though the shooting was carried out with a handgun. They were talking about a total ban on all firearms within city limits of any large city. According to the locals, there have been over 250 shootings in Toronto this year. They are mostly blaming Americans.
In the lounge of the hotel, we met a guy who had to drive two hours and pay a $45 ferry toll to stay in the hotel overnight in order to see a specialist in the morning.
Also while there, we talked to a woman who received a knee replacement. She had been on the waiting list for two years before getting it. There have been papers and studies done that claim a waiting time of only 16 weeks for Canadian patients, but the studies themselves admit that the respondents to the survey are mostly younger. The wait times in Canada are determined by your age and health. Younger, healthier people get priority over older, sicker people. The woman I spoke with was 71 years old when she was placed at the end of the list.
This makes a lot of sense. Medical care and the time of providers is a finite resource. Since there is only so much to go around, not everyone gets everything that they desire. There must be rationing of a sort. In the US, this is driven by two factors: the market and insurance. That is, financial reasons.
In Canada, since the cost of care is included in your tax bill, the government decides who gets and does not get care. Since older people tend to be more conservative, and Canada is run by liberals, guess who gets priority of care from the politicians who wish to be elected?
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In Canada, since the cost of care is included in your tax bill, the government decides who gets and does not get care. Since older people tend to be more conservative, and Canada is run by liberals, guess who gets priority of care from the politicians who wish to be elected?
Besides, they're older. If the gubmint delays care long enough maybe they'll die off and lower costs even farther. Win-win, except for those pesky old people.
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