Some interesting statistics

[Mtnjim]

We aren't

doing very well:
When it comes to

infant mortality (http://www.geographyiq.com/ranking/ranking_Infant_Mortality_Rate_aall.htm), we're even

worse than Cuba!:hammer:

And our life spans (http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?c=ma&v=30) suck!:sad:



The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems.

Rank Country

1

France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7

Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13

Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United

Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24

Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29

Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35

Dominica
36 Costa Rica
37 United States of America
38

Slovenia
39 Cuba

[koolking1]

we spend all our money

on wars instead of ourselves. Ron Paul would have corrected all that but "we, the people" don't seem to want to

live longer and in peace so we vote for someone like McCain - now, that's crazy.

[belgareth]

Nice numbers but they would be

better with information on why. One obvious issue is the way we take care of our bodies and the abuse they get. Are

there other reasons

[Mtnjim]

Nice

numbers but they would be better with information on why. ...Are there other reasons

I as looking some

other information up and came across these numbers so I really don't have any reasons. However, my guess is the

poor are shifting the numbers. When you have to decide between seeing a doctor or putting food on the table for your

family...
At that point prenatal care becomes a luxury, hence the infant mortality rate. The old on fixed incomes

who have to decide if they are going to eat or fill that prescription aren't going to get the medicine to manage

the illness that eventually kills them before they would have died otherwise. And so forth...just a feeling

Then

again the crap the US allows in our food chain that most other countries wont allow...:blink:

[belgareth]

I expect there will be other

reasons as well. Obesity comes to mind as do drug use and such. I recently saw an article saying that obesity

actually makes it cheaper to treat people because they die so much younger than healthy people.

[Mtnjim]

... I

recently saw an article saying that obesity actually makes it cheaper to treat people because they die so much

younger than healthy people.


I saw that one too. I think the obesity epidemic comes from the crap food

we now have in this country. Over processed chemical filled junk food. Not to mention the restaurants that load the

plates with mountains of food. I read somewhere that we are consuming 15% more calories then we did 20 years ago

because of the junk food. I also saw an article where someone from USDA stated that produce is less nutritious today

than 50 years ago because of overused land and the over use of artificial fertilizers.

[koolking1]

that when you go out

to eat they give you too much food. I suspect too if restaurants cut back a bit the customers would complain

loudly. Have you ever been to one of those rather large Chinese Food buffets? Take a look around and you'll see

some rather stout folks dining.

The best advice I have is to learn how to cook. And, cook from scratch if

you can afford the time. You'll be eating much healthier. I found that after NAFTA the quality of produce went

downhill fast. Tomatoes are dismal. Shipping Florida oranges out of state and importing Mexican, what kind of

fools idea was that? Sue and I eat better than most people and are usually disappointed when going out to eat,

it's just not on a par with what we cook at home. And, that's much cheaper too. You can eat well if you work at

it.

Some other factors, we've lost many men during Vietnam and now, less so, in Iraq/Afghanistan. I'm

not sure but isn't it something like half of all young Black males are in prison, the diets in prisons are not for

the health conscious and Black men live far lesser than White men. I can't complain much about the health care

system. If you have insurance, you are usually taken good care of but if you don't - you will get treated

accordingly. My daughter, who has high quality health care insurance, was admitted to a hospital for gall-bladder

surgery. She was getting a tad annoyed with the way she was being treated and when she voiced her opinion they told

her "well, too bad you don't have health insurance". After my daughter pointed out their mistake, things got much

better for her.

On a rant here, we are told that our premiums are high because so many people do not have

health care insurance and that rankles plenty of people but then they think, well - ok, I'm doing my part to help

the lesser off and they live with it. In Massachusets, they have mandated health insurance and have now covered

about 85% of those who previously had none. Have premiums gone down for those who've always had health insurance?

lol

[Mtnjim]

In

Massachusets, they have mandated health insurance and have now covered about 85% of those who previously had none.

Have premiums gone down for those who've always had health insurance? lol

Of course not, they have to

pay the billion dollar bonuses to the CEO's etc.

[Mtnjim]

Seems we're

getting poorer (http://www.lawmall.com/rpa/chap9.html) too. While this is 10 years old, the same thing

has been going on since 1973, and continues today.:frustrate

[belgareth]

In part, I think you are right

about the crap they call food. Go to the grocery store and try reading the labels on all these boxed, prepackaged

foods they offer. But there is another part to the story as well. Three things I've seen recently bring the point

home. We were in a buffet one night and I overheard a man telling his 5-6 year old son he couldn't have any fruit

until he got something good for him, like the macaroni and cheese! Another time, standing in line at the grocery

store staring at a basket full of boxed foods, cookies and softdrinks without a single fresh fruit or vegetable. It

belong to an obese woman in her thirties who was complaining to her friend about not being able to lose weight. The

last is these people who circle the parking lot 12 times to find a parking place thirty feet closer to the store so

they don't have to walk so far.

The point is we choose to eat the way we do, we don't get any exercize and we

often don't even know that we are killing ourselves!

Somebody made a point to me the other day about health

insurance. It isn't the poor people that have poor health coverage, they do pretty well because of government

sponsored healthcare. It's the lower middle class who cannot afford health insurance but make too much money to

qualify for government health care. Hypothetically, they would be helped by government mandated universal health

care. The problem is demonstrated in every country that provides it. The taxes go up and the quality goes down.

Typically a government doctor in most of those countries sees 60% of the patients that a private doctor in this

country sees. And they are paid far less which means the best and the brightest go into other professions. The end

result is fewer doctors of lower quality doing less work. And does that mean the cost of healtcare in those

countries got better? No! And does it mean the patients get better care? Far worse, if you look at the facts. How

many people in this country wait months to get in to see a doctor for a problem? Ask anybody in any of the countries

with universal healthcare how long they have to wait.

Lastly, as screwed up as our government is, as badly run

as every agency in the government is managed, what makes anybody think that this government can provide healthcare

any better or more effectively than they do every thing else? Based on experience, I think every person in this

country would lose if we had government sponsored healthcare.

[Rbt]

One of my gripes is food prices.

Ever notice that the "less than healthy food" is usually the cheapest? We give massive farm subsidies to grow wheat,

make high-fructose corn syrup, etc, but nest to zip for fresh veggies, fruits etc. When you live near the bottom of

the financial barrel it's tough. I'm in a similar situation to one mentioned already. Too "poor" to buy really

good food (I have to support a handicapped friend besides myself) and too "rich" to get food stamps. 60 cent loaf of

white bread, or a $3 loaf of whole wheat. Guess what...

And notice what happens when a food gets labeled as

being "healthy?" Remember when chicken was the "cheap" alternative meat? Then it became "healthy?" Prices went

skyrocketing...

One last thought: one reason people here in the US are overweight?

Because we can.

In

some parts of the world where people are thinner, it's not because they consiously eat better, it's because they

have less food available overall. When those "thin" people come here, on goes the weight, and more. When thin, short

Japanese are introduced to American foods, they get bigger *and taller*.

Just some thoughts.

[koolking1]

is about 4-5 years down

the road. I want to live in Florida where I'll finally be able to grow all my own fruits, vegetables, and weed and

be close enough to either the Gulf or the Atlantic coast to catch most of my protein. The only things I'll want to

buy at the store would be beer, wine, cheese, breads, and the occasional meat. We live in a heavily forested area

and not much grows here well. There's too much shade and the soil is very acidic from pine needles. Also, the

critters around here are crafty and will find a way to snatch whatever does grow, very frustrating. I'd also like

to have at least some solar power for hot water and will be driving the most fuel efficient car I can afford. With

a little luck,a grocery store will be within walking distance.

I can really appreciate what the previous

poster mentioned about the worst foods for people costing the least. Why is whole wheat pasta double the price of

regular pasta? Companies that make decaffeinated charge more for it than regular coffee and they will tell you that

it's expensive to extract the caffeine, what they don't tell you is that they make a substantial profit from

selling the caffeine to make products such as "nodoze" and the like. Ever look at the large can of tuna and think,

ah - that's got to be the better buy, well - it isn't, 3 small cans making the same weight as the large can will

be cheaper. Those WalMart super stores, you would think they would be cheaper than your local grocer, often, it's

the other way around.

[Mtnjim]

And yet another statistic. Last

night on 60 Minutes there was a report on the happiest nations. We are #23, Denmark is the happiest nation. We are

right behind Cuba.

[belgareth]

Based on what? I'm not arguing

the point but it is a pretty broad statement. What were the criteria used?

Personally, I'd be a lot happier

with a lot less government interference in a multitude of things. Others would be happier with just the opposite.

I'm not sure that such a wide ranging statement can really be applicable.

[Bruce]

Well, they wouldn't say on what

basis they measured "happy", but with Jamaica at the number one spot, we are left to guess. :)

[koolking1]

yeah, guess they forgot to

poll me!!!

[tounge]

Personally, I'd be a lot happier with a lot less government interference in a multitude of things.







Me too!


Yea the USA is such a horrible place to live. I guess that's why many US citizens are

risking their lives to get to Cuba. And the Cubans are so content with their Marxist utopia they just love to stay

put. Why I bet if Castro did another Marilita boat evacuation opportunity the people would not leave, because they

are so wonderfully happy\o/

[Rbt]

"happiness" can be such a realative

term.

You could be unhappy because you could only afford a 58" plasma TV instead of the 60"...

You could be

unhappy because you had to wait in line for 10 minutes at Starbucks to get your $5 cup of coffee this morning...



or

You could be happy that there wasn't a knock on your door at 4:00am by the Secret Police...




Statistics, like "truth," can be manipulated in oh so many ways.

[Mtnjim]

Statistics, like

"truth," can be manipulated in oh so many ways.


"There's lies, damn lies and statistics"
--I forget

who

[idesign]

"This well-known saying is part

of a phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli and popularized in the U.S. by Mark Twain: There are three kinds of

lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. The semi-ironic statement refers to the persuasive power of numbers, and

succinctly describes how even accurate statistics can be used to bolster inaccurate arguments."
-Wiki

I think

that rating health care is as nebulous as measuring "happiness". Whenever I see these "who's best" lists I always

look at where they came from and what agenda is being advanced by such meaningless studies.

tongue has a good

point, if the US is so bad, why does everyone want to be here? In addition, how many countries have received so

many nationalities and accepted them as their own?

With all the current attention to "diversity", America

invented it the day it became a nation over 200 years ago.

[tounge]

The "Happy" Cubans get another

Castro to lead them to the promised land. And not even elected. Can't wait to find happiness in Cuba.\o/