Posted by
Edwin Leap on Thursday, April 30, 2009 12:38:25 PM
Fascinating, isn't it? All we here is cost-containment in medicine. The need for rationing. Tom Daschle said, some time ago, (and I paraphrase) that innovation was just too expensive. We need to cut back, apparently.
Oops, the swine-flu arrived! Suddenly, we want innovation, and we want it yesterday! We want vaccines and medications on the fast-track! We don't know why the last administration cut flu preparation! Let's do more! Where are the great minds at the CDC? Who are the great epidemiologists and virologists? What can they tell us? Can we be saved from the pandemic?
Well, all in all we're probably over-reacting. People die of garden-variety influenza every year. Thousands of them, in fact. Could this turn into a deadly pandemic? Sure. SARS could have as well. But only time will tell.
My point is just this. We should be careful cutting back on innovation. We value our health, the lives of our children, the quality of our health-care. We value them tremendously! Innovation is good, as it saves lives.
It seems that cutting health-care dollars makes sense as long as the person doing the cutting isn't in danger. Americans in large cities are freaking-out over every passing glance or brush of a Hispanic person. Those Americans want the best of the best so that they can stay healthy. Cutting costs is only good when you cut the money that other people spend.
By the way, why are we worried? Wouldn't some pandemic deaths cut the 'exploding population?' Wouldn't it reduce green-house gases (after the initial wave of decomposition, that is)?
Hmmm. Maybe we aren't as over-populated as we thought. Maybe, when faced with the possibility of death from something as mundane and insulting as 'swine flu,' even ardent human-hating, earth loving leftists are OK with the current population, and our general willingness to spend money to stay alive!
Edwin