Socialized Medicine - Good or Bad

How did we ever get the general idea that Socialized Medicine is a bad thing?  How did the AMA, Big Pharma, and now Big Insurance get such a stranglehold on the health of this country? 

Let’s look at some facts:

1.  Some form of Socialized Medicine is the health system.in every industrialized country.    

2.  We pay over twice as much as any of those countries per person for our healh system. We should have better health statistic, but we rank way below all those countries, even some third world countries.  

3.  We are less competitive for large corporations, so they ship manufacturing (and jobs) overseas.Yes, wages may be lower as well, but a lower cost of health care increases their profit. 

4.  Small business is often crippled by having to provide health insurance for their workers.Small business is at the heart of US prosperity, according to the Republicans, so why are they fighting so hare against Socialized Medicine which would greatly benefit is.

5.  The VA system is a form of sociaized medicine, and the cost per person is much lower than the "insurance based" system, and the better care patients get is also a fact.  (I know as I am a veteran getting that care.)

One of the arguments used is "Just ask a Canadian, they all hate their system".  I've asked well over 100 Canadians, and dozens of other people in other countries with Socialized Medicine.Ask a GI about the military food, and they'll gripe, just like Canadians and others gripe about their health system.  However, ask the RIGHT question as I have, "Would you trade your system for the one in the US?"  Almost 100% of the time the answer is a resounding "NO way!"

The advantages are obvious - lower cost and better overall health.How about those 42 million persons who cannot afford health insurance, and who drag our statistics down and cost us more in the long run.