We have the 47th best life expectency in the world and somewhere around the same for infant mortality. This puts us in line with the better third world nations and way behind all of the developed democratic nations of the world.

Yet, we spend around 15% of our GDP on health care. I believe the next highest country spends about 9% of their GDP. Perhaps, I mean, it's just a thought, but maybe it's time to consider public health care. What does everyone else think? Should we try to start correcting things that make us a third world nation despite being the wealthiest nation on the planet?

(If you think you detected a note of sarcasm, I was trying for a symphony of it.)

Other things that keep us a third world nation by real indicators include our violent crime rate, our literacy rate, and the highest disparity of income in the world between our top executives (working executives, not even board members) and line workers.

Maybe we need to fix our government of the wealthy by the wealthy and for the wealthy before it's too late. Health care is an important issue from which we could start.

Why are current Medicaid funds being utilized for an inflated bureaucracy at Mental Retardation Centers and other institutions which "provide" for persons with developmental disabilities? The health care debate is like one's own budget: how much is there and where does it go?

Finally, a step forward on the health care debate! It will be interesting to see how the competition between private and public sector in Edward's Health Markets affects health care costs.

Mother Jones - Comments for "John Edwards Releases Health Care Plan"