[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Graeme Dice:
I suppose that next you'll tell me that Zaire has a great health care system since the richest people there can afford to go to the U.S. for their treatment.

That assertion makes no sense, because obviously, Zaire does not have a great health care system if people there are leaving the country to seek their health care. Nobody goes *TO* Zaire to get treatment. Canada may have a system in which people who have money go to the US to seek health care....but this just underscores the point that Canada's healthcare system, while more ubiquitous, is still of inferior quality. You certainly can't deny that people do this: I've known several Canadians who do this exact thing: Travel to the US to get some operation performed....at their own expense.

Now, whether you feel the ubiquity of the healthcare system compensates for the fact that, apparently, it is not as good, as people apparently *DO* leave the country for treatment on a not-uncommon basis, is something that can be subjected to debate. Healthcare, in whatever form, however, is not free, even in Canada. You STILL have to pay for it, but instead of paying for your OWN problems, you're ending up paying for someone ELSE's problems. I don't see this as a good thing, as it certainly provides a strong disincentive for people to deal with their own personal problems. Just observe the level of service you can get in Communist countries, where nobody is motivated to do anything because they gain little from their own actions. If people have to deal with their own problems, the ones that are willing to work to overcome their issues succeed, the slackers perish. Good riddance to bad rubbish.