The Other Ghost in the Room

When I read this headline from December 9:
“PARIS -- The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on healthcare than the industrialized world's average, an economic group said Tuesday.”

Something didn’t sit right with me. The study, published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, indicated that “Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.1 years in 2007.”

It also said that “That's a year less than the OECD average of 79.1, and puts the U.S. just ahead of the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico, where spending on healthcare is many times less per person.” The Paris-based organization reported this in its latest survey of health trends among its 30 member countries.

Now, let’s put this in context. Research show that the U.S. counts every live birth toward our statistics, even if the infant lives only a few hours. European countries may only count infants that live at least a day or which meet other health criteria. Thus they can claim fewer infant deaths, which in turn dramatically alters the average life expectancy in years.

In Austria and Germany, fetal weight must be at least 500 grams to classify as a live birth; Switzerland, has a length (30 centimeters) requirement. In Belgium and France, births before the 27th week of pregnancy are not registered as live.

Here in the U.S., such very low birth weight babies are considered live births. It follows that the mortality rate of these infants is extraordinarily high; up to 869 per 1,000 in the first month of life alone. This causes the U.S. to report higher infant mortality rates and distorts U.S. infant mortality statistics

Also, many deaths are not caused by illness, and countries have differing rates and types of illness and subsequent deaths. For example, the Center for Disease Control statistics show that that 75% of more than 40,000 deaths each year, among persons aged 10-24 in the U.S., are related to motor-vehicle accidents (37%), homicide (14%), suicide (12%), and other injuries (drowning, poisoning, and burns - 12%). These are unfortunate parts of our culture and way of life, and are not a measure of our health care system.

We also have far more fatal transportation accidents than other countries, and our homicide rate is 10 times greater than in the U.K., eight times greater than in France, and five times greater than in Canada. Also, 25 Americans are killed every day of the year by illegal immigrants. Is this an indictment of our healthcare system?

When you adjust for these metrics, U.S. life expectancy is substantially higher, and likely higher than that of other industrialized nations. Yet these deaths are included in U.S. life expectancy statistics for the purpose making an argument against our non-government run health care system. This makes no sense, and is disingenuous.

The study also went on to make these points:
“Total U.S. spending on healthcare was $7,290 a person in 2007, nearly two-and-a-half times the OECD average of $2,984. The figures include spending by both individuals and governments.”

“Spending on healthcare in the U.S. grew more quickly between 1997 and 2007 than in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, averaging 3.4 percent annually over the period. The U.S. far outspent the next biggest healthcare spenders, Norway and Switzerland, despite the fact that those countries' life expectancies are two to four years longer, according to the report.”

What is conveniently ignored is that government-run healthcare does not measure up when compared to the ability of the U.S. system to treat cancer, for example. The ranking is U.S. (first), then Canada, France, and Norway. Britain ranked fifth, with some of the lowest cancer survival rates in the civilized world. This is from the medical journal the Lancet.

For example, the U.S. has the highest prostate and breast cancer survival rates. For all cancers, Europe as a whole had a much lower survival rate than the US. for prostate cancer; with the US at 91.9% compared to 57.1% in Europe - a 34% difference. The survival rate for prostate cancer in Britain is just 51%. Now, while there are certainly areas that can be targeted to reduce overall health care costs in the U.S., (malpractice reform, interstate portability, requiring that ‘undocumented workers’ actually pay for care, living a healthier lifestyle - to name a few) it’s certainly not a stretch to draw a correlation between increased cancer research and development spending and increased cancer survival rates in the U.S. If you talk to someone about this and they push back, ask them if they’d rather have more money in the bank and be dead, or have a lighter wallet but still be walking around.

Each time you read a report or study by an ‘economic group’, ‘think tank’, or ‘organization of experts’ and you take it at face value without doing some research and questioning the logic and real motive behind it - you’re doing yourself a disservice. This is especially true if the study was funded by a government research grant or otherwise received funding from another organization that may have a vested interest in a particular outcome or study result. Then, you should assume that there’s something rotten in Denmark. (And I don’t mean the globe-trotting, carbon producing, email deleting climate change hypocrites in Copenhagen… but that’s a story for another day).

The OECD is a Paris-based think tank funded by its 30 member countries. National contributions are based on a formula which takes into account the size of each member's economy. Did you know that the largest contributor is the United States, which provides nearly 25% of the budget? This pro-government healthcare report was released by an organization which receives direct funding from the U.S. government just as the U.S. Senate is considering a healthcare overhaul promised by President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. What an astounding coincidence.

Our government, through a select few individuals, is directly (and indirectly through other organizations who do its bidding), using fear and every other tactic at its disposal to push forth a political agenda in an attempt to achieve unchecked control and create increasing dependency on the state. And they just may succeed unless more people rise from their slumber and unless we keep fighting. Of course, statists would attempt to marginalize this line of thought and discount it as ridiculous and unfounded while they quietly fund their next study, prepare to take over or render toothless another industry, levy new taxes or fees, and continue to debase our currency.

One of our biggest obstacles is that many of us have never really had to fight for anything life changing. Many simply refuse to believe that there are those who, using the element of fear and under the guise of reform and doing ‘what is right’, are gaining astonishing wealth and power – and they have someone’s best interest in mind – they’re own.

Don’t assume your neighbor will take up the fight. Knock on his door and wake him up. (Well, figuratively, especially if he’s a staunch believer in the second amendment). Stand up and speak out, pick up the phone and call your Congressman or Senator, write a letter. Question motives. Get in someone’s face. Educate them. Make them understand that this country belongs to its people, not to the beguiling political types and bureaucrats with their ulterior albeit single-minded motives. Explain that your flag means more to you than a $10 purchase at Walmart on the 4th of July. Explain that many, many more people are proud of this country and its generosity and accomplishments than the few resentful apologists who are not and who seek to tear it down. If they think you’re over-reacting, or that Socialism can never become entrenched in my United States of America, ask if they read or heard Hugo Chavez’ comments in Copenhagen, where on a world stage the irrational Dictator said there was a “silent and terrible ghost in the room and that ghost was called capitalism”, to this the applause was deafening. Or if they know that he said “Socialism, the other ghost that is probably wandering around this room, that’s the way to save the planet, capitalism is the road to hell....let’s fight against capitalism and make it obey us.” For this, he won a standing ovation.

Explain that there are other countries more suited for such types to take up residence.

This country is not one of them.

Make no mistake, the socialist agenda is real, and its drive relentless. Its sound is silent to some but deafening to others. America is the ultimate prize. Are you listening and willing to meet the challenge? The pro-America patriotic onslaught of every-day Americans must be greater today than yesterday, more formidable tomorrow than today. Doing nothing is not an option. Complacency and apathy are a recipe for an America I never want my children to see.