Socialized Medicine Takes a Dangerous Detour Toward Non-Sustainability

The socialized healthcare systems around the world are in dire need of something and it’s not fewer patients.  They are in dire need of money.  As is the case with all faces of Socialism, other peoples’ money runs dry after a time and when that runs out, there is no more but the necessary austerity that follows.

Often, you’ll hear the Left talk about the Republicans and their “draconian measures” or their “austerity cuts” where they attempt to cultivate the image on the public of a Right-wing party hell-bent on punishing those without power or taking away the “rightful gifts” that the government bestowed upon them.  This is seen most often with the SNAP and welfare programs, as well as Medicare/Medicaid, where the Democrats will opine about the so-called “cuts” to the programs and how this will negatively affect the common man, woman and child in the US.

This tactic used to be a favorite of the Left, way before we had Fox News Channel.  But we learned over time that, just as the Global Warming settled science argument, the Left doesn’t deal in facts or science.  They deal in deceit and lies.  They are masters of misinformation and half-truths.  They package, process and rapid disseminate these polished arguments against the Republican Party and it used to be willingly devoured by the public without question.  Not so much anymore.

For instance, the Left is always famous for claiming that the Republicans will be “cutting Medicare.”  That used to be one of their favorite lies.  Here’s how the lie worked:  First the Democrats would come up with an arbitrary figure of this many millions…let’s say $250M…that they wanted to pour into Medicare over the next two years.  The Republicans would then come back with a counteroffer of increasing it by only $200M instead.  The Democrats would then announce through the will Fake News Industrial Complex that the Republicans just “cut Medicare spending,” when in fact, no cuts took place…the Republicans just raised the spending to Medicare by $200M!

It’s their classic way to frame every argument.  Throw out an exorbitant amount, wait for the counter offer, and then BAM!  Announce the cuts by the evil Republicans!  It worked brilliantly during the Clinton years when they used it on the Gingrich-led Congress.

They have also done the same things with Socialized medicine.  By framing the argument that the United States healthcare system (which WAS one of the foremost healthcare systems in the world where people from around the globe came here to be treated) is abysmal, they began to build up a fantasy-based reality where Socialized medicine was superior in every way.  New studies, however, have grabbed little headlines and prove that the myth of Socialized medicine and the romantic Leftist view of its many virtues are just about as far from reality as Obama’s transparency.

It didn’t take long for the socialist experiment in Venezuela to give way to malnutrition, starvation and scarcity of hospital beds and basic medical supplies. It doesn’t matter how sick you are right now in Venezuela; you might have no option but to take makeshift treatment from the hospital floor. Women are giving birth in crowded waiting rooms, and hundreds of thousands of people with malaria are suffering, unable to get treatment. Over a million cases of malaria are expected by 2018.

According to expert estimates, the country has enough hospital beds to accommodate about 25 percent of the country’s needs. The government’s supply of 47,000 hospital beds has shrunk to 18,000 units, as the socialist health care system continues to ration. There is no guarantee that a doctor will be able to help you if you walk through hospital doors, either. This comes at a time when thousands of the country’s children are at risk of dying from malnutrition. Illnesses such as diphtheria are getting the best of the young and old, who are starving for nutrition or some kind of sustenance and stability. Rafael Gottenger, president of the Venezuelan American Medical Association, says: “We have seen children dying in Caracas from malnutrition. Mothers have nothing to feed their children. I have documented cases. For example, in the El Llanito Hospital, at least eight children have died recently from malnutrition. And if that’s the way it is in the capital, how would it be in the rest of the country?”

Venezuela rots within an internal civil war-like struggle at this very moment where the leader of the country, Nicolas Maduro, has assumed near unilateral power and seized its military might to destroy its citizenry and crush any resistance.  The Communist leader has basically neutered the Supreme Court and even attempted, if you can believe this, to re-write the Venezuelan constitution before the uprising became more than just dangerous.

This has resulted in sanctions from the United Nations and many humanitarian groups from around the world have descended on this nation to help and report that the situation on the ground there is disastrous.

The Venezuelan socialist experiment is about eighteen years old. For fifteen years, the country was represented by Hugo Chavez, a populist who promised free healthcare and an improved standard of living. While the standard of living increased for many in the beginning, the wealth was slowly rationed by those at the very top of the socialist pyramid scheme. Over the years, the country became dependent on foreign oil for a majority of its economy. As the price of the oil went down, the wealth that the government was able to redistribute diminished.

In Venezuela now, even if a patient finds a hospital bed, there is no guarantee he or she will receive treatment. Douglas Leon Natera, president of the Venezuelan Medical Federation says hospitals have less than five percent of the supplies and medicines needed to function normally.

With low oil prices stifling their economy, current President Nicolas Maduro has resorted to placing strict limits on food and medicine imports. Catholic charity organizations have struggled to keep up with the staggering rate of malnutrition in children. One organization, the Caritas, reports malnutrition as high as 11.4 percent for children under five. The malnutrition is disaffecting children’s growth and ability to fight off infectious disease. Diptheria, once deemed eradicated, has made a comeback in the country, with new outbreaks forming.

It’s still unclear how many will have to suffer before the socialist system of Venezuela finally comes to an end.

Turn to the next page to read more about the major failings of the Canadian healthcare system and how it, too, may soon find its way into the trash bin of history!

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