I'm basically a lurker here - I check in daily, following along with interest and sometimes silently cheering on my American neighbours, other times offering up comments that don't really add much of real value to the conversation, and every once in a while submitting a post that's actually somewhat helpful. I've never pulled the trigger on a diary, and wasn't going to this time either were it not for a bit of encouragement to do so based on a recent comment (I guess my arm twists easier than I thought!). Given that I find the strength of the writing talent here pretty intimidating, what I'm going to do is basically just repost my comments with a little more dressing up - apparently I did alright there, and I don't want to sabotage that. :)
To get to the undervalued point in the debate: universal health care here in Canada gives us a distinct competitive advantage compared to the U.S. from the standpoint of labour costs. Now, I'm reasonably certain that I won't convince those on the vocal right, but if they were to be true to their self described fiscal conservatism, they'd at least take an honest look at the data.
Thanks to GN1927 and 2laneIA for giving me a kick start with this. :) On to the comment mashup!
There's another bullet point to add to the arguments for the public option: a strong public option would make US companies more competitive.
As a Canadian (and a worker, of course), this would actually go against my best interests, but I strongly believe that a solid health care system would make American workers and/or U.S. based companies more competitive. I say that because it's often touted here, by the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers union) and others, that our health care system is one of the major things that makes Canada an attractive place to set up shop. I have no reason to doubt that's true - but someone certainly should correct me if I'm wrong.
http://www.canadians.org/...
Consider the auto industry. Did you know that U.S. automakers spend more money on health insurance each year than they do on steel?
In 1988, Chrysler’s CEO Lee Iacocca reported that each car his company produced in the U.S. cost $700 in health benefits alone, while the same car produced in Canada by Chrysler cost only $233 in health benefits.
The situation hasn’t changed much since then. In 2005, General Motors of Canada’s CEO Michael Grimaldi reported that each U.S.-produced car cost $1,500 in health benefits, compared to less than $500 in Canada. And in 2006, the Conference Board of Canada reported that in the U.S., health care and pensions add between $1,400 and $1,800 to the price of each vehicle – a major reason Toyota cited for building its newest plant in Ontario.
I do know that, for example, the UAW gave up a lot in order to get the gov't bailout loans. The CAW did as well to have access to Cdn gov't bailout money - in the end, they gave up the equivalent to $19/hr, but none of that was actual wages or pensions (as far as actually "benefits", well, on that part I'm admittedly a little fuzzy).
http://www.cbc.ca/...
Now, as far as I know, the average lineworker at Chrysler Canada makes about $34/hr, give or take a couple bucks, and yet they're competitive enough with UAW workers that, as an example, Chrysler saw fit to close the St. Louis minivan plant and keep all production here in Windsor Ontario (that's why I said it might be against my best interests - don't want to get Americans peeved off about things like that). Now I know that productivity and quality was actually a genuine factor in that decision, but the lack of major health care costs/headaches has to have played into it as well. In fact, IMO it's such a constant in the background for these companies that it isn't often brought up in discussions (although it is sometimes specifically acknowledged: see the Toyota plant mention in the first link) - it's just one of those no-brainers.
On the other hand, with regards to my "self interest" as a Canadian worker - if the U.S. were to get a quality health care system, I'm guessing that might have a positive effect on the economy eventually, and given our close ties I'm sure that would end up being a net plus for us in Canada. Naturally, I want us both to flourish.