That Facebook meme
Sep. 3rd, 2009 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhu[Adapted from a comment on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hahathor's journal.]
Today, many of my friends devoted their Facebook status updates to a call for health care reform. Unfortunately, I think the particular wording of the "meme" was counterproductive. What I find frustrating about it is that by positing an unachievable absolute it makes those who support health care reform look like idiots.
The first part of the "meme" says: "No one should die because they cannot afford health care." Sure, in an ideal world, but there will always be some people who cannot afford the particular treatment that they need, even with private insurance and government single-payer purchasing power. Our cumulative needs exceed our cumulative resources.
The second part says: "No one should go broke because they get sick." Well, once you accept that there will have to be limits on the degree to which private and/or public insurance can pay for one's care, then there will always be some people who will have to choose between paying for the additional care themselves until they're broke, or dying. [What I assume this clause is actually trying to talk about is that with any sort of needs-based entitlement program you'll have people who have to spend down to eligibility.]
So once one admits that these ideals are unrealistic, to have lots of people stating them as absolute fact --- and encouraging others to do so --- makes it look like the people supporting health care reform are being unrealistic. Which makes it easy for others to dismiss health care reform itself as unrealistic.
We can do better. We must do better. But we cannot achieve perfection, and this "meme" makes the best the enemy of the good. And that's why I dislike it.
hahathor's journal.]Today, many of my friends devoted their Facebook status updates to a call for health care reform. Unfortunately, I think the particular wording of the "meme" was counterproductive. What I find frustrating about it is that by positing an unachievable absolute it makes those who support health care reform look like idiots.
The first part of the "meme" says: "No one should die because they cannot afford health care." Sure, in an ideal world, but there will always be some people who cannot afford the particular treatment that they need, even with private insurance and government single-payer purchasing power. Our cumulative needs exceed our cumulative resources.
The second part says: "No one should go broke because they get sick." Well, once you accept that there will have to be limits on the degree to which private and/or public insurance can pay for one's care, then there will always be some people who will have to choose between paying for the additional care themselves until they're broke, or dying. [What I assume this clause is actually trying to talk about is that with any sort of needs-based entitlement program you'll have people who have to spend down to eligibility.]
So once one admits that these ideals are unrealistic, to have lots of people stating them as absolute fact --- and encouraging others to do so --- makes it look like the people supporting health care reform are being unrealistic. Which makes it easy for others to dismiss health care reform itself as unrealistic.
We can do better. We must do better. But we cannot achieve perfection, and this "meme" makes the best the enemy of the good. And that's why I dislike it.