[Newsbot]

Filibuster Cartoons
Title: Planting the flag of universality (click to view)
Date: March 22, 2010
So the health care bill finally, finally got passed last night, more or less concluding the long national nightmare that has consumed American politics for the duration of the previous year. Health insurance will now be mandatory for all citizens, all large employers will be forced to provide coverage to their workers, and federal and state Medicad programs for the poor will be expanded. Along with the ban on denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, these reforms are expected to bring millions of previously uninsured Americans under some form of coverage, allowing them to join the ranks of the vast majority of Americans who already enjoy health care coverage through their jobs. Here's a good summary from the New York Times explaining more of the precise details of the passed legislation.

My first thoughts, naturally, were "what does this mean for Canada?"

In recent decades, Canadians have defined themselves (which is to say, contrasted themselves favorably with the United States) by celebrating their universal health care coverage. We also tend to make an enormous show of pitying those Americans who lack coverage (which many Canadians assume is just about everyone in the States).

But now that Americans are poised to embrace a health care system that is very identifiably "universal," the Canadian national psyche is plunged into a bit of a dilemma. How can we maintain our vernier of distinctness if one of our favorite distinctness talking-points is robbed away?

My prediction: Canadian nationalists will now have to nitpick endlessly about why the American system is not truly universal by Canadian standards (the only standards that count, obviously). More charitable Canadians will probably patronizingly applaud the Obama reforms as a good "first step" towards our utopian fully-state controlled system. No one will view the new US system as something the Canadian system will probably itself descend into in the near future, though that's probably the most likely outcome of all.

[BartSimpson]

Newsbot wrote:

all large employers will be forced to provide coverage to their workers

More likely all large employers will reduce their American workforces to reduce costs and what jobs they can outsource to India, China, and etc. they will.

The consequence will be more unemployed workers during a recession and that will be compounded yet again when those legions of the unemployed are forced to buy health insurance with earnings they don't have.

[martin14]

When I saw the provision about companies with 50 or more employees.

Couple of years ago, we faced a new law forcing any company
with more than 50 employees to have discussions with the people
about forming a union.

We were at 49.

Fired one (unrelated), refused to hire anyone new until the law was struck down.



I imagine lots of companies in the US will face the same decision.

[BartSimpson]

Exactly.

[Kjorteo]

Man, I am sensing strong parallels between your portrayal of Canadians and my one friend's portrayal of the kind of Linux users who are so rabidly hardcore about it that even things like Ubuntu are seen as selling out.

Or maybe Mac users. I don't know. All I know is that Americans are PCs and Canada obviously can't be having any of that.

[bootlegga]

The only thing I see it meaning towards Canada is that one of our advantages (free/cheap health care for corporations) disappears.

There are lots of other things that distinguish Canadians from Americans. Wander over to the "What about Handguns" thread and you'll see just one example.

[Donny_Brasco]

BartSimpson wrote:

The consequence will be more unemployed workers during a recession and that will be compounded yet again when those legions of the unemployed are forced to buy health insurance with earnings they don't have.

Remind me who picks up the tab for uninsured people who can get medicare in the states.

[Psudo]

Donny: There aren't any uninsured medicare recipients, since medicare IS insurance.

[Donny_Brasco]

I stand corrected. Thank you.

[BartSimpson]

Donny, the "trick" with the health care bill is that it now mandates everyone to buy insurance...even if you're unemployed. And if you don't buy the insurance you get fined. It's this part of the bill that's going to be overturned by the Supreme Court because nothing in the Constitution empowers Congress to require people to buy a private product like health insurance. If this principle is allowed to stand, then Congress can mandate people to buy any kind of thing from private businesses.

[Mr_Canada]

I'm honestly sick of your assumptions about Canadian Nationalists, JJ.

I don't know any Canadian with a sound mind that thinks this bill, even if it was on par with Canadian Healthcare, is going to damage our national psyche.

How the hell would it? Who gives a CRAP?!

You think this is going to effect some people's love for this country? Are you imagining grown adults who've been watching the debate since the beginning are throwing their flags away and saying that we're nothing now?

Absolutely ridiculous and pathetic suggestions.

[JJ]

I agree, Mr. Canada, your straw man arguments which I did not make are indeed ridiculous and pathetic suggestions.

The argument I made is that Canadian nationalists overwhelmingly draw their national pride through a sense of superiority to the United States. And in recent decades, one of the biggest talking-points of superiority for nationalists has been the fact that "we have health care" and the Americans do not.

It's perfectly legitimate to ask "wither Canadian nationalism?" (to a point, obviously) when one of the key symbols of the Canadian superiority complex, something Canadians consistently poll as one of their proudest differences from the USA, disappears.

[Mr_Canada]

You don't know any Canadian Nationalists, JJ.

[Mr_Canada]

On-closer-topic, I'm absolutely thrilled that the bill passed.

[Lemmy]

BartSimpson wrote:

Newsbot wrote:

all large employers will be forced to provide coverage to their workers

More likely all large employers will reduce their American workforces to reduce costs and what jobs they can outsource to India, China, and etc. they will.

The consequence will be more unemployed workers during a recession and that will be compounded yet again when those legions of the unemployed are forced to buy health insurance with earnings they don't have.

Nonesense. Universal healthcare in the USA puts American employers on equal footing with their competitors in Canada and Europe. It takes a burden away from American businesses.