Docspud,

My comments were partly t.i.c. and partly serious. I think by most yardsticks, the Europeans do enjoy a higher standard of living. That isn't measured just by paychecks. I think the yardstick - measured in averages of course - includes things like education, health & longevity, work & time off & other benefits.

Yeah I know that some, like wealthy Canadians particularly, come to the US for procedures that they'd have to wait for under Canada's socialized medicine, but most of the other western countries citizens seem to live well enough with the flaws of socialized medicine. While socialized medicine may not be as good for you, I suspect it would be welcomed by those Americans who have no health care.

Frankly I don't think the health care system can be fixed. I'm disappointed that politicians aren't more honest about that. Modern health care has become so expensive that I don't think it will ever be available to the entire population. Our society needs to burst the fantasy bubble that every American can have the same health care as the US Congress. It can't. I doubt that in a free and informed election that our society would ever choose to spend the amount of money it would cost to deliver that level of health care to 360,000,000 Americans. That said, I think we can deliver a basic level of health care to all Americans at an affordable cost. The major obstacle being that the difference between the basic level and the best of everything to everyone level is an emotional rather than a rational discussion, and most Americans won't make the rational choice. Ergo, not fixable in my estimation.

I don't argue that capitalism doesn't work. But define work. Does it deliver the greatest good to the greatest number? If unregulated, I don't think so. If insufficiently regulated, we get the current mess. And it's not just one rotten board, unfortunately. Rewarding hard work will always contribute to a greater success. Whatever the economic model selected, it needs to be thoughtfully regulated in order to be successful for its society. I don't think the stockade will do anything to bring about the necessary change. I think blood in the streets, the blood of those who brought this about, including the guilty members of Congress and the administrations, might initiate a shift in mindset. Must be time for a second American Revolution?

Sg