"Why are our chances of reaching a great age so affected by wealth and status? The obvious answer is that more income buys better health. But it is a lot more subtle than that, as shown three decades ago by the Whitehall Study, in which epidemiologist Michael Marmot examined the death rates of British civil servants. To the surprise of many, he found that his subjects — all in continuous paid employment and with equal access to health care — were more likely to die in any given year if they were in a lower- grade job than a higher one. Marmot concluded that the employment hierarchy itself created status-dependent stress that affected the workers' health.
In their new book, epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett extend this idea with a far-reaching analysis of the social consequences of income inequality. Using statistics from reputable independent sources, they compare indices of health and social development in 23 of the world's richest nations and in the individual US states. Their striking conclusion is that the societies that do best for their citizens are those with the narrowest income differentials — such as Japan and the Nordic countries and the US state of New Hampshire. The most unequal — the United States as a whole, the United Kingdom and Portugal — do worst.
"D.C. Rally & Lobby Day and National Day of Action on May 13
Take Action!
Activist registered nurses and physicians are calling for a “Florence Nightingale Day Protest” against Sen. Max Baucus and his Senate Finance Committee hearings on healthcare. The hearings include representation from health insurers—but not from the majority of the nation’s RNs and MDs, who support the kind of single-payer healthcare financing proven successful in Europe, Canada, and Asia.
The protest is being held tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12, 10:00 a.m., the 189th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Activists will gather outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building, 1st St. @ Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C. The event is sponsored by the California Nurses Association, National Nurses Organizing Committee, and Physicians for a National Health Program.
May 12 is Florence Nightingale's Birthday--an opportunity to honor her advocacy of health care by protesting Congressional hearings that have been stacked in favor of the big insurance companies while silencing the voices of nurses and doctors who favor guaranteed healthcare, as in a single payer, expanded Medicare for all system with a single standard of quality care. The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee is asking nurses and doctors in the region to attend these hearings "and support the guaranteed, single-payer health care reforms that our nation desperately needs,” said Deborah Burger, RN, CNA/NNOC co-President.
This Tuesday, May 12, the Senate Finance Subcommittee is holding its final hearing on healthcare reform. The CNA/NNOC has issued a request to include Roseann Demoro, CNA/NNOC Executive Director and longtime leader in the single-payer movement. PNHP has formally submitted the names of two outstanding physicians, Drs. Marcia Angell and Steffie Woolhandler, to testify as expert witnesses. However, no single-payer supporters have been invited.
"A conservative group's ad implies Congress is on its way to instituting a British- or Canadian-style health system. "
" In the coming weeks and months, Congress will be engaged in the difficult issue of how best to reform health care in America. I'm committed to building a transparent process where all views are welcome. But I'm also committed to ensuring that whatever plan we design upholds three basic principles: First, the rising cost of health care must be brought down; second, Americans must have the freedom to keep whatever doctor and health care plan they have, or to choose a new doctor or health care plan if they want it; and third, all Americans must have quality, affordable health care.
These are principles that I expect to see upheld in any comprehensive health care reform bill that's sent to my desk -- I mentioned it to the groups that were here today. It's reform that is an imperative for America's economic future, and reform that is a pillar of the new foundation we seek to build for our economy; reform that we can, must, and will achieve by the end of this year.
"Obama’s Remarks on Health Care Reform.
"Sen. Arlen Specter says he's open to a government health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers to cover middle-class Americans, a policy reversal for the newest Democrat."
"Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list, ranking first, second and third, respectively. Outside Europe, New Zealand and Canada landed at Nos. 8 and 6, respectively. The U.S. did not crack the top 10. Switzerland placed seventh and Belgium placed tenth."
The first thing, you must put the Federal Reserve into the US Treasury.
Second thing, you must stop the private banks from creating money, because as they do that it's like a tax on all of us, and they put the money in the wrong place. They're going to put the money into other bubbles. They can create Wall Street bubbles, real estate bubbles.
And the third thing, since you've taken away the power of the banks to create money, you have to put it back in with the government. We do that by the government spending on infrastructure. We start with the two trillion that the engineers tell us is needed. That's $440 billion a year. We include health care, education in infrastructure.
The Geithner/Summers stranglehold on the Treasury Department. The proposed American Monetary Act, that they are working on with Dennis Kucinich. The Green Party platform. The Weimar Republic money. The Austrian School. The Chicago School. Milton Friedman. Continental currency. Greenbacks. United States Notes. The nationalization of the Bank of England. His CD about the American Monetary Act, give it to your Senators and Congress people.
"In an interview, Mr. Sessions cited rising unemployment in asserting that the administration intended to “diminish employment and diminish stock prices” as part of a “divide and conquer” strategy to consolidate power."
We need to demand equal rights to the large corporations. Single payer is the public sector version of self insurance. Let’s start phrasing it that way so that when the other side throws out “Socialist” we can respond “As socialist as GM and the other self-insured corporations!”
Too much?
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