What you can't pay for a doctor, thats retarded mate.
Yep, that would be my analysis too.
Goverment Stamp Tax (is it Stamp i'm not sure might be something else) or G.S.T as it it usually known by
Probably
Goods
Services
Tax, that's what we have here in Canada.
The argument that because we allegedly already have socialised medicine in the form of our locally funded hospitals, advanced mainly by someone who is not even a US citizen,
Sorry??? I've lived worked in the USA {legally I might add}, and used medical care in the US, not to mention I know dozens if not hundreds of US residents who I've worked with {and my church is in Wash. state} so I have a fairly good idea what I'm talking about.
I think the point was also made by Eric as well, who I suspect is probably a US citizen. The fact that the illegal aliens get health care while the working poor often don't makes even less sense.
The current system in the US gives handouts out like candy. I am all for helping out your fellow man when he is down, but I am not at all for someone who is lazy or not here legally getting a free ride.
One only need to take a look around in any region close to the southern borders here and see that those who enter this country illegally get better healthcare and benefits than our veterans! THAT isn't right.
A lot of that info about illegals crowding our public hospitals is anecdotal
If you think the problem of Illegals is just "anecdotal" you should visit the border areas of Texas where it is a huge problem, not just for hospitals, but schools and other public sevices as well. Eric probably sees a similar problem in California too.
the problems of our public hospitals can and should be handled on a local basis.
"Handled on a local basis" just means that you are dumping the financial burden on the local hospital, hardly a good solution. The cost is passed on to paying citizens by higher rates, or else it degrades the quality of health care.
"Handled on a local basis" also means that if a hospital in a border region cannot survive financially because of the overload of illegals, and closes it's doors. Is that a solution?
So if you are a millionaire you have no problems, your doctor comes to you. If you are an average working guy you will have to pay more your family gets lesser care because the local hospital that YOU PAY FOR is
legally mandated to give care to illegals
Surely it is true that the indigent sometimes crowd our hospital emergency rooms but they have to wait an inordinate amount of time which discourages them from going for minor ailments.
Yes, and it also means that the ordinary guy has to wait for hours for his care, as emergency wait times are not determined by coverage status. So if Njaco takes his kid in with a busted finger and 5 illegals are then wheeled in with emergencies, - guess what - Njaco's kid is now 6th in line.
{Sorry to use you as an example Njaco, I hope your kid does not bust a finger!

}
To create a gigantic, money hungry federal program such as national health care to replace our current system is idiocy.
I don't know, it would seem to make sense to have a program where the working poor can get coverage for a reasonable price, which is exactly what we have in Canada
If illegals are crowding our hospitals, the solution is to deal with illegal immigration.
That would be a good place to start.