Quote Originally Posted by Judy Trickett View Post
I lived in the United States for a LONG time. So, unlike most Canadians who think NON-Universal health care is a bad thing I actually have FIRST hand experience with it.

I have been on both side of the fence and I would take the U.S. way in a heartbeat.

You know, in the U.S. they give you very little welfare and most of it is paid DIRECTLY to your housing corporation. Wanna buy groceries....fine... .you get a debit card type thing. Wanna buy milk and eggs...fine...it goes through the scanner at the cash register. BUT, when you buy chips and pop the cashiers system flags it and you have to PAY for it with CASH instead of your food stamps card. It is VERY difficult to abuse the welfare system in the states. And, as a result people actually WORK for a living.

I worked with MANY Mexicans who didn't have a single dime when they moved to that country and because they were HARD workers they managed to feed and house their families with NO government assistance - NONE! So, yes, it CAN be done.

Non-Universal health care?? Here's the thing - if you have a JOB then you 99% of the time will have HEALTH care because of that job. No job - no health care. And this is why more people actually KEEP their jobs. It's win-win for everyone.

I just don't believe that those who sit on welfare or use the system at LENGTH (as in year after year or, in many cases, generations) really WANT to work. You know, when I lived in the states I had a very high management job. EVERY day, when I went to lunch and stopped at a traffic light some vagrant would approach my car for change. And EVERY single day I gave at least ONE person my business card and told them, "You come see me - I WILL give you a job". And do you wanna know how many people after years and years and YEARS of me giving out those cards ever came to see me about a job???? NOT ONE!

My opinions are not just born from ignorance; they are born of experience.

I also had the unfortunate situation of a loved one falling VERY ill (spent 7 days in ICU) while living there. And you know what?? The REASON he literally nearly lost his LIFE was because OUR system, here in Canada, is so screwed up that he was on a waiting list. Yes, he came to visit us and nearly DIED from the same damn ailment that we Canadians did NOT have enough in our Health (sick) care coffers to take care of! And you know what?? Within TWENTY-FOUR hours of his arrival to the ER in the states he got a CAT scan, and MRI, and a surgery where they flew in the BEST surgeon in that field from Massachusettes. He lived BECAUSE of the way they handle medical care in the United States, not despite it. If that had happened to him while in Canada I have NO doubt he would have died.

I've BTDT. I KNOW how both systems work. And I will take the U.S. system of every man for himself any day of the week.

as a current US resident, this may have been the way it was in the past but now, if a family is on food assistance they get an allotted amount on a card every month and it can be used for all food crap food and healthy food alike. Those benefits cannot be used for alcohol though.

There is another program called WIC- "women infants and children" that has coupons for specific products on each and those benefits can only be used for the specific products- this program covers things such as eggs, milk, cheese, carrots, and beans and allows very little room for flexibility.

There are millions of people bilking the system now. It gets depressing and makes it harder for those who are in genuine need to get help