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Without insurance and without access to medical care are 2 different things.
Third world country children drink water from dirty cesspools and go days without food and die from diseases that are easily treatable. I would say 3rd world children would do anything to move to America.
BTW, keep in mind that many of these uninsured children get the same care as insured children depending on where they live. All you have to do is go to the hospital, treatment can not be refused. Sure its a hassle, but its a lot different than just being flat out of luck if you get really sick.
No - there is definitely a problem. Partly due to health insurance coverage problems, partly due to lifestyle and cultural issues. We need to stop playing political football and acknowledge this.
The worst country for kids
The United States may be one of the richest countries in the world, but it's also one of the worst industrialized places for kids to grow up. And the U.S. has a greater percentage of depressed people than impoverished, war-torn nations do, according to two major studies.
The first unflattering finding comes from a recent UNICEF child-welfare study that measured everything from the number of books in the home to infant-mortality rates, drinking and drug use and the percentage of children who eat meals with their families.
Of 21 wealthy nations surveyed, the U.S. ranked second to last. Only Britain was worse. Child well-being was highest in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, places that invest heavily in their children.
The problem isn't just that, compared with the European countries, the U.S. lacks day-care services and has poorer health and preventive-care coverage, which has left 9 million children without health insurance.
America finished dead last in terms of infant-mortality rates, vaccinations, the percentage of newborns with low birth weights and deaths from accidental injuries. We finished second to last when the researchers assessed a child's diet, physical activity and weight, exposure to violence and bullying and the number of 15-year-olds who smoke and drink and have sex.And, in what could explain why we're among the most depressed people on Earth, according to a study of 14 nations conducted jointly by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School, we finished second to last when researchers examined relationships with family members and friends and family structure.
American children often don't eat the main meal of the day with their parents. Children say they don't spend time "just talking" to their parents. And they generally don't find their peers "kind and helpful," according to the study.
It shouldn't really be a surprise, then, that 9.6 percent of Americans suffer from depression or bipolar disorder, according to the WHO/Harvard study, that binge eating or drinking is up or that children are heavily medicated for depression and attention-deficit disorder.
In material goods, American children have it all. But to make them feel loved, cherished and supported, they need family, community, a higher sense of purpose and meaningful cultural traditions, all things money can't buy.
Without insurance and without access to medical care are 2 different things.
Third world country children drink water from dirty cesspools and go days without food and die from diseases that are easily treatable. I would say 3rd world children would do anything to move to America.
BTW, keep in mind that many of these uninsured children get the same care as insured children depending on where they live. All you have to do is go to the hospital, treatment can not be refused. Sure its a hassle, but its a lot different than just being flat out of luck if you get really sick.
This illustrates one of the main problems America has when dealing with social problems...the comparison to Third World countries. Surely, the children in America don't have it as bad as their counterparts in Bangaladesh. But that is looking down to see how high up we are, instead of looking up to see that much more should be done. Therefore, as long we aren't lower than the worst, the situation is acceptable. This is applied to many social fields, such as workers' benefits, healthcare, education, and poverty.
Yes, we are the world's wealthiest nation. But, socially, I think we imitate the Third World.
Just another notch on the way down.
Yeah, but you have to note that it's called capitalism. If we wanted to be socialist, sure we could pay for everyone's insurance, but that's just not how it is.
In capitalism, it's a reward system. If you put in work such as getting a degree, skill or take a risk, you make money. It's the parents fault and I blame them for not taking the perogative to get their kids insurance. If the parents really wanted insurance for their kids they would pay for it.
Wow, I can't believe somebody would actually believe a statement like that. If the parents wanted insurance, they'd get it?????
When I got out of the Navy, my daughter (who has Cystic Fibrosis) was taking medication that cost me $1600 a month. That was in 1992. Explain how to pay for that, rent, gas, utilities, and over $500 a month for insurance?
My point is, not everybody can do it. It's not a simple matter of snapping your fingers and you have health care. I chose to forgo health care so we could eat and have electricity, heat, and a roof.
This illustrates one of the main problems America has when dealing with social problems...the comparison to Third World countries.
You made the initial comparison to third world countries. I simply responded. And just like it is possible to make a comparison about looking up to see how far we need to go instead of looking down to see how high we are, a similar comparison could be made that we should stop distressing ourselves as much over what we don't have and be more appreciative for the things we do have.
There is certainly a big need for changes, but beating people over the head with messages of doom and gloom does nothing positive.
There is a neighborhood not far from me. Mostly white. Some real poverty. You can tell these people have jobs that have not kept up with the times. Yet, I bet they qualify for nothing, because they are not foreigners or minorities. These are the people slipping through the cracks, because certain groups have the social services in their clutches and won't ever admit they are biased.
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