Pick of the Day: How much is a life worth?

[The Lawspeaker]

Pick of the Day: How much is a life worth? (http://www.rnw.nl/english/video/pick-day-how-much-a-life-worth)

The cost of cancer treatment is skyrocketing. The Netherlands pays over 2.5 billion euros a year to treat cancer patients, twice as much as a decade ago. One in three Dutch people will get cancer at some point in their life. But the new government wants to cut spending on cancer treatment and other aspects of healthcare as part of its overall budget cuts of 18 billion euros.

The government and doctors realise that the huge amounts being spent on prolonging the life of terminally ill people mean that there's less funding available to provide care for people with other serious diseases. Because of the budget cuts, there's a growing debate in the Netherlands about the value of a human life.

(Article contains a video)


Ah lookie lookie what I found. Now we have this obscure muzzie threatening u (http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/taliban-threaten-attack-against-netherlands)s and our eyes fixed at the Wilders tria (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=283841#post283841)l us while at the same moment they are tearing down our healthcare system. :)

No, Civis, don't get carried away now.. it's all a coincidence....:rolleyes:

[Psychonaut]

How much is a life worth?

It's a great question, and one that too many proponents of socialized health care are completely unwilling to honestly and openly discuss.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Personally, I agree with TSM. Others may differ in opinion.

In a country with socialized medicine, you don't get a choice, your life is worth whatever the government sets it at.

[The Lawspeaker]

It's a great question, and one that too many proponents of socialized health care are completely unwilling to honestly and openly discuss.
And that is at the basis of debates around it as opponents of socialized healthcare are unwilling to answer either as they are not willing to pay a dime for anyone else's life.
I am willing to pay for my countrymen.. are you ?

[antonio]

Indeed another falacy of socialdemocratic morons: that a poor man deserves same healthcare than a richer one (until now I agree) hence we should solidarily pay him it.

A curiosity about that: in Spain, state owned hospitals have far better technology (magnetic resonance machines...) than majority of private owned ones. So, with our (middle classes) fucking money, socialites are paying first class healthcare of jobless inmigrants, whilst we have (even public servants) to resort (at least at first instance) to second class one, unless we dont mind to share public healthcare with them(for example they dont know what a queue is), criminals (at Spain fights frequently end up at hospitals), etc...:mad:

[The Lawspeaker]

Indeed another falacy of socialdemocratic morons: that a poor man deserve same healthcare than a richer one (untill now I agree) hence we should solidarily pay him it.
And how can you call yourself a Christian?

[antonio]

And how can you call yourself a Christian?

WTF? In not Jesuchrist to repeat fish&bread multiplication miracle. Unless o.c. you think public money amount varies in function of people believes.:cool:

[The Lawspeaker]

WTF? In not Jesuchrist to repeat fish&bread multiplication miracle. Unless o.c. you think public money amount varies in function of people believes.:cool:
Christianity was rather clear on the issue of solidarity.

And when it comes to socialized healthcare: it's simple solidarity with your own countrymen.. not with some African in the bush that no one should give a bloody damn about but with your own villagers and your own countrymen.

[antonio]

Christianity was rather clear on the issue of solidarity.

And when it comes to socialized healthcare: it's simple solidarity with your own countrymen.. not with some African in the bush that no one should give a bloody damn about but with your own villagers and your own countrymen.

I think your stand about that issue is simply unrealistic. Following your reasoning, let's granted to all our sick people the millionary treatments like Paul Allen or Steve Jobs followed to avoid death. As well I wrote, is not a question of whether our people deserve them or not, it's just about money, and against it, there's nothing ideologies can do (at least on a sustainable state)

[The Lawspeaker]

I think your stand about that issue is simply unrealistic. Following your reasoning, let's granted to all our sick people the millionary treatments like Paul Allen or Steve Jobs followed to avoid death. As well I wrote, is not a question of whether our people deserve them or not, it's just about money, and against it, there's nothing ideologies can do (at least on a sustainable state)
There is plenty of money in the hands of the super rich. Money they made over our backs and over those of millions of innocents world wide or stole outright from us. It's not money that's a problem.. it's equity. The capitalism that so many here defend it selfish capitalism, it's NWO capitalism.

[antonio]

There is plenty of money in the hands of the super rich. Money they made over our backs and over those of millions of innocents world wide or stole outright from us. It's not money that's a problem.. it's equity. The capitalism that so many here defend it selfish capitalism, it's NWO capitalism.

I agree to a certain extent. Anycase, for me, healthcare it's one of the few things (ancient care the other) that should be equalized...to a certain extent.

Richmen acumulation of capital is a another far difficult issue. But I am against the modern days scenario of richest being each day richer...it's sick and should be limited if not reversed. It's for that I agree to sucession taxes on richest.

[Eldritch]

The cost of cancer treatment is skyrocketing. The Netherlands pays over 2.5 billion euros a year to treat cancer patients, twice as much as a decade ago. One in three Dutch people will get cancer at some point in their life. But the new government wants to cut spending on cancer treatment and other aspects of healthcare as part of its overall budget cuts of 18 billion euros.


Cancer treatments are becoming more and more sophisticated all the time. The rising costs are basically caused by the wider varierty of treatments available. Some of them are very expensive.

[Psychonaut]

And that is at the basis of debates around it as opponents of socialized healthcare are unwilling to answer either as they are not willing to pay a dime for anyone else's life.
I am willing to pay for my countrymen.. are you ?


You deftly sidestepped the question...

That you are willing to pay is not the interesting point; I'd like to know how much you're willing to pay to save the life of a stranger. Would you sell your home and car to pay for the cancer treatment of a 90 year old? Most people would not go into debt to pay for the medical bills of a stranger, yet they ask their nations to do just that so they can feel better about themselves.