Hi I’m from England and I have just watched Sicko. I personally find Michael Moore VERY condescending and preachy however I do have some problems with your take on medcine.

Fair enough.

I cannot see how it can be a problem for the government to pay for medicine. You state that you have paid more than $250 for a meal but this does not make it ok to pay that much for health care.

I put that in there for foreign readers who might not be aware of how much $250 dollars is.  The reality is that it’s not very much.  The minimum wage here in California is $7.50, so even with taxes taken out $250 is roughly what the poorest-paid workers in the state make in a week.  $250 is $150 less than an XBox 360, roughly the same price as a Nintendo Wii, and about twice the cost of a Playstation 2.  It’s in the same ballpark as what the latest and greatest pair of basketball shoes will cost you.

Let me tell you something.  In America you see a WHOLE lot of poor kids wearing $200 basketball shoes. 

As America is the economic powerhouse of the world it is unthinkable that they could nt setup a very effective health care system and why should people pay.  The reason that people pay taxes is to have their basic needs paid for by the state surely medicine is included in this.

Perhaps in the UK people pay taxes to have their fundamental needs met, but not here.  Let’s assume, however, that this is true.  Isn’t food the most fundamental of all needs?  Why doesn’t the state provide everyone with food?  Why are there supermarkets where people are forced to pay for that most basic of needs?  And what about a place to live?  Why isn’t the government paying for everyone to have a place to live?  Why are you allowed to choose where to live?  To rent or buy?  Why should capitalism be allowed to enter into these transactions, for food and shelter, two needs which are far more immediate than medical care?

Simple.  The free market is the most efficient means of equitable distribution of wealth that has ever been devised.  Period.

“But Lee!  The government does give food and shelter to poor people, so you’re not making much sense here!” The operative word there, of course, is poor.  If the government provided everyone with a house they’d all be identical gray cinderblock buildings with square apartments.  If the government provided everyone with food it would be a flavorless gruel of some kind.  In fact, if you want to see what these services are like when provided by the state, look at North Korea.  The best thing to do is to give help only to those people who actually need it and let everyone else be free to do as they choose.  So the poor get food stamps and live in a council flat, while the rest of us buy cars and houses.

Why should healthcare be any different?

Also there are many people who cannot afford $265. What do they do? Its an unfortunate fact of life that many people do not earn enough to be able to afford these fee’s and it seems that your attitude is “well the system works works for me so there is nothing wrong with it.”

As I said before, $265 is not much money.  Most people, even those of modest means, could afford it.  Yes, not everyone will be able to.  Then again, not everyone will choose to , either.  When healthcare is paid for by taxes you’re forcing people to buy health insurance, and there are some people (usually young, healthy people) who skip the insurance because they’d rather have the money. 

I know that the NHS (english national health service) is in a **** state at the moment but that is down to EU beaurocracy and there are many countries where a NHS works well.

Thank you for proving my point.  You know what I do when I deal with a shit doctor or a shit hospital or a shit insurance company?  I go somewhere else.  You, I’m sorry to say, are stuck with the NHS.

Basically what I am saying is that healthcare is a human need and it does seem that the USA denies this to many people and that is wrong and I do not think you should at the very least be able to accept some of the intelligent critisism from Moore’s film.

Healthcare is a human need.  It is not a human right, and that is the distinction.  Neither Jim nor I nor the vast majority of Americans have any problem providing healthcare to the poor.  We already do this through programs like Medicaid.  What he and I are opposed to, and will fight tooth and nail, is single-payer healthcare like in the UK.  It’s a disaster, and I want no part of it. 

Helping people who need help is one thing.  Doing so by lessening the quality of the care you receive yourself is another thing entirely.

However I will agree that the man is a complete nob jockey but people should not have to pay for medicine

Well, I’ll agree with you on the nob jockey part.  :)