The United States is a global outlier on multiple fronts. It is the only country in the developed world without a universal healthcare system. It ranks number one in firearms per capita and has the second highest firearm homicide rate in the world. The U.S. is also a childcare outlier (developed countries contribute an average of $14000 on childcare for 2 and under, compared with $400 in the U.S.) and now a global outlier on abortion rights. In a political system where the interests of the rich and powerful take precedence over the common good, it should not be surprising that the planetary environment is treated as an afterthought.The U.S. is also doing a horrendous job when it comes to climate and the environment. In the 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which uses 40 performance indicators and ranks 180 countries “on their national efforts to protect environmental health, enhance ecosystem vitality, and mitigate climate change,” the U.S. is ranked 43rd, behind shining democracies like Bulgaria, Hungary, North Macedonia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Tag: Healthcare
In the hyper-capitalist United States, a threadbare social safety net is the norm and even people’s health needs are commodified for financial profit. The culture of solidarity required to meet the challenges of a public health emergency is not exactly the default setting for a social system dominated by financial and political elites.But it’s worse than that. Today, the Republican Party operates as open saboteurs of public health. Across the nation, elected Republicans at every level of government display a callous disregard for the health and lives of the American people, sowing disinformation and resistance to public health efforts to contain and defeat the pandemic.
‘Lethal Inequality’
“It’s not just Covid care that’s unaffordable. Patients with heart disease, asthma, and diabetes need protection too. Medicare for All is the long-term answer.”
‘Outrageous,’ Says Bernie Sanders as Filings Show Top Healthcare CEOs Raked in Combined $300 Million in 2019
Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, vowed to “end the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and pass Medicare for All.”
‘Heartless and Unconscionable’: Outrage as General Motors Cuts Off Healthcare for 50,000 Striking Workers
“It is cruel and outrageous that GM has cut off the healthcare benefits from their employees in a blatant attempt to force the union into submission,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
1848+: The End(s) of History 