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DAVID KARWACKI, SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE - I'm the owner of a company in
Canada and another in the United States that distribute fresh produce
around the globe. My Canadian company has three corporate advantages
over my U.S. company and our U.S. competitors: healthy workers, lower
operating costs and better worker safety through social cohesion. In my
experience, healthy workers are more productive because they take less
sick time than those who don't, or can't afford, to take care of their
health. Lack of health-care access is a barrier to preventive care.
Those who ignore early symptoms of an illness because their credit cards
are maxed-out end up being less productive and may have to leave the
work force. Then the employer faces the expense of training replacement
workers.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates
that total health expenditures in Canada amounted to 9.9 percent of GDP
in 2004. In the United States it was 15.3 percent. And even though
Americans spend more on health care, their life expectancy is, on
average, two years less than Canadians. Many U.S. companies enjoy a
competitive edge in technology because of the R&D of the military
industrial complex. In Canada it's our single-insurer health-care system
that provides us with a competitive advantage. My U.S. company pays, on
average, a premium of $9,300 per year for each employee to provide just
basic medical insurance. My Canadian firm pays no premium. The costs are
paid out of taxes and from resource royalties. High health-care costs in
the United States have been cited as one very big reason for what some
people are calling "the outsourcing of America." Witness the steady
decline of the domestic auto manufacturing sector.
Finally, I would argue that universal health care provides a social
cohesion and increases our general security by helping to lift people
out of poverty. A healthy population with access to health care is more
likely to be productive and beneficial to the community. The rates of
violent crime in Canada have yet to reach even a shadow of what is
happening in America.
The economic reasons for universal medical coverage are clear. Just as
important, however, is what Medicare says about our country and its
people. We believe in the principle that everyone should have access to
reasonable health care. That way life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness is for all of us - not just those who can afford it.
[David Karwacki is the leader of the Liberal Party]
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_6594374
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DAVID KARWACKI, SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE - I'm the owner of a company in
Canada and another in the United States that distribute fresh produce
around the globe. My Canadian company has three corporate advantages
over my U.S. company and our U.S. competitors: healthy workers, lower
operating costs and better worker safety through social cohesion. In my
experience, healthy workers are more productive because they take less
sick time than those who don't, or can't afford, to take care of their
health. Lack of health-care access is a barrier to preventive care.
Those who ignore early symptoms of an illness because their credit cards
are maxed-out end up being less productive and may have to leave the
work force. Then the employer faces the expense of training replacement
workers.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates
that total health expenditures in Canada amounted to 9.9 percent of GDP
in 2004. In the United States it was 15.3 percent. And even though
Americans spend more on health care, their life expectancy is, on
average, two years less than Canadians. Many U.S. companies enjoy a
competitive edge in technology because of the R&D of the military
industrial complex. In Canada it's our single-insurer health-care system
that provides us with a competitive advantage. My U.S. company pays, on
average, a premium of $9,300 per year for each employee to provide just
basic medical insurance. My Canadian firm pays no premium. The costs are
paid out of taxes and from resource royalties. High health-care costs in
the United States have been cited as one very big reason for what some
people are calling "the outsourcing of America." Witness the steady
decline of the domestic auto manufacturing sector.
Finally, I would argue that universal health care provides a social
cohesion and increases our general security by helping to lift people
out of poverty. A healthy population with access to health care is more
likely to be productive and beneficial to the community. The rates of
violent crime in Canada have yet to reach even a shadow of what is
happening in America.
The economic reasons for universal medical coverage are clear. Just as
important, however, is what Medicare says about our country and its
people. We believe in the principle that everyone should have access to
reasonable health care. That way life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness is for all of us - not just those who can afford it.
[David Karwacki is the leader of the Liberal Party]
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_6594374
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