Don Quixote’s Thought for the Day: Progress part 2

Few would quarrel with the statement that medical science has advanced more in the last 50-75 years in its ability to diagnose and treat disease, save lives and improve the quality of life than in all of prior recorded history combined.  The American medical system, relatively free of governmental intervention, has contributed more to this progress than any other system in the world.  Don’t believe it?  Consider the residences of the Nobel prize winners in physiology and medicine over the last 30 years:

Argentina       1/2

Italy                  1/2

Denmark            1

Australia            2

Sweden               3

France                 3

Germany             5

UK                          8 1/2

United States     45 1/5

In other words, over the last 30 years, residents of the United States are with 1 1/2 recipients of having twice as many recipients of the Nobel prize in medicine as the rest of the world combined.  Interestingly, 9 of the U.S. recipients were born in other countries and came to the United States, presumably to work in the finest system in the world.  Source: http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/medicine/

Why on earth would anyone wish to make fundamental changes to a system that has done so much good for so many?  Because, as the supporters of Obamacare will explain (the ones who will self-identify as “progressives” without a hint that they understand the rich irony of that label), it is more important that the existing services be provided more equally (not necessarily fairly, which is a value-laden word, just equally) than it is that this most extraordinary progress toward ever-improving ways to help people continue. 

They have abandoned “progress” in the name of equality.  And we, the minority on the other side, are left to rejoice that we can make our minority large enough (41-59) to have a chance of stopping them.  But more on that tomorrow.