[ExI] Transhumanism and Politics

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Jan 24, 2008 11:15 AM, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:

> We have had previous discussions on how many people in the US cannot
> afford medical treatment and most that have medical insurance get it
> as a perk of their job. A serious medical condition can bankrupt
> middle class families in the US.  No need to go over old ground here,
> is there?

### If the same old fallacies show up over and over again, what is the
informed person to do? Almost everybody in the US has access to
medical care of superior quality. Most uninsured can afford insurance
but choose not to do so. A serious medical condition is less likely to
bankrupt a family in the US than in most other countries. Why are
these simple facts so frequently denied?

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>
> Private medical companies can develop new drugs and charge to recover
> their costs. The problem is the various methods of getting treatment
> to those that need it.
>
> Or we can just say, if they can't afford it, let them die. Which in
> practice is what often happens.

### If they can't afford it and you care about them, just pay their
bills. Have you done that recently?

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>
> That is what is concerning people about longevity treatments.
> If we can't get today's drugs and treatments out to everyone that
> needs it, why should longevity treatment be any different?
>

### Yes, we can get today's drugs to everybody that needs them but
almost nobody cares enough to actually do it. Most Americans think
that foreign aid takes about 20% of the budget (in fact it's less than
1%, IIRC), and always demand to cut it even more. For a dollar a day
you could provide a poor Ugandan with much better medical care but
almost nobody does it, and most of those who do, do it for show. The
reason for limited access to medicines is not pharma greed but
widespread, if usually hotly denied, lack of compassion.

(I lack compassion too, but at least I am not pretending otherwise)

Rafal