Time for a Backup Plan. Or Two. Or Three...

Later today Congress votes on "health reform." We all know that every pundit in the States will be analzying this today. But nobody will take our angle on it.

If it does pass, is it "reform"?:

It continues to allow pre-existing conditions. They're supposed to be phased out. Which means that the usual political football (our kids and their kids) will be used. But as for the rest of us? Same stuff.

The health coverage firms will continue to get richer.

There's no negotiating of drug prices.

If you have trauma, you still have a limited number of therapy sessions to deal with it (anywhere from 20 to 50).

There's no national power for state insurance commissions to crack down on firms.

There's no national madate for states to implement all of the parts of this. Tons of loopholes that will be exploited.

Now, what if it fails?:

The same rubbish that will only get worse.

What are your options?

One (that more and more people are doing) is to go abroad for health care. Or, emigrate for permenant national care.

Most propaganda here in the States is a cheap shot at the NHS in the U.K. Yet, nobody menntions many other countries national systems (Australia, Spain, Mexico and others).

How do you get in? Most of these countries have point systems. The more points you score, the better your chance at getting a visa.

If you literally can't get health coverage anywhere in the States, what are you supposed to do? Stay and hope that things will magically change for the better?

Unless literally everyone that's pissed off about this acts to cut into these firms profit margins, NOTHING will change. They know it. Congress knows it. Obama knows it.

If you don't act to change the system, then go to another system. There are other places in the world where you can live and be quite happy. Everyday, people all over the world emigrate for a variety of reasons. And, you're being denied a basic human right.

Now, can you file for refugee status? We don't know.

But, in our opinion, the two party system won't work. Do you stay in a system that's broken and nobody seems to want to do anything about? Or, do you protect yourself?

You've heard this a billion times before. But we'll mention it again. You can't outsource protest. You can't just make a phone call and say, right. I've done my bit. Now to hell with them.

We're not perfect in our activism. But we try to be as aware of options as possible.

We've lived in two countries and traveled to at least nine. If it's a global economy, think global protection. Why? Because the bottom line is this. Despite the Nobel-Prize winning public speaking from Obama, party power and profit comes first.

If that's not true, then how come he refuses to fight to implement single-payer care? He's lived abroad. So for him to say that it's "practical" for other countries to do it but "impractical" to do it here is just a lie on his part.

More options means more power.