May 12, 2011--Life Panels

Again I was having a fitful night and so I tuned into my favorite late-night talk show and soporific, Red Eye Radio.

As you might imagine, after Barack Obama’s immigration speech earlier in the day at the border town of El Paso, the airwaves were full of callers dialing in to express outrage that he, of all people, would have the audacity to propose giving amnesty to million of “illegals.”

Forget for the moment that he said no such thing—he emphasized security and pointed to the doubling and tripling of border police during the first two years of his presidency as a predicate to figuring out how to deal with the more than 12 million undocumented workers already in the country.

On the other hand, the show’s host and many of the callers were upset that the president, in off-the-cuff comments, mocked those demanding better enforcement, suggesting that his opponents would only be happy when there was a moat along the border filled with alligators.

Obama deserved that scorn. This was no way for the commander in chief, who just “took out’ Osama bin Laden, to behave. In those inappropriate comments he descended to the lowest common denominator of discourse.

But even Doug McIntyre, the host, got tired of all the immigrant bashing—though he too is quite a hawk on the subject—and encouraged people to raise other issues.

Almost immediately there were a spate of calls about cutting the deficit by cutting spending. There was very little interest expressed in raising some taxes on the rich and closing corporate loopholes as ways to help get us out of fiscal trouble.

Shifting the subject, one caller in particular caught my attention—a senior citizen, Estelle from Toms River, New Jersey.

She rued what she saw to be the fact that things in general have gotten much worse since “the War.” By this she meant the Second World War.

“You used to be able to walk the streets at night, but now you take your life in your hands,” she lamented. “I rode the subways at all hours. Now you get killed, or worse.”

McIntyre, who knows his history and his 70-year-olds, interrupted to remind her that in the past things were much more dangerous. The murder rate in New York City is now much less than half what it used to be just a generation ago. He told her that the very violent movie, Gangs of New York, set in 1863, was based on fact.

Ignoring him, the caller proceeded to talk about how it was better in the past because the government didn’t have to do so many things for people, which I thought was an interesting take since the current anti-government sentiment is more about how government should not be doing even necessary things that people should be required do for themselves—like pay for their own retirement or medical care.

As if reading my mind, Estelle cited as the best evidence that things were better back then the “fact” that “no one needed Medicare or Medicaid.” Again an interesting point of view since she seemed to be claiming that people were by nature healthier in the past and as a result didn’t require as much medical care as now.

I assumed she was covered by Medicare and might have been one of those who hollered, “Don’t touch my Medicare,” as so many did at recent town hall meetings, when anyone tried to talk about “reforming” it.

McIntyre again interjected to remind her—not that she was paying any attention—that this also was untrue. That since 1965 when Congress enacted Medicare and Medicaid, life expectancy in the U.S. has risen dramatically. I looked that up later and found that in fact it had--from 70.2 years to 78.2.

Since these are programs fully run by government, isn’t this the best evidence that, in spite of its flaws and limitations, rather than leading to “death panels,” single-payer health care contributes significantly to extending life?

Are you still on the line, Estelle?