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Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had nothing but words of praise for Israel’s health care system while speaking at a fundraiser in the Jewish State earlier today. And with good cause; Israel’s health care system is known for both excellence and efficiency.
“Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the G.D.P. in Israel? Eight percent,” Romney asked his audience. “You spend eight percent of G.D.P. on health care…We spend 18 percent of our G.D.P. on health care, 10 percentage points more…Our gap with Israel is 10 points of G.D.P. We have to find ways — not just to provide health care to more people, but to find ways to fund and manage our health care costs.”
If only the U.S. health care system could be more like the Israeli system, Mr. Romney lamented. If only, indeed. What Mr. Romney evidently didn’t know is that Israel’s health care system is completely State-controlled. Everyone pays into the system through withholdings, and everyone gets equal, accessible medical care without further charge. In other words, Mr. Romney, Israel’s, excellent, efficient system, which yields a nation of “pretty healthy” people is a completely socialist system.
A great model for the U.S.? Absolutely! A single-payer, universal system guaranteeing medical care for all just like Israel’s health are system? Bring it on Mitt!
The sheer idiocy of the comparison suggests that Mr. Romney is supremely ignorant, and has not yet learned how to simply avoid tripping on his yapping tongue by not simply not talking about things of which he knows nothing. It was his second gaffe in Israel in a 24-hour period, the first being an idiotic, insulting, and extremely careless remark, suggesting the cultural inferiority of Palestinians (and a couple of other countries as well).
I have to wonder, during this time of intense Olympic competition if Mr. Romney’s goin’ for the gold and take the world record of political gaffes in a single trip? And if his coach is former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
