The Funny Bone of Health Care

You don't want to pay your taxes.

But you do anyway, because the

penalties for not are pretty stiff.

Begrudgingly, you "allow" the

I.R.S. to take a sizable chunk of

every dollar you earn.

Your government collects your

tax money, and divides it up for

expenditure, based on priority.

Safety comes first.

Yup, a whole bunch of the $$ goes to

the military. Think about it. Without

the impenetrable bubble the military

creates over our country, you would

be focused on your family's survival

every day of the week. You wouldn't

be whining about many of the things

that bug you right now.

So after your government pays for your

safety, it spends a big chunk of dough

on health care. $2.2 trillion dollars a year,

or $8000 per person so says the Whitehouse.

Now, the government's job is to use its

best efforts and brightest people to keep

the country in good health.  But U.S.

citizens don't take good care of themselves.

This raises the price of health care, which

comes from your taxes, which you didn't

want to pay in the first place.

So, every citizen's healthcare costs the

government a certain amount of money.

And the longer we live, the more we

cost. So with better health care, we will

live longer, and cost the country more

money, which comes out of the taxes

that we don't want to pay.
You follow me ?

At some point, your government has to
make tough decisions on how to pay for
everyone's health, even though folks won't
take care of themselves and they're living
longer and longer. Believe it or not,
the government does a better job taking
care of people's health than most people
do for themselves.

So what do U.S. citizens expect ? Evidently,

they expect to sit on the couch and watch

TV in a completely safe country where they

shouldn't have to vote or pay taxes. They expect

to live a long time-- despising the thought

of exercise-- but when their bodies do

break down and get sick, the good citizens
of the United States expect the government to

assure their health by paying the medical costs,

even though they poison themselves with sodas

and alcohol and foods full of MSG. They expect

the U.S. of A to try and wipe their asses while

they picket and chant and point their fingers at

the U.S. of A for doing a terrible job.

So what do I need to do ?

I feel like I should be banging pots and pans

in the street to get people to wake up ! We

are living in a fantasyland, where most will not

take any responsibility for their own health.

Worse yet, everyone wants the U.S. government

to simply handle it. But they don't want to vote,

pay for it, or do anything to help.

HealthCare in Austria, China & The U.S.

My wife sent me this article about
a high school football team bowing out
of a game because of the risks:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130511940

I have thought for a while that
football contributes in part to the
health problems in the U.S. Think
about how many boys play football
through the high school level, and
how many males get injured in their
football "career." It's a lot. Also consider
that our national sport of football has
very few people "doing" it; generally,
we sit on the couch and "watch it."

This got me thinking about the national
sports of Austria and China. In Austria,
skiing is the national sport; just about
everyone skis. In China, it's martial arts;
most people practice them, but especially
Tai Chi.

There are lots of factors to a nation's health
care profile: wealth of the nation, number
of doctors, lifestyle, sanitation, etc. But when
you look at some statistics, you might be surprised
about the place you live in.

According to NationMaster.com, reviewing
the top obesity countries, you might not be
surprised that the U.S. is number one in the world.
Austria is #24 and China's not on the list.

But you might be surprised that in the category
of "probability of not reaching age 60," you have
lots of the Kyrgyzstans, Uzbekistans; Georgia,
Bulgaria, Latvia, Russia--
and then at #24 is the United States !
Austria is #31; China's not on the list !

In the category of "per capita government
expenditure on health," the U.S. was number
five with $2,368 spent per person per year.
Austria was number 20 at $1,551 p.p.p.y.
And China was #121, at a whopping $88.00
p.p.p.y.

Conversely, in the "private expenditure on health
as a percentage of total expenditure on health,"
(meaning percent you pay for your own healthcare...),
China ranked #26 at 66.3% (meaning they pay
this percentage of their own costs). The U.S.
ranks 51st with 55% out-of-pocket. And Austria
ranks #116 at 30.1%.

In the category of "total population life expectancy,"
Austria is #15 with 79 years. The U.S. is #28
with 77 years. And China ties (for an adjusted spot)
with 71 years.

In the category of
"percentage of life lived in ill-health: female,"
The U.S. is #6.
Austria is #27.
And China is not on the list !

It can be said that the U.S. is the wealthiest
of the three, but the most sedentary. Overall,
we can live a long time, but not in the best
of health. Likely, it can be said that we are
at least as unhealthy as China, even though
we're richer and have better healthcare.

It can be said that Austria is a fairly wealthy
country, and that it's citizens, though they
eat plenty of pastries and cheese, stay pretty
active, live healthy lives, and live a long time.
And Austria picks up most of the bill.

China may have wealth, but its money doesn't
make it into the healthcare system. People
have to take care of themselves. Adjusted to
the fact that they have such a huge population,
and fairly poor sanitation, it can be said that
the Chinese do a much better job taking care
of themselves than most countries. They have
a much higher probability of reaching age 60
than we do; have far fewer females with ill health--
and that's on $88 government dollars per year !

Get Young, Stay Young

Western health science is based
on matter, its makeup, and
its functions-- and watching
the body run until it breaks.
Then it tries to fix it.

Eastern health science is based
on energy, and how to use it for
longevity, vitality, (power,) and
for healing. It empowers the body,
therefore warding-off sickness,
disease and injury--
all preemptive efforts to keep the
body from breaking.

If you're reading this, chances
are you understand only the
former, and very little of Eastern
health science. So I'll illustrate
for you.

Westerners don't think about
things in terms of energy; although
you know right away when you've
run out of it. Right ?

Consider the energy of conception.
Westerners don't think about sperm
and an ovum as having much energy.
But in fact, the energy of a single sperm
and a single ovum is so great and
powerful that it can CREATE a new
life, a new being. Where else can
you find that kind of energy ?

While you ponder the theory, I'll
let you in on a little secret. You still
have that kind of energy in your body.
The Taoists call it "pre-natal energy"
or "original energy." This is the same
energy that made you and keeps you
alive.

But year after year, you have less of it.
You probably sit too much. You're diet
might not be the greatest. You don't
exercise properly. So your hips are
getting stiffer, your breaths are getting
shorter, and your skin is wrinkling.
These are indicators that your original
energy is slipping away from you.

There is good news ! The Taoists have
developed ways to stop the clock, and
actually turn the hands backward. You
can rebuild your pre-natal energy with
special breathing, relaxation, posture
and movement.

Not only can you get it back, but you
can cultivate it to very high levels.
The best tool I know of is the internal
martial arts: Tai Chi, BaGua and
Xing-Yi Boxing. Collectively, these
are called "Wudang." (the rap band
Wu-Tang Clan named themselves
after these most-powerful of martial
arts).

What I like to say is this: the proof
is in the pudding. Check out this
video. First, guess how old this
guy is. Then guess again. He's no
spring chicken, probably about 70.
But watch how he moves. Watch
how flexible he is. See how powerful
he is. This is proof that Wudang is
the fountain of youth !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq62_IIkK8g