MSNBC Host Calls Britain's National Health Service 'A Wonderful Idea'
Martin Bashir has dared go where even most congressional Dems won't: praising Britain's National Health Service and by implication the socialization of medicine it represents.
On today's Morning Joe, Bashir said the National Health Service is "a wonderful idea." For good measure, the British-born Bashir, who hosts a regular afternoon slot in the MSNBC line-up, also vastly overstated the percentage of the British workforce employed by the government. He claimed that "over 40%" in the UK are "in the public workforce." In fact, as per this official-seeming website, the actual percentage as of last month was about half that, in the range of 20-22% [6 million public-sector workers out of a total workforce of 29 million].
View video after the jump.
MARTIN BASHIR: I think what you're seeing now as well is that unemployment, and Katty [Kay of the BBC] was referring to this, is going to increase now, because the state sector is going to start laying off people. From the first of April there were a number of cuts to be implemented. So, we've got a property market that's suppressed, we've got new construction which is down, and we've got the prospect of vast numbers of public sector workers being laid off. Remember, this country employs over 40% of its workforce in the public sector.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Wow. That is stunning
BASHIR: How many people do you think are employed by the National Health Service, which is a wonderful idea? Over a million people.
So Bashir's abashed that Britain will be laying off government workers. Solution to the unemployment problem: have the government hire everyone! Oh, wait, they tried that . . . in the late Soviet Union.
Note: not everyone, of course, shares Bashir's adulation of the NHS. Horror stories abound. Have a look, for example, at this agglomeration, both in the main body and in the links at the bottom of the site.
- Mark Finkelstein's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Does anyone seriously expect
Submitted by Beukeboom on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:46am.
Does anyone seriously expect anything different from a socialist like Bashir?
Here's an idea
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:47am.
Go the hell back to the UK then and leave the country ALONE!
Sorry, but it needs to be asked
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:55am.
If Great Britain's NHS is so great, why do Brits have such awful looking teeth?
Thinnest book on the
Submitted by Beukeboom on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:56am.
Thinnest book on the planet?
"The Big Book of British Dentistry"
Has anyone ever heard of the quite smoking for ever
Submitted by ddruiam on Mon, 06/06/2011 - 8:30am.
Uitgebreid onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat de Prostop lasertherapie echt werkt. De unieke, door Prostop Therapie zelf ontwikkelde methode zorgt er voor- door endorfine aan te maken - dat de nicotinereceptoren voor lange tijd verzadigd raken Lasertherapie stoppen met roken uw lichaam heeft daardoor snel geen behoefte meer aan nicotine. Tevens wordt de stofwisseling tijdens de laserbehandeling gestimuleerd waardoor gewichtstoename als gevolg van stoppen met roken zoveel mogelijk beperkt blijft.
SPAM
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 06/06/2011 - 11:29am.
Spam.
The Decline fo Empire
Submitted by V the K on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:58am.
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't Britain's decline from Global Superpower to Second-Rate Basket Case track pretty closely to the start and rise of National Health Care?
British Healthcare
Submitted by NVRAT on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 11:09am.
The British Health-care is a national disaster for the taxpayers of England and as bad as the Canadian system. Neither one holds a candle to the French system which is more comprehensive and complete. Mr. Bashir is obviously a pawn for the Obama Administration and makes statements without regards to success or failure it appears to be another fake attempt at trying to push the Obama agenda. There is not a health system in the world that compares to the United States. The Democrats have for 40 years tried to destroy our system and they have almost succeeded if we the people allow them to continue through their back door politics and drug company deals. Don`t allow established Washington politicos to continue this destruction of our health-care system, remove the life long politicians in 2012.
Another freaking dimwit!
Submitted by Patriot II on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 11:25am.
I agree, if the UK's healthcare is so wonderful, what the hell are you doing here? This clown hasn't a clue or is a boldface liar! Ask a Brit how great the healthcare is!! About as freaking incompetent as Canada's!
Yeah, that's what we need!
Submitted by Red Jeep on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 11:26am.
Equally crappy health care. Share the misery. Share the premature death.
Yes sir, that's the way to go!
What do you expect from another MSNBC leftist
Submitted by Conservator on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 2:18pm.
Martin Bashir vitriolic hatred of conservatives and moderates who are Republicans, Democrats, Independents and of course anyone associated with the Tea Party, is despicable. Far worse IMO, is Joey boy who claims to be one of the few TRUE CONSERVATIVES in America. He laughs at those who email him stating he is a RINO.
Yet, Joey the true conservative spends nearly 15 hours per week hosting a show where 98% plus of the guests are leftist attacking anything that can be construed as right of center - way to go Joey.
The horror of UK's National Healthcare System, NHS
Submitted by Gary Hall on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 2:18pm.
Oh yea - and how's that NHS working?
Recent stories - most likely never to be mentioned by our MSM:
And in Sweeden? Surely Sweeden is the model system.
We all understand here, that we could do this all day long - there's no end the horrors of NHS, etc.
(;~> gary
I'M SURE HE'LL RUSH RIGHT BACK.....
Submitted by Herbster on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 4:56pm.
I'm sure that this mediaputz will rush right back to jolly old England for his heart bypass surgery..................after all, our medical care here is TERRIBLE, so, no Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins for him. Nope. He'll get in line,,,,sorry, queue, and wait, and wait, and wait, to have a half trained Pakistani "Surgeon" do his thing on his heart. I'm sure Katty Kay (Did her parents really hate her that much?) will also rush back to the Motherland for her hysterectomy to be performed by a "Doctor" from Swaziland whose gynecological training consisted of watching porn films. No Brigham and Women's for her. Our medical care is just AWFUL as per Katty the airhead. She's right up there with the rest of the mediaprostitutes. I'll remember to send them both get well cards C/O the NHS. Lotsa luck!
The only health care
Submitted by Giygas on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 5:30pm.
The only health care reformation better than Obamacare would be European style health care. Go ahead you right wing cretins, scream and call me a blood-thirsty marxist!
Millions of American families' lives are impoverished from high medical bills, and health problems remain untreated.
To meet the requirements for free health care, we would need a modest tax hike. The expenses from this tax hike on the average American would be largely offset by the absence of health insurance premiums and high medical bills.
Supplementing our superb capitalistic ecomomy with socialism in the health care sector would do a wonderful service to disadvantaged families going bankrupt from high medical bills.
Uhmmm....
Submitted by Par for the Course on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 6:16pm.
Can I sign up for the waiting lists now, to avoid the rush?
Signed, right wing cretin.
Meeting told 200,000 on outpatient waiting lists
The Irish Times
Friday, March 25, 2011
ABOUT 200,000 people are waiting for outpatient appointments at hospitals across the State, with some waiting up to five years to be seen, a conference has been told.
Pat O’Byrne, chief executive of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which manages all inpatient waiting list data and is tackling outpatient waiting lists on a pilot basis, presented the figure at a health conference in Dublin.
He said he had recently come across people waiting three, four and five years to see specialists in outpatients after being referred by their GP. He was speaking at a conference entitled Reforming the healthcare system.
[...]
Patients wait 2.4 months for operations
The Irish Times
January 27, 2011
The national median waiting time for patients seeking operations in Irish hospitals stood at 2.4 months in December, the Public Accounts Committee heard today.
[...]
The NTPF arranges treatment in private hospitals for those public patients waiting more than three months on a public hospital waiting list.
[...]
Giygas---
Submitted by matthewdean on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 6:29pm.
You are in favor of removing ideological bias from the media --
and putting it where?
In posts at NB's?
Your caterwauling about "millions of American families' lives are impoverished from high medical bills, and health problems remain untreated" is absolute bullshit.
You are neither an economist nor a health care maven, based on your inane comments; but you certainly qualify as a Socialist.
"To meet the requirements for free health care, we would need a modest tax hike."
There is no such thing as "free" anything when the government is involved. You prove this yourself by saying "free" necessitates a modest tax hike.
First off, if it was "free", it would not have to be supported monetarily by a tax hike, now, would it?
Besides, a "modest" tax hike is a figmation of your imagement.
If it were not for your compelling username - Gee, I yield gas - I would call for your ouster from NewsBusters for the crime of being felony stupid.
MD
"Go ahead you right wing
Submitted by NC Cop on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 6:38pm.
"Go ahead you right wing cretins, scream and call me a blood-thirsty marxist!"
Not at all. You are just incredibly uninformed. No big surprise there.
Giygas is ignorant
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 10:14am.
"The only health care reformation better than Obamacare would be European style health care."
And you reveal just how ignorant you are.
good idea
Submitted by goldbough on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 7:46pm.
Well, yeah, it's a good idea, but in practice doesn't work. And, if 40% of workers are working for the government, 40% of the people are producing next to nothing.
A MODEST TAX HIKE.......?
Submitted by Herbster on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 12:01am.
There is no such thing as a "Modest tax hike." Taxes tend to grow exporentially and once introduced, never go away. Are you aware that we still pay a luxury tax that was introduced to help fund the Spanish Anerican War.
I suggest you put down the Marx and read some Milton Friedman.
from a friend..
Submitted by g55rumpy on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 1:57am.
who lives in England. "The NHS? You mean the No Health Service"?
This from the man who
Submitted by marpel on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 9:25am.
This from the man who followed and exploited Michael Jackson for years. Yes, he's an authority alright.
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."