Monday 14 October 2013 We Dont Need No Stinkin Health Care

"Image via WikipediaThink how much money could be saved if the entire U.S. health care system was dismantled. No more Medicare or Medicaid. No more employer-supported health care for workers. No more expensive hospitals. Eliminating all health care spending would leave vast sums which could be redirected elsewhere. Taxes could be significantly reduced across the board. Sound like a far-fetched Republican wet-dream? No, we could go way beyond what even the most rabid Republican would want. We could eliminate health care completely - nobody would have access regardless of how much money they had. If this does not sound very appealing, that is because you have not read Time" recently.In the cover story of what can hardly be called a fringe publication, Jeffry Kluger offers us the following:Here's what's surprising: a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that faith may indeed bring us health. People who attend religious services do have a lower risk of dying in any one year than people who don't attend. People who believe in a loving God fare better after a diagnosis of illness than people who believe in a punitive God. No less a killer than AIDS will back off at least a bit when it's hit with a double-barreled blast of belief. "Even accounting for medications," says Dr. Gail Ironson, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Miami who studies HIV and religious belief, "spirituality predicts for better disease control." Why are we continuing to waste money on health care when prayer is free and evidently quite effective? Did I mention that this is a cover story from "Time"? Why are we spending money on HIV/AIDS research? Granted, we're hardly spending anything, but even the little we are spending could be cut off and replaced with "a double-barreled blast of belief."And why stop at health care? How come this isn't our economic stimulus package? We could have a faith-based economy! There would be no production costs whatsoever. How about eliminating the military and all defense spending, replacing it all with prayer?Ladies and gentlemen, if I may indulge one more time: This is a cover story in "Time" Magazine! Does the media have no responsibility for spreading this sort of garbage?H/T to "The New Republic" Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionTags: health care, hospitals, prayer, spending, taxes, Republican, economic stimulusCopyright (c) 2013 Atheist Revolution.