If I Were a Conspiracy Theorist
U.S. Poverty Rate Drops; Ranks of Uninsured Grow
Census Data Show Mixed View of Post-Recession Economy
By N.C. Aizenman and Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, August 29, 2007; Page A03
The nation's poverty rate declined last year for the first time this decade, but the number of Americans without health insurance rose to a record 47 million, according to annual census figures released yesterday.
Maryland edged out New Jersey as the nation's richest state, with a median household income of $65,144. The Washington region ranked second among metropolitan areas, with three suburban Washington counties -- Fairfax, Loudoun and Howard -- maintaining their status as the nation's wealthiest large counties. Montgomery and Prince William counties also registered in the top 10.
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Well, what to make of THAT? The home territory of out legislators and the lobbyists who feed them, triumphant at last.
And the uninsured? What of them? They are, to a very large extent the fodder upon which grind the mechanisms of wealth
Unconstrained pharmaceutical companies
Unnecessary medical industry middlemen
Privatized hospitals
A huge and interventionist (unnecessary as well) insurance industry
$2 trillion--that's two thousand billion ANNUALLY--$6,700 per citizen in order to enjoy the 37th best health care in the world. All of which comes to you courtesy of the wealthiest spot in America; the surrounds of Washington, D.C.
* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Health Care, check out Opinion-Columns.com