@Phil @adamgurri i guess we have very different experiences. i was in Europe (Romania) 6 weeks this summer, we did colonoscopies, endoscopies, MRIs, dentistry there rather than here, still cheaper despite paying what seems to me quite a lot for health insurance here.

@Phil @adamgurri i think what we do here is quite perverse, we let ~20% become “winners” for whom life is reasonably secure and comfortable, and encourage stories like “gumption” and anyone could have done what i did. but it’s a game of musical chairs, structurally the winners rely on the availability of losers, and the percentage we can collectively afford as winners diminishes. still, from the perspective of a winner it looks good. from a broad human welfare perspective, i say it’s bad.

@Phil @adamgurri (i am very glad whatever your brush with cancer was at 22 left you still ornery and with us at what i imagine is a much more seasoned age!)