Re: OT - Northern Health Buses

Pogonip wrote:
John Oliver wrote:
On Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:42:29 -0400, "Francis A. Miniter"
<faminiter@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


For those who have the knee jerk response that health care in Canada cannot be as good as in the US, take a look at the Canada page on the CIA World Factbook. Life expectancy in Canada is 81.3 years, ranking 8th in the world. In the USA, life expectancy is only 78.1 years, placing the USA at 50th in the world - also from the CIA World Factbook.

I assume you are using https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html


I note that there are 14 countries with life expectancy of 78.xx
years. I rather doubt the significance of the xx.
--
John Oliver
jdoliver@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
AIM or MSN jdoliver98

It's still not a valid argument against socialized medicine.


Just slightly off topic -

See Table 10 (opens as an Excel spread***) on Page 76 of the following CDC National Vital Statistics Report, April 2009 - data for the year 2006:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf
Of 2,426,624 deaths per year in the US, 16,883 are suicides by discharge of firearms, and 12,791 are homicides by discharge of firearms.

Looking at the same breakdown in Canada from Table 1-1, Deaths by selected group causes (2005) on page 13 of Statistics Canada: Mortality, Summary List of Causes:
http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2009/statcan/84F0209X/84f0209x2005000-eng.pdf
Of 230,132 deaths per year in Canada, 593 are suicides by discharge of firearms, and 202 are homicides by discharge of firearms.

So in the US, deaths from homicides and suicides by firearms is 1.2% of all annual deaths.
In Canada, deaths from homicides and suicides by firearms is 0.3% of all annual deaths.

A rough conclusion would be that firearms probably contribute a lowering of about 1 year to the US's overall lower life expectancy. Even so, there is still a two year life expectancy gap, and, since almost all the other causes are medical conditions, socialized medicine is likely a factor in keeping Canadians alive longer.

Another conclusion. People who own guns are far more likely to kill themselves than others.


--
Francis A. Miniter

Oscuramente
libros, laminas, llaves
siguen mi suerte.

Jorge Luis Borges, La Cifra Haiku, 6
.