I have to wonder, is there some grand conspiracy out there, that wants to insure that those with a low income, remain impoverished? Is there some elite class, that deliberately throws up obstacles, that make it nearly impossible for low income people to get a step ahead?
Today’s Time’s Colonist has an article about VIHA (Vancouver Island Health Authority) and its budget cuts. One of the areas being looked at, to bring the budget in line, is to sell off land, that is adjacent to the Hospitals, owned by the Hospitals.
Is it just me, or do people simply not realize, that selling off land you own, that would be used for future expansion of the Hospital Facility, is just plain STUPID?
Yes, land is expensive, and will indeed fetch a nice dollar, that will go a long way to meet the current budget shortfall. So, what will they SELL OFF next year, when that budget is also short? Will it maybe offer a “organ lottery” so people can sell their organs to rich & needy folks? After all, that is what goes on in parts of India, where poor people are offered a chance to come to North America, get a kidney taken out, and then a few bucks for their trouble.
While the Hospital may not need that land today, you can bet the barn that it will in the future. AND that future isn’t all that far off. I mean just look at the Royal Jubilee Hospital now. It is already becoming congested, with the new addition, and selling off any extra land, is going to mean either moving the whole complex, which is what happened with Victoria General, to buying back the land, when it is even more expensive.
Don’t get me wrong either, I realize that you can’t keep tossing money into the well, and all, but then again, isn’t that what all the corporate bailouts are about? Simply giving money away?
In which case, why not give it away, to where it helps more than few executives and shareholders, and helps the people who are footing the bill anyhow? Thing is, that health care has become a cash cow, and not a program to help people. It is about making money, and I don’t know, just seems a bit wrong to me, that making money takes precedence over people’s health.
Seems to me, that if we truly want to make Health Care something to be proud of, we should be addressing budget issues on a long term basis, not on focusing on short term solutions, that put the very future of our health care, at risk.
