PES Manifesto

Yourspace goes to the States: Europe should listen to the American healthcare debate

Published Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 23:45
by Editor (942 views and 0 comments)

It’s tempting to think we Europeans have nothing to learn from the American debate about healthcare – after all, we have had more-or-less universal healthcare for years. But we should be smarter than that; it’s more than the US catching up with us.

The significance for us of the healthcare debate is that the Democrats – and American voters – are standing up for social protection. There is a growing confidence in being progressive. The Democrats are energized and mobilizing people who have never been engaged in politics before.

One consequence of universal healthcare would be that workers would not be dependent on the diminishing number of employers providing health insurance – making them more willing to move jobs. So by providing universal healthcare working families would be less nervous of change – and more able to cope with globalization.

The Democrats also see a bigger role for the public sector – which is why they need to roll back tax cuts for the wealthy. The Democrats are creating – and responding to - a growing hunger for basic decency for all in living and working conditions.

We in Europe can be inspired by this. We socialists and social democrats know that a society that provides good social protection, and helps everyone to participate in society, will also be a more economically competitive society. We know this from European social democracies like Sweden. But we need to regain the initiative in Europe to stand up for a more Social Europe – a New Social Europe.

Tags: health, public services, US elections, USA