GRANDES ERROS: HAWKING E O SERVIÇO DE SAÚDE BRITÂNICO

O Prémio Nobel da Economia norte-americano Paul Krugman num recente artigo no "New York Times" aponta o erro a um editorial do Investor's Business Daily, em que se afirmava que o fisico Stephen Hawking não teria a mínima hipótese de sobreviver na Grã Bretanha, por causa do Serviço Nacional de Saúde Britânico. Ora acontece que Hawking, apesar de ser muito famoso na América, é britânico e sempre tem vivido na Grã Bretanha, não se lhe conhecendo insatisfação com os serviços de saúde do seu país. Pelo contrário, teve um recente agravamento do estado de saúde e voltou a casa para se tratar, parecendo estar recuperado (tanto quanto se pode estar no estado dele).

Quando se trata de atacar os planos de reforma do sistema de saúde defendidos pelo Presidente Barack Obama, todas as mentiras servem. Leia-se o que diz Krugman (o jornal "I" de hoje publica tradução):

"It was the blooper heard round the world. In an editorial denouncing Democratic health reform plans, Investor’s Business Daily tried to frighten its readers by declaring that in Britain, where the government runs health care, the handicapped physicist Stephen Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance,” because the National Health Service would consider his life “essentially worthless.”

Professor Hawking, who was born in Britain, has lived there all his life, and has been well cared for by the National Health Service, was not amused.

Besides being vile and stupid, however, the editorial was beside the point. Investor’s Business Daily would like you to believe that Obamacare would turn America into Britain — or, rather, a dystopian fantasy version of Britain. The screamers on talk radio and Fox News would have you believe that the plan is to turn America into the Soviet Union. But the truth is that the plans on the table would, roughly speaking, turn America into Switzerland — which may be occupied by lederhosen-wearing holey-cheese eaters, but wasn’t a socialist hellhole the last time I looked".