Two Completely Unrelated Thoughts

So, my friend and writer Tobias Buckell had an unanticipated personal encounter with the Canadian health care system. Needless to say, he survived, and for $480 plus cab fare, or $480 more than a Canadian would pay, he got excellent service, including CAT scans and X-rays, and a somewhat lengthy consult with a Canadian cardiologist - longer than with his US doctor, in fact. Yes, the plural of anecdote is not data, but that saying cuts both ways.

Moving on from the "all health care, all the time" focus of this blog, I see that Chevy has released the city mileage for the Chevy Volt. It will show an EPA estimate of 230 MPG. Now, there's a bit of smoke and mirrors in that number - your actual mileage will depend on how many in-city trips of less than 40 miles you take. (After 40 miles or so, the gas engine kicks in.) Still, it's quite impressive.

Of course, the fact that the Chevy Volt is anywhere near being actually built is thanks to Government intervention - saving General Motors. So, maybe Big Government can do something right. It certainly appears that Canada's government has a handle on health care. As the writer Jerry Pournelle says, "what man has done other men can aspire to do."

Perhaps these two thoughts aren't completely unrelated? ;-)