Recently this story broke from Greece:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20101011/pl_dailycaller/greekhealthsystemoptsforamputationasmoneysaver
Long story short, the folks running Greece's National Healthcare System have done some number crunch, and decided that rather than specialized orthopedic footwear and continual check-ups to monitor how the feet of people with advanced diabetes are doing, it would be cheaper just to amputate.
This is terribly sad, but the truth of the matter is that Greece is broker than broke, and when there is just no more money left to spend, this is the type of hard decision that has to be made.
What made me really sad is how two chuckleheads on the radio were giggling about it the other day, 'Ha ha..stupid backwards Greeks(never mind that Greece is the cradle of Wisdom and Civilization, the last great hope for civilization;...just ask the guys from 300). That would never happen in a civilized country like America.
Really? Everyone laughed at the folks(like me!) who were worried about 'Death Panels' being established under the new Obamacare bill. And while even I can admit that Death Panel's are a little far fetched, sooner or later, under any system, someone with a degree in Bioethics, and someone else with a degree in Economics are going to get together with a layer and an accountant, and they are going to have start doing the hard math on what it is worth spending money on.
NO ONE who is expects to be elected this year(or any year) wants to talk about this, but the fact is....Sooner or later, someone the bullet is going to have to get bitten, and for the majority of people, life will have to get much worse before it can get better.
Debt can not keep growing forever, just like a diabetic with their feet cut off can't walk a picket line by themselves.
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