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It's Raining Cats and Dogs - But Cows?

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Most equal comrades,

It is often necessary to provide simple, yet convincing arguments to uneducated proles of the need for higher taxation. Since health care is currently in the news, I believe these two related stories will provide a perfect vehicle for such an argument. It may be time to “adjust” health care taxes in Brazil.

In Brazil, health care is a right:
CNN wrote:This week's congressional battle over the GOP move to repeal President Obama's Affordable Care Act, as well as the NAACP's boos in response to Mitt Romney's proposed elimination of what he called the "nonessential " Obamacare program, provides yet another reminder of how divided America has become over this issue. Other nations have avoided these rifts and built a consensus for universal health care coverage. Consider the case of Brazil.

Since the early-20th century, the government and civil society have been proactive in establishing health care as a common good, while sharing the burden of paying for these services through a myriad of taxes.

[highlight=#ffff00]Still, there are several cracks in Brazil's generous health care system.[/highlight] While the government has certainly been committed to providing a public option, it is simply overstretched. Federal health care spending is minimal at best, failing to meet ongoing needs, while several managerial, human resource and infrastructure problems remain.

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A Brazilian man died after a cow fell through his roof on top of him as he was sleeping. The cow fell eight feet onto Mr. de Souza's bed fracturing his leg. Rescuers took Mr. de Souza to hospital with a fractured left leg but no other obvious injuries, reporting that he was conscious and talking normally. Hours later however he died from internal bleeding while still waiting to be seen by doctors, according to his family.

Joao Maria de Souza, 45, had been in bed with his wife Leni when the animal fell through the ceiling of their home in Caratinga, southeast Brazil. The cow is believed to have escaped from a nearby farm and climbed onto the roof of the couple's house, which backs onto a steep hill on Wednesday night. The corrugated roof immediately gave way and the one-and-a-half-ton animal fell eight feet onto Mr de Souza's side of the bed. Joao Maria de Souza, 45, died from internal bleeding while still waiting to be seen by doctors, according to his family. His wife, and the cow, both reportedly escaped unharmed.

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Mr de Souza's brother-in-law Carlos Correa told Brazil's Hoje em Dia newspaper: "Being crushed by a cow in your bed is the last way you expect to leave this earth. "But in my view it wasn't the cow that killed our Joao, it was the unacceptable time he spent waiting to be examined." His grieving mother, Maria de Souza, told Brazil's SuperCanal TV channel: "I didn't bring my son up to be killed by a falling cow." The owner of the cow could be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

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Global Warming, Comrade. Obviously Global warming is to blame for this tragedy, since the Brazilians have a fine health care system that would otherwise have prevailed had there even BEEN cows falling from the sky prior to Global Warming.

Did you ever hear of a cow falling through a roof before Global Warming?

No. I thought not.

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Excellent reasoning, comrade. But alas, no amount of proof will convince the recalcitrant teabaggers.

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Captain Craptek wrote:Excellent reasoning, comrade. But alas, no amount of proof will convince the recalcitrant teabaggers.
Just wait until the Teabaggers themselves are recowcitrant a few times, comrade - they'll change their tune when their roofs are demolished.


 
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