22 Mar A Healthcare Vignette…
FADE IN:
INT. KEVIN’S OFFICE — DAY
KEVIN (obscenely young, ridiculously handsome) sits at his desk, poring through archival material. An AUSSIE STUDENT (even younger, not as handsome) enters.
AUSSIE: Hey, sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to say congratulations. I heard the U.S. passed universal health care.
KEVIN: Thanks, but it’s not actually universal. More than 20 million people still won’t have health insurance.
AUSSIE: But I saw some old Republican guy on TV saying it was socialism and the government was taking over health care.
KEVIN: It’s not single payer. The government is just going to help poor people buy private insurance.
AUSSIE: What about that public option thing?
KEVIN: Gone.
AUSSIE: Not-for-profit insurance companies?
KEVIN: Nope.
AUSSIE: So how is the government taking over health care?
KEVIN: Got me.
AUSSIE (frowning): That doesn’t sound like socialism.
KEVIN: Apparently, anything that helps people who aren’t rich is socialism.
AUSSIE: You have a very strange political system.
KEVIN: You have no idea.
The Aussie exits, shaking his head. Kevin returns to his archival material.
FADE TO BLACK.
Oh the facade in which Obama hides…I’m afraid I too thought what this Aussie did.
Tell me, having taught in Auckland and Melbourne, which do you prefer? Both in terms of quality of education and quality of students.
Hi M,
As much as I enjoyed my time at Auckland, I vastly prefer Melbourne. I had some excellent students in New Zealand, but the cohorts were nowhere near as deep as they are here — I have very few students I don’t think are excellent. (Not surprising, as Victorian students had to have a 99.5 to get in when we were still admitting LLBs.) I’d say the same about the teaching — although my colleagues in New Zealand were excellent, they are exceptional here. And, of course, we are full to the brim of world-class scholars.