People on the ground often know better than the experts

I am presently reading Jane Jacob’s “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”. Jane Jacobs understood cities from the bottom up. She skipped a formal university education and instead learned how cities worked from careful observation, while she herself lived in the city. Her writings and actions have become classic in our understanding about the life in cities.

The Obesity Explosion

I went to the hospital today. I needed a pre-op meeting for my upcoming prostate operation. As I sat in the waiting room I was surrounded by people who were either overweight (BMI >25) or obese (BMI >30). I felt like such a skinny twerp sitting there.

Then on came the hospital staff. Fully half of them were also either overweight or obese. Fortunately, the other half of the staff seemed to be able to control their weight. They were mostly the young ones. May they persevere in their good habits.

Pondering this, I felt so sorry for the surgeons who would have to operate on these people. This surely must make their work more difficult – and more disagreeable.

As noted in another blog article, all of this foretells an oncoming health services disaster – maybe even a total societal collapse, unless the growing obesity epidemic is brought under control.

Money Talks

Some months ago, my wife and I attended a fundraiser after a hurricane had hit Cuba. There were all kinds of efforts to raise money – food and drinks were sold, books and other items were also on sale. All this took place in a church basement. Afterwards, upstairs a variety of volunteer musicians put on a spirited concert. Then there was an appeal for funds to help the stricken Cubans. The total amount raised – about $1,000.

Cuba: It’s working better than you might think

Introduction

There is an island just 90 miles off of the coast of the USA that has an average life expectancy equal to the USA. The difference is that Cuba has achieved this by providing universal free health services to all of its citizens at an annual cost of $180 per capita spending, while the US with its largely privatized health care system costs 25 times as much at $4,659 per capita. This is just one of the many striking differences between Cuba and its giant neighbour to the north.