Health and Fitness

National health care and the increase in shoplifting as the economy tanks were topics on today's News Talk Online on Paltalk.com. Look for increased demands for health care as more people lose their jobs and their health care benefits. People who previously opposed health care because those needing it were, in their views, "lazy" and should get a job will see things from a different perspective as they see their jobs ebbing away. It's estimated that 47 million Americans have no health care. As Millis, a caller from Ohio, pointed out, many people who have no health care wait until their medical conditions become acute before they seek attention. This could be, in the long run, more costly for the nation than national medical care. On the other hand, with the economic downturn, it may be more difficult than ever to get a health care package through Congress. New York Times reporter Ian Urbina was our guest in the second half of the show to discuss the article he co-authored in today's paper which suggests that shoplifting is up - as much as 20 percent over the same time last year - because of the downturn in the economy. Interestingly, Urbina noted that some police officials and prosecutors he interviewed were conflicted over charging people who previously were law abiding citizens who were nabbed shoplifting. Some suggested to him that resources could better be spent tracking down organized shoplifting organizations who use the Internet to sell their ill-gotten merchandise.

Author: reportergary
Keywords: Gary Baumgarten News Talk Online Paltalk
Added: December 24, 2008