We have put profit-obsessed corporations in the position of making nearly every critical decision regarding how much and what kind of treatment our doctors are allowed to provide us. Whether or not an operation, a medication, or a hospital stay is appropriate for a patient should have nothing to do with any corporate bottom line. As Moore points out, we would never tell the fire department that it’s putting out too many fires, or that one blaze is more worthy of extinguishing than another. Yet, those are exactly the kind of determinations insurance companies and HMOs make every day—regarding human lives.

Our mental health system is in even worse condition. Perhaps a monumental tragedy at Virginia Tech could have been averted had that seriously disturbed perpetrator received adequate care. Mental illness is a major factor in suicides, homelessness, domestic violence and chronic dysfunction—all of which drain our collective psyche and deplete our resources.

If this nation can put a man on the moon and foist democracy on Iraq with bombs, we can certainly provide health care for every citizen. Every other First World government has found a way.