Sicko Criticisms?

I Just read Kurt Loder's criticism of Michael Moore's Sicko. I think Loder's argument against Moore is weak.

Moore's thesis in Sicko is that the U.S. system is busted and that there are better alternatives than an employer based for-profit system. To back up this thesis, Moore offers experiential accounts of how the U.S. system fails some people, as well as experiential accounts of how other systems do not suffer the same problems.

To my recollection, Moore never says that we need to adopt Canada's system exactly, nor France's nor Britain's. Moore also doesn't fail to mention that the U.S. system works just fine for a large portion of the population. He is simply offering examples of stark contrast -- like not needing to be employed to be covered, not being denied care to pad a corporation's bottom line, never needing to cut a check at the hospital, and free in-home doctor's visits -- to get his viewers to think 'wow, what if...?'

If I had to wager a guess, I'd bet Dead Meat handles Canada's system in a similar manner. Point out some horror stories of people waiting too long, mention that of course the system isn't totally busted in passing, and then show how the US gets something better in some cases (namely the ability to buy your way into great healthcare). Using Canada's Sicko to debunk Moore's Sicko doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Really, Loder's primary argument is that socialized health care does not work. He offers good evidence of this, but this has little to do with Moore's filmmaking techniques. I agree with Loder's distrust of the U.S. government to execute such a system well. But Moore's message of disassembling the mega-insurance corporations, not letting people slip through the cracks, and expecting our elected officials to try harder resonates much more with me.

I will concede that Loder's criticism of Moore's Cuba portion is valid. I feel no need to defend Moore for his stunts like this, except that these criticisms seldom consider that Moore has a different prerogative.

This is Moore flexing his entertainer muscle. He could have simply cut a check out of his own pocket to pay for the care his subjects need in the U.S. Boring. Instead he attempts to diffuse 'Socialism' as a dirty word by showing that Cuba is not a totally evil regime deserving of the U.S. embargo, and might even be another country we can study to figure out how to fix our system.

Very questionable in the pure documentarian sense, but entertaining, effective, subversive, and uniquely Moore.