Per CNN: “Average life expectancy in the United States rose to a record 77.6 years in 2003 from 77.3 years in 2002, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Now, I was going to compare the U.S. life expectancy rate with that of other nations, so I went to the World Health Organization to see what they had. Here is WHO’s top 10 countries by life expectancy:

1. Japan ? 75.0

2. San Marino ? 73.4

3. Sweden ? 73.3

4. Switzerland ? 73.2

5. Monaco ? 72.9

6. Iceland ? 72.8

7. Italy ? 72.7

8. Australia ? 72.6

9. Spain ? 72.6

10. Andorra ? 72.2

Problem is, WHO’s statistic for the United States is markedly different that the U.S.’s ? we come in 29th at 69.3 years.

Frankly, however, I leave this exercise somewhat disappointed. I don’t know how trustworthy any of those statistics are. (What a choice ? the federal government’s stats vs. one-world-government-dreaming busybodies’ stats!) I think that we have an excellent system for obtaining timely, superior medical treatment in this nation, and objective statistics would bear that out. But where to find them, when this is one issue that cuts across ideological lines?

You’ll note, for example, that I wrote “obtaining timely, superior medical treatment” instead of “health care system” ? that’s because socialists and those in favor of federalizing health care as they do in Canada (72.0 years life expectancy per WHO) and Cuba (clocking in barely beneath the U.S. at 68.3 years) use the latter to fudge the issue of costs. Costs are not only monetary. Socialists allege that (monetary) costs prevent American from having the same access to health care that folks have in Canada or even Cuba. They would rectify this problem by socializing medicine as in Canada and Cuba. This would merely shift the costs from monetary ones to ones of time and quality. It’s one thing to wait several hours in line for a socialist state’s bread ration; it’s even more dire when life and limb are at stake. Time is of the essence, and quality matters.

I have more to say on this matter, but I think I’ll open it now to the rest of the ‘room.