Obama calls for universal healthcare.
I would love for everyone to have healthcare. I hope me and my family never not have it. There’s one problem with the idea of universal healthcare though: who’s going to pay for it? Barack Obama told the Associated Press (while plans are offered in every campaign season with “much fanfare and promise,” they collapse under the weight of Washington politics, leaving citizens to struggle with the skyrocketing costs.)
Why Obama came up with a bad idea.
So tell me this Obama. If citizens are the ones paying for it now, who is going to pay for it under your plan? Citizen taxpayers? Oh wait . . . that’s still the citizens. I have yet to hear anyone give a good solution for universal healthcare that is anything but socialistic where the government takes from one to give to another.
I bring this up because politicians focus on subjects that appeal to a broad audience. The media covers it because it’s such a hot topic and there are a lot of people without health insurance.
Changing the conversation
I received a comment on my blog the other day where someone basically accused my minimum wage line of thinking as a right wing rhetorical tool to wage war on the poor. (Laugh!)
Now that’s rhetoric.
Forget rhetoric. Forget socialism. It’ll be tough to look past what you hear the candidates say and what the media tells you about them, but there are good ideas out there and there are ideas that sound good, and they aren’t the same thing. This one still fits in the latter category.
12 comments ↓
Americans stress way too much over health insurance… and diapers. They’re much easier to come by than most think.
What needs to happen is the crack-down on absurd health insurance policies that screw the little guy harder than just about any else.
I’m with you and Blake on this one. Small businesses need to be able to band together to get the same rates that large businesses do. But no government health care.
@Richard
I swear I remember Bush making that suggestion during his State of the Union a few years ago.
@Russell,
Lots of things are promised in State of the Union addresses. Many are started, few are completed with success. I’m certainly not holding my breath on this latest “hollow promise”.
While he may have suggested it a few years ago, Bush also announced his proposals in this week’s address.
Not only should there be no government health care, but government shouldn’t regulate private health care either. They need to get out of the business and let free enterprise steer competition and lower prices rather than sicking Uncle Sam on everybody. I like Richards idea–small businesses could join some sort of union or organization where they would pool resources to qualify for better health care. Or, the thieving health care companies could start playing nice. Again, I’m not holding my breath…
What is socialistic anyway?Most intelligent and western nations have universal healthcare.For americans to allow this administration to wage a futile war with their tax dollars but question how to pay for universal healthcare for their fellow americans really shows how non paticipatory the citizenry are involved in this democracy.This ill efficacy has led to social,economic and political corruption.
Intelligent and western don\’t make it right or not socialistic, and talking about war is changing the subject. Changing the coversation to war is just a political tactic in my opinion and does nothing to address the problem with the idea of universal healthcare.
I think the spending on the war is a joke and I don\’t agree with the spending being done in that area either.
Corruption is the idea that it\’s okay to forecefully take from some to give to others (redistribute weatlh) and that is exactly how many of the candidates propose getting universal healthcare going. It\’s legalized theft. It\’s socialism.
First off over 56% of American polled in January said that they would be willing to pay more in taxes to provide health coverage to all and for go Bush’s tax breaks to the wealthy. This is not a radical socialist position. We already have “Government supported healthcare” its called Medicare, and it works quite efficiently.
The myth
There is no truth to misnomer that government healthcare would create an expensive bureaucracy. That’s what we’re stuck with today. In fact the cost of administering Medicare is 3%, while the cost of HMOs is 30%. A tenfold difference which has crippled our healthcare system and the US economy. Insurance companies waist more money deriving reasons to deny care than they do providing it.
The problem
Unpaid medical bills account for over half of all bankruptcy filing in the US and sabotage American businesses ability to compete globally with companies from every industrialized country in the world, who have healthcare systems. The World Health Organization ranks the US worst in infant mortality among all industrialized countries in the world, even lower than Cuba!
We have a healthcare market which provides as much care as you can afford, with no regulations requiring insurance companies to provide affordable coverage. This has smothered small businesses and cost middle class families their homes.
Bushes proposal to create 401k style savings accounts would do nothing to change the system, while giving employers and excuse to cancel existing coverage. Bush has proposed NO regulations on insurance companies.
Schwarzenegger’s plan would actually be far worse and tax citizens who can’t afford healthcare and give tax breaks to those who can. Did some one say something about socialism using the government to take away from some to give to others?
The solution
Single Payer healthcare, which would expand Medicare to cover all, would :
• Be portable, so you can take it anywhere and no HMO could come between you and your doctor, while American would not worry about being uncovered between jobs.
• Be cheaper than current market system.
• Help small business compete.
• Save millions of American lives.
• Save millions more from bankruptcy.
If you truly believe national healthcare is a socialist plot, you are really not paying attention.
***”First off over 56% of American polled … said that they would be willing to pay more in taxes to provide health coverage to all…. This is not a radical socialist position.”
Whether radical or populist, it is nonetheless socialistic.
***fact the cost of administering Medicare is 3%,
Whose cost is 3% of what number? My wife is a well compensated RN employed by a for profit hospital. Her sole job consists of preparing paper work to comply with Medicare filings for the hospital for which she works. I am a lawyer and represent a client whose business is filing Medicare paper work for physicians. The administrative cost is huge and growing. It is much more than 3% of the cost of health care. Private insurance companies (other than BC/BS) have more difficulty than the Federal government shifting the administrative cost to the health care provider, but the administrative costs for government funded health care are huge, and ultimately borne by us all.
***Unpaid medical bills ….
Unpaid medical bills are a significant problem, but they are not the whole problem, bureaucracy is another huge problem, and guess who is at the epicenter of that. The Federal Government.
***We have a healthcare market which provides as much care as you can afford, WITH NO REGULATIONS REQUIRING….”
Such regulations would be socialistic. Perhaps you are a socialist. I do not mean that as name calling. If you examine what the word means, you may find that you are proud to be a socialist. I am a capitalist.
Right now, although most Americans (US citizens) consider themselves capitalist, they approve of many socialistic policies. At the same time, they have a knee jerk reaction to be offended when called a socialist. That is why the Socialist Party does poorly in elections, but we have so many socialistic programs in our government.
***This has smothered small businesses and cost middle class families their homes.
This is true. What is more, the high cost of medical care, driven by unpaid medical bills; high administrative cost due to burdensome government payment remittance requirements; inefficiencies in the insurance industry such as waste, large executive salaries and large profits, all have put an almost unbearable burden on small business and the middle class.
The economic reality is that the middle class accounts for the vast majority of US citizens and most of the money in the country passes through their hands each year. Regardless of whether the system is socialistic or capitalistic the middle class and small business will always (as long as they survive) bear the burden of health care cost for themselves and the poor.
There just are not enough rich people. If we took every last penny from the wealthiest 10% today, one year from now, there would be no wealthy people and we would still have all of the problems that face us today. Taxing the wealthy is not the answer, because they collectively do not have enough money.
***Bushes proposal to create 401k style savings accounts would do nothing to change the system….
This also seems correct, although I have not studied the plan in depth.
Schwarzenegger’s plan … tax citizens who can’t afford healthcare and give tax breaks to those who can. Did some one say something about socialism using the government to take away from some to give to others?
Giving a tax break to people who pay all of the expenses of their own care is not giving them money from the government. It is simply taking less. Paying the costs for those who cannot afford it is another example of socialism in our supposedly capitalistic government.
TO: GET REAL.
Here’s the “facts” on infant mortality in America.
Canada Male,Female : 78.0 78.0
Male,Female : 83.0 83.0
Costa Rica Male,Female : 75.0 75.0
Male,Female : 80.0 80.0
Cuba Male,Female : 75.0 75.0
Male,Female : 79.0 79.0
United States of America Male,Female : 75.0 75.0
Male,Female : 80.0 80.0
Panama LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 78.0 78.0
Chile LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 81.0 81.0
Argentina LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 78.0 78.0
Dominica LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 76.0 76.0
Mexico LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 77.0 77.0
Saint Lucia LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 78.0 78.0
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 78.0 78.0
Uruguay LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 71.0 71.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 79.0 79.0
Barbados LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 71.0 71.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 78.0 78.0
Colombia LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 71.0 71.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 78.0 78.0
Antigua and Barbuda LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 75.0 75.0
Bahamas LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 76.0 76.0
Ecuador LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 75.0 75.0
Jamaica LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
Paraguay LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 76.0 76.0
Peru LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
Saint Kitts and Nevis LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 69.0 69.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
El Salvador LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 69.0 69.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
Brazil LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 68.0 68.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 75.0 75.0
Nicaragua LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 68.0 68.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 73.0 73.0
Trinidad and Tobago LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 67.0 67.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
Belize LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 67.0 67.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
Grenada LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 66.0 66.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 66.0 66.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 74.0 74.0
Suriname LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 66.0 66.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 71.0 71.0
Honduras LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 65.0 65.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 70.0 70.0
Guatemala LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 65.0 65.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 71.0 71.0
Dominican Republic LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 65.0 65.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 72.0 72.0
Guyana LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 63.0 63.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 64.0 64.0
Bolivia LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 63.0 63.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 67.0 67.0
Haiti LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 53.0 53.0
LEX0Male,LEX0Female : 56.0 56.0
Why would you spread such an obvious lie, just to make a point? Forgive the code stuff, but explain your self.
You said that W.H.O. said this, and guess what? I got this info from them. You want to retract that?
I would, it makes you look angry and silly.
Oh, how easily the sheep-like American people could get sucked into the government run healthcare vortex. Do your research and find out why Canadians long to come here for care, why UK hospitals were ordered to not make patients wait more than “four hours” in emergency rooms to see a Dr. This has resulted in “patient stacking” in ambulances for hours, where many have died waiting. Think about the waiting at motor vehicle, the mess of the government run schools where we are producing mind-numbed morons, and then think about how great a government run health care plan would be for you and your family. Under our Republic (not democracy) government was never meant to be the panacea for all social ills. We need less government, not more!
Christy: You said it best! Many Canadians die waiting for simple tests such as MRI’s. If socialized healthcare worked, then they wouldn’t be trying to come here for superior care.
And yes, the U.S. is a Republic, not a democracy. “And to the Republic for which it stands”
Silly socialists…Oh, I mean liberals!
One major problem with universal healthcare is that doctors salaries will be paid by the government causing them to decrease greatly, thus causing doctors and healthcare professionals to pursue other careers. the minimal amount of doctors would hinder the efficiency of the medical system and make it near impossible to visit a doctor. this would effect the nations overall health and only increase the number of individuals who are even though receiving healthcare benefits still are NOT recieving HEALTHCARE!
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