Why do so many people think the government needs to have its hand in everything we do? For example, this health care issue is something that I agree needs to be dealt with, but this brilliant health care reform everyone thinks is so great is not the answer. A program where everyone gets all the health care they need hassle free and it will save so much money and it will just solve all of the health care problems! WOW, this sounds amazing! Almost too good to be true! Which of course means it is.
First of all, where is all the money going to come from that goes into this health care pot? Maybe the government has a money tree they are hiding somewhere! Ha! One idea is to tax those who earn over $250,000 a year, but that will eventually change and everyone will end up being taxed for this wonderful program. Everything I have read says the government doesn’t want to add to the already humongous debt this country is already in, so they intend to tax so we can all have this wonderful program. What about those of us who have good health care provided by our employers? We won’t have a choice. The plan now is to change it slightly where we would have to pay tax on it, but if the employer decides to change there will be no option but the government’s plan.
I don’t have the answer that is going to solve all the problems, but I think the great minds of this country can come up with something better. Maybe people should think about preventative care. Maybe we should stop eating fast food everyday. Maybe the whole country should get up off its lazy butt and walk around the block every once in a while. Maybe if everyone did all these things we wouldn’t have such high rates of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Maybe we should fix some of these things ourselves instead of creating a problem and then expecting the government to fix it for us. What about the children in our country? Childhood obesity is a major problem in this country, which of course will lead to further health problems and costly care down the road.
I hear people talking about how the Canadian health care system is so wonderful, but I guess they don’t have a problem waiting approximately 20 weeks to see their primary care physician or not have coverage of prescriptions. This country needs to think long and hard about this health care reform being the answer, there has got to be something better.
2 comments:
In her commentary blog post, Heather (Heather's Political Corner), writes about the recent proposals for government health care reforms in the United States. The proposed plan would provide a government funded option for people to get health care services regardless of income, homelessness, or unemployment. It is based on the idea that access to quality health care is a basic human right, and that in an upper class society like ours, we have the ability to provide this right to all of our citizens.
Heather was quick to dismiss the idea as "too good to be true" and stated that while it was intended to be affordable and government funded, we would be taxed in order to pay for it. In my opinion, Heather is not very informed about the particulars of the health care plans that have gained prominence amongst legislators. She seems to be unaware of the fact that it would not be a complete end to private health care, and that citizens would still be able to choose alternative providers, including those programs offered through their employers, at their own discretion.
I think that any argument requires convincing and trustworthy sources and support in order to carry any weight, and that is something that her judgments are clearly lacking. She seems to have bought into the disinformation that is circulating regarding this issue. Heather seems to think that the proposed plans for government health care are going to set up a socialist system where everyone has one equal option; the government provided plan. However, this is not the case at all.
I don't find her commentary all that informative because it seems like her opinion is all that she is giving to her readers. One of the options that has been proposed is known as single-payer health care, and is nothing like the socialist government program that Heather is condemning. I don't disrespect her opinion, rather I feel that if she had developed her argument using quotes from experts on the subject or article links to reputable sources, she would have been more persuasive in her argument against government health care options.
Overall, I think that the benefits of a government supported health care option, such as single-payer health care plans, outweigh the possible negative consequences such as a slight increase in taxes. Just one glance at the number of private bankruptcies due to the inability of citizens to pay mounting medical bills is enough for me to agree that something, including government intervention, needs to be done to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable and quality health care.
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