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What’s so bad about universal health care?Tue, 07/24/2007 - 3:54pm
By: Letters to the ...
“Affiliated Press Release – July 18, 2007 — The Fayette County Commission today acted to put county fire and emergency services out for competitive bid. The commission believes the forces of the free market should be allowed to manage these services. “One commission member said ‘As business leaders, you understand that investments must yield a positive rate of return. You understand opportunity cost and risk. We in the public sector are more risk-adverse. However, the public sector must create an environment that will attract, not discourage public-private partnerships.’ “Projected savings are forecast to be in the vicinity of a million dollars per year and a tax reduction is likely. This ‘public-private’ partnership will allow county residents to purchase, on the open market, several levels of fire and emergency services. “The basic level of fire and EMS coverage will cost $15 per month, or the equivalent in food stamps. Called Private Residential Yearly (PRaY), a fire service evaluator would respond and would, if necessary, call for a fire truck, which in turn would extinguish any fires that spread to adjacent properties. “The next level of coverage would actually cover the primary dwelling, assuming that no pre-existing flammable material was present. The fire truck would have to be from the homeowners’ primary fire house; additional permissions would be necessary to get an out-of-network fire truck, a hook and ladder truck or an ambulance. “A sliding scale of coverage up to and including full coverage is available – for additional costs. “Commission members believe that bringing market forces to bear will benefit all county residents, especially those who can afford full coverage...” A private for-profit fire department? Absurd? (For the record, the commission has not put the fire and EMS out for bid, at least not to my knowledge.) Would this be a good idea even with lower taxes? The police department? EMS? While we’re at it, how about the Army? Coast Guard? Air Traffic Control? Where do we draw the line between for-profit capitalism and a legitimate government-provided service which is necessarily a taxpayer expense? The “invisible hand” of Adam Smith, as practiced here, ends up clinched tightly around our windpipes when the government gives up its oversight and regulation. Why then private for-profit health care? OK, easy now; take a deep breath, and once you’ve gotten the ingrained “You mean socialized medicine” mantra that we’ve all been brainwashed into saying; and once you’ve gotten the “government can’t manage anything” mantra that the private sector and right-wing pundits have been harping on forever, think about it. This is a non-partisan issue. Last time I checked Republicans got cancer as often as Democrats. For those who fear the ‘gubment getting into health care, think about it this way: the French have an Army – but ours is better. The Brits have a Navy and Air Force – but ours is better. The Canadians have a marvelous Coast Guard – but ours is better. China has a space program – but ours is better. Air traffic control is good in Europe, but ours is better. Ireland has a highway system, but ours is better. So why do you think our government couldn’t manage a universal health care program? Considering that the U.S. health system spends a higher portion of the gross domestic product than any other country on health care, why do we rank 37 out of 191 countries by the World Health Organization? Is the “free market” working OK in this case? Anyone? Bueller? I’ve heard Neal Boortz say that the government shouldn’t be involved, among other things, with public libraries – if you want a book, go and buy it. He doesn’t want his tax dollars used to fund them. The Secretary of Transportation is on record as advocating selling our interstate highway system to private industry. Congestion will be far less if the highways are all toll roads, she says. The government is doing it’s best to privatize the air traffic control system right now – Falcon Field will be a ghost town if they do it, and Mr. Boortz will have to pay for a weather briefing and an instrument approach in bad weather, but he does have the money, after all ... So, are these functions the legitimate role of the government or not? Is this how we fulfill the “Promote the General Welfare” part of the Constitution? Or, is there no limit to the “free market”? Profit or perish? If you believe that the government does have a legitimate role in these things, then why not health care? Why are we the only western democracy that doesn’t have it? Is a for-profit hospital a good thing? Has the “free market” in health care worked for you? How about your elderly parents? There are 47 million Americans who it’s not working for, and every year there are more. Do you know anybody who stays at a job they hate “for the health insurance”? How many entrepreneurs would start a business if they knew that their families would still have health care? How much larger could our economy be without the threat and costs of our private system? We are all just one job loss, catastrophic illness or “denial of coverage” from losing everything, including our lives and the lives of our children. Regardless of what the big banks want you to believe about so-called deadbeat credit card holders, most bankruptcies are caused by medical bills and the downward financial spiral that comes with those medical bills. Are those bankruptcies good for the country, not to mention the families that are devastated? Yes, of course our taxes will have to go up. But consider this: The French have some of the highest taxes in the world, and even though they’ll strike at the drop of a hat about the price of cheese or wine, and they are easily rousted to march in the streets by the hundreds of thousands for job protection or more vacation, they never seem to complain about how much they pay in taxes? Why is that? For a society so prone to complain, protest, march, and go on strike about seemingly mundane things, why aren’t they absolutely rioting about their taxes? Is it possible they actually see a return on investment in their tax dollar? Say it ain’t so, Grover Norquist. Isn’t a universal health care system, I mean a good system, one way we can live up to our self-professed title as The Greatest Country in the World? You see, one of my many character defects is this; when I read about 12-year-old Deamonte Driver, who died from a tooth abscess because no dentist would take their Medicaid insurance, I don’t see another poor black child; I see one of my sons. And when I read about a 63-year-old woman, Carol Ann Reyes, who was dumped on skid row in Los Angles because she didn’t have insurance and the hospital, Kaiser Permanente Bellflower hospital, didn’t want to keep her, I don’t see a disheveled bag lady; I see my own recently deceased mother. But for the grace of God go I? Isn’t a universal health care system one way we, as good Christians, can take care of the “least among us”? If you believe it’s time we had universal coverage, then write to Rep. Westmoreland and tell him to co-sponsor H.R. 676 along with the 75 other congressmen who’ve already added their signatures. The congressman can be reached at the Third District Office, 1601-B East Highway 34, Newnan, GA 30265. Phone 770-683-2033; fax 770-683-2042; office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thomas Finnegan Fayetteville, Ga. thomasfinnegan (at) earthlink.net login to post comments
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