The whole point of free speech is not to make ideas exempt from criticism but to expose them to it.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Health Care Reform. It's time.

by Bill Fleming

Ok, I'm not an economist, so I'll keep these
questions very simple and seek enlightenment.

1. Is there any higher priority for our tax dollars
than the health and well being of our citizens?

2. Does anybody really believe that a public option
would put private insurance companies out of business?
If so, why?

3. If 75% of the American people want this,
shouldn't Congress pass it? I mean, it's our money, right?
(And our kids and grand kids too, I guess... and maybe China's.)


9 comments:

caheidelberger said...

Save lives and save money -- do pass indeed!

Bob Newland said...

If 75% of Americans want to reinstate slavery, shouldn't Congress pass it?

Donna said...

In the year before my father passed away he was in the hospital six times. Because he had Medicare and supplemental insurance, they would leave him in the emergency room until a private room became available. It literally scares the crap out of me to think the government would have another program in place whose spending would not be controlled. The estimates they give for the cost of the program don't even come close to what they will spend due to historically excessive government spending.

I agree we need something, but I do not want it to be a government controlled program. Perhaps government paid premiums to a private carrier ? At least costs would be monitored. When there is a profit margin involved, people seem to care more about how the money is spent.

Bob Newland said...

Donna (and Bill), I think we'd be better off if there were no government handouts to anyone. Period. That is not the function of government.

But since my opinion on this is irrelevant, all I can do is sit and watch as the US government bankrupts us while buying votes with our money with a cream pie-for-everybody scheme that can not work.

Bill Fleming said...

Why do you say health care is not the function of government, Bob?

Bob Newland said...

Show me in the constitution where it says every American should get free health care. Or where it says government should subsidize medical care in any degree.

Bill Fleming said...

That's not a good argument, Bob. There are a lot of things government does that ares not specifically enumerated in the Constitution, but rather implied. That's the nature of the document.

Besides, there's nothing free about health care if you're paying for it with tax dollars.

Bill Fleming said...

That said, Bob, read the Preamble.

Troy Jones said...

1) Yes. Defense of the public from internal and external threat and administration of justice.

2) No. However, it will ultimately be the most expensive option (premiums plus tax subsidy), distort the provision of health care to the detiment of the poor, and destroy jobs for the poor because of the drag it will be on the economy.

3) 75% of the people want a solution to the rising cost of health care. Less than 50% of the people have studied the Obama solution sufficiently to make an informed determination of the wisdom of this particular plan.

The most recent poll by CNN says that 51% support the Obama public option while 45% oppose it. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/01/health.care.poll/index.html

What should really concern Obama is that support has been slipping and it really fell after the ABC infomercial on the Obama plan. The more the people learn about it, the more likely they are to oppose it.

Prediction: Proposal dies a well-deserved death because of the harm it will do to the nation's health care.