from the mom
Recently our state legislature introduced several health care bills. Some are better than others, but they all contain the same element: Health care is the responsibility of employers and governments, not individuals. Two of the three proposed bills would issue in universal health care in Washington State. I'm not terribly surprised; our state legislature hasn't yet caught on that socialism doesn't work.
I'm part of a volunteer reader advisory board and occasionally the paper will email asking for comments on a topic they are about to cover. I fired off my two cents with two extra noisy appendages hanging from me howling for my attention. In our town, a conservative voice is a rarity and I was afraid that I would be the only conservative respondent. Fortunately, I was not, but I still got the lead comment.
At some point we are going to have to start realizing we are asking for services we don't want to pay for. John McCain has infuriated conservatives for saying we shouldn't be cutting taxes if we aren't going to cut services. I'm all for tax cuts, but he's right. Historically government grows under Republican presidents who cut taxes. I read an analysis awhile back that said that it is largely because we are getting government at a discount. Since we aren't paying for what it really costs (as the deficit grows), Americans think, "Sure, yeah that sounds good." So we continue to spend. If all worked as it was supposed to and Congress went a long with a fiscally responsible President then we would cut spending. But of course part of getting elected is being able to say, "Of course you can have your cake and eat it too."
My last working job had a nice cushy health care plan, with dental and vision. Adjusting to having 13% of our take home pay go for health care insurance and expenses was not an easy task. I am entirely sympathetic with those Americans who say they can't afford the high cost of health care. It is tough. But for many of them my question is: Do you have a big screen TV? Cable? More than one TV? an Ipod? a new car? Part of being a grown up is making sacrifices and prioritizing.
And frankly, if we all had to pay for the majority of our own health care expenses, it would get cheaper. Because we would all use the health care system very thoughtfully and ask a lot of questions about what we were paying for.
5 comments:
Excellent Essay! Obviously a chip off the old block.
Dad
Amen, and amen! It always frustrates me the way our health insurance system is run - this curious mixture of catastrophic coverage and a safety net for the mundane just brings us all to the same level of mediocrity.
Can you imagine if our auto insurance were set up the same way? We'd be paying steep monthly premiums, subsidising all the reckless drivers out there, and paying only a $5 co-pay every time we had to change the oil or rotate the tires.
Couldn't agree with you more, R. Thanks for posting, and I hope you all continue to get well soon!
Thank you R. Well said. Oregon likes to pass things like building a new prison but doesn't pass a tax to run it so it sits empty for years.Now Portland wants a tax to pay for roads & there is an uproar. What if they had to pay for others health care?
Judy
The argument you make in your fourth paragraph could be turned around to say we'd rather pay for healthcare than a war.
Of course, you wouldn't make that argument.
Also, you may be a tad out of touch, nestled in white suburbia with a college degree.
Many Americans don't have any of the amenities you are describing.
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