This health care debate has me so pissed off, I can't even begin to articulate it. The amount of ignorance and fear mongering circling this issue is mind-boggling.
The United States spends twice as much per capita than any other country on health care. This is not a case where big money equals big results. We are something like 35th on the list of best health care systems in the world.
The best health care systems? All single-payer systems.
The fact that single-payer isn't even on the table is sickening. It shows how much the insurance and pharmaceutical industry controls members of our government. Go to opensecrets.org and look up your representatives. I'd bet good money that the top contributors to their campaign are the insurance and pharma. I'll get to campaign finance reform in a minute.
There are some arguments I keep hearing over and over again about why a national health care program is a bad idea. These arguments are dumb. Yes, I said it. Dumb. Not very diplomatic of me, but it's true.
"You don't want a government bureaucrat getting between you and your doctor." Listen to me: right now, you have an insurance bureaucrat getting in between you and your doctor. A government employee's job and livelihood does not depend on denying you medical care.
Think about this: the insurance industry has spent millions and millions of dollars fighting meaningful health care reform. Every single dollar of that money is medical procedures that have been denied. Every one of those dollars is a cancer treatment that was denied, a crucial medicine that was not covered. Simply - the money being used to fight against civilized health care is blood money.
"We just can't afford it!" This is bullshit. First, repeal the Bush tax cuts. The richest 2% of Americans will have their taxes go up 2.5%. That would more than cover the price of a national health care program. While we're at it, let's roll back to Eisenhower tax rates. Let's reimpose tariffs on imports. Let's remove the cap on the social security tax. Let's get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
How about this: The United States has something like 700 military bases in the world. We are set up to fight a 20th century tank army. We could easily close half of these bases and drop our defense budget a huge amount. Even reinvesting a portion of that savings into modern homeland security measures would leave a huge surplus.
Any combination of these measures would easily fund a cradle-to-grave health care program.
If there was a national single-payer system, employers would no longer have to provide health insurance to their employees. This is currently a huge burden to U.S. companies. This makes it extra-difficult for our manufactured products to compete in a world market where most-if-not-all our competitors are countries with single-payer systems whose businesses are not burdened with these costs.
"It's socialism!" Do you even know what socialism IS? I suppose you also have a problem with our socialist military? Yes, our military is a socialist program. So are our roads, the police, the fire department, and public schools. We, as a culture, have decided that these things should be available to everyone equally, regardless of race, gender, class, et cetera. Why should health care be excluded from the common good? Why should only some members of our society have the security of heath care?
The bottom line - we should not allow companies to make a profit from the suffering of others. As long as there is money to be made, people will die for someone else's paycheck.
If we do not get meaningful reform, which at this point in the debate, looks like a robust public option, then campaign finance reform should be the number one focus. Our country is no longer of the people, by the people, for the people. It is for corporations.
Did you know that the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the same rights as people? And because corporations do not have a mouth, that they can use money as a substitute for free speech? As long as there are millions and millions of dollars pouring into campaign coffers and lobbyist pockets, we will not see government that truly wants to help the average citizen. As long as every politician needs to raise millions of dollars in order to keep their jobs, we will never see a government for the people.
That is all I have for now. Good night.
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