One of the big issues that's been getting a lot of discussion is universal healthcare- or, as I like to call it, socialist health care. Most of the Democrats are for it, the polls show that the people who are being polled want it, and most people I talk to seem to think it's the bee's knees. I, however, do not. I think the last thing we should be doing is putting the government in charge of our healthcare. That's not because I think the healthcare system we have now is great. I don't, it needs to be reformed.
But I don't believe that more government is the solution. I know politicians tell us it is, but really: when has more government ever made things better? I'm not going to list all the things government has made worse and more expensive, because it would take too long. But do some research, read some books, and if you still think more government is the answer we'll talk then. For now I'll just mention Social Security and Medicare. Two programs that started small, were supposed to be efficient, weren't supposed to be too expensive, and so on. Now? They are both enormously expensive programs that have continued to balloon out of control. They are both going bankrupt. And so on. You can look up both the original claims that were made about the programs and the current numbers, if you don't believe me. History repeats itself. And if we don't do something, it will again: compare what was said about the New Deal programs when they were passed and what's being said about universal heathcare now.
It is especially important to understand this because there are other, non-governmental options that would work much better. Unfortunately, the media doesn't discuss these options and most people are unwilling to do the research themselves. I'm just going to give one example here, but there are many others. Look into them! This one is not my brainchild, other people have proposed it and I just happen to agree.
In 2006, ~$220 of every $1,000 of your tax dollars went to pay for healthcare. Under this plan you'd be allowed to keep that money, put it in the bank where it would earn interest. But when you went to the doctor, you'd pay for it out of your own pocket- no health insurance, no middle man. Most people don't go to the doctor very much (or they go for unnecessary things, like stomach aches), so odds are you'd just save most of that money. At the same time, because insurance would be out of the picture you'd be able to go to any doctor you wanted to. Because doctors would be competing for business 1) the best doctors would rise to the top and be available to everyone, and 2) prices would go down (competition lowers prices, look it up, and dealing with insurance is expensive). Finally, you could buy some sort of emergency insurance, for if you got cancer or something else too expensive to pay for out of pocket. This sort of plan would work, and work better than any government insurance ever would.
Start thinking outside the box, do your own research, and maybe we can get our freedom back. We can make our own sandwiches.
The title of today's post is a quote by Lord Boyd-Orr. Sadly, it still applies today.
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When Americans ask for socialized medicine, they really don't know what they're in for. The most rude awakenings will likely be the wait lists and the rationing. Operations that can be obtained in weeks here might require a wait of many months, or even years, under a socialized system. And some operations cannot be had at all. A good example is joint replacements. Anyone in this country can get a new hip or knee if they need it regardless of age. Socialized countries limit then to patients under 65, and some to patients under 55! And there are many, many other examples.
It's not the way we want to go, people!
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