Text 12493, 124 rader
Skriven 2008-03-12 14:21:03 av Jeff Bowman (1:229/500)
  Kommentar till text 12483 av Björn Forsström (2:203/614.61)
Ärende: Re: Bush Vetoes Waterboarding Bill
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BF> Wonder why Roy or Ross haven't commented on this and called you a liar
BF> and anti-American.
BF> In their world you are a traitor.
BF> I've had about 15 surgical operations and never paid a $ for it and I
BF> even got
BF> payed for staying at home after them and one period lasted for 3 years
BF> and I have never worried about any bills to pay.
 
That's okay, I'm not unaccustomed to being criticized about my opinions on
healthcare from friends (and otherwise) who are conservative.  But I stand by
everything I ramble on with, because various members of my family experienced
the country's healthcare disaster first hand, some of which from an income
bracket that a lot of conservatives don't seem to concern themselves with.
 
From my point of view, raising taxes to ensure everyone has a basic right to
health is completely worthwhile.  I mean we already have public schools,
police, fire, emergency services (911), etc.  Why is this truly any different?
I honestly would not mind paying more to see that my family, friends, and
neighbors never had to worry about their health or medical bills. Opponents of
universal healthcare plans however seemingly have a disregard for the
well-being of others if it means coming out of their pockets. They strongly
feel that it's not their responsibility to spend their money to ensure the
health of others.  A friend of mine told me this himself once, and it kind of
disappointed me to hear him say such a thing. People like McCain, and their
"pay your own way" ideology, does not work when you can't pay.
 
Better health just means a better country.  Less people off their jobs from
illness means more productivity.  Billions are lost every year from that alone.
 More people would be able to join the workforce in general instead of living
off of government benefits. Preventative medicine in general would lower
overall medical costs by stopping problems before they got worse.  I've also
mentioned before how the number one cause of filing for bankruptcy was from
unpaid medical bills. Right there is another problem solved, and the economy
improved. Implement standard drug rates like in the U.K. and these drug
companies wouldn't be able to swindle older people out of their money to pay
for needed medicine, which means their savings and such would last them longer,
without them ending up on government benefits.
 
Doctors could worry less about getting paid compared to how it works now, so
they could probably lower their fees too.  I know of a dentist who charges
high rates for people not out of pocket simply due to the fact that current
insurance companies won't pay enough to cover their costs, and also fear of not
getting paid at all. They have to charge so much just to ensure they'll stay in
business. And some of them don't!  I seriously doubt this is an isolated case.
 
Just the act of having a competitive government program would force current
healthcare companies to lower their rates and offer better care to stay in
business. So even the people who chose to go with private healthcare could end
up benefiting from it. 
 
I could go on and on naming things that could improve if nobody had to worry
about being able to see a doctor when they needed. That's not to mention
just the lack of stress on people from not having to worry about paying or
getting screwed out of coverage by a current healthcare provider.
 
I do understand some of the objections, like the possibility for waiting
periods and stuff.  But there's no reason why we can't borrow all the working
parts from the countries who have proven it's possible, and make one of the
best healthcare systems in the world.  This is America, for crying out.  We
shouldn't be behind at anything to this degree.  There's no excuse for it.
 
As for waiting periods, I don't see why it would be any different than Britain
in terms of us still having private doctors.  If you didn't want to wait, you
could simply go to one of those.  You'd be "paying your own way", or maybe your
private insurance company would cover it, who knows.  Either way, nobody is
forced to wait if they don't want.  If it were done properly, there wouldn't be
much waiting for anyone in the first place.
 
Anyway, as for the possibility that I'm "anti-American" simply for saying such
things, I would point out that I come from a family of veterans, for what it's
worth. My grandfather was on a ship in WW2 that was torpedoed, for example, but
he managed to survive and come home to the daughter (my mother) that he had
left merely weeks after she was born.
 
His brother however didn't fare so well during the Korean war. We were told he
was killed by a land mine. And that's the story we believed until my
grandfather died, only later to learn that they had discovered new evidence
(within this decade). He had been wounded, and captured by the Koreans, only to
be beaten to death in one of their POW camps.  This news came about due to a
particularly brave soldier who had been secretly keeping a list of everyone
detained there, and what happened to them. I'm very glad my grandfather died
not knowing the truth about his brother's death.
 
And these are just two of the relatives on one side of the family who have
served.  I have the utmost respect for them and the country they fought for.
People who want to think I'm in some way anti-American for my opinions on how
this country should be run are sadly misguided.  And thanks in part to the
sacrifices of people like my grandfather and uncle, they're free to think that
way if they want.
 
I'm sure even my grandfather would have plenty to say about some of this stuff
if he were around, because I can remember him watching the news and always
having something to say when a government official was being a bonehead.  I was
just too young at the time to have any idea what he was talking about.  But it
further reinforces my opinion that thinking poorly of a leader is not the same
as thinking poorly of a country.
 
Anyway, not to get all preachy there, but maybe it will give a little
perspective to anyone in doubt of my motives for saying the things I do. People
don't have to agree with me on the healthcare issue at all, that's just my
opinion.  Hell, I don't even like Hillary or Barack's plan for universal
healthcare, mostly because they're trying to use the currently established
companies to do it.  But I just don't feel like proponents of better healthcare
should be criticized on the personal level I tend to see.
 
Particularly such as them being accused of being too lazy to work or too stupid
to get a better job in order to pay for insurance. That's easy to say from
someone who has always had plenty of money and has never been in that situation
(which, in fact, is the case for everyone who has debated the issue with me
personally so far).  But for a lot of Americans, healthcare simply isn't an
option.  And I don't consider them all lazy or uneducated just because they
aren't able to afford it.  Even if one doesn't want universal healthcare, they
should want something to be done about the mess we have right now. The rates
and coverage and medicine costs are just unacceptable compared to what the rest
of the world pays.  And in many cases, the quality of care is as good or better
there.  And it's the exact same medicine. Americans should be smarter than to
let themselves be swindled so easily. You'd think the same people who fight so
hard to keep from paying higher taxes would be fighting these guys even harder.
 
I'll probably save this and realize I forgot to say something after it's too
late, but surely I made my point regardless with all of this.

--- D'Bridge 2.99
 * Origin: FyBBS (1:229/500)