Robert, it's a complicated subject. If there was a simple solution, I think we wouldn't be having this discussion. As someone with a healthcare background, the idea of someone randomly handing out 100 prescriptions a day scares me to death! It won't ever happen - too much science supports the idea it's dangerous. HSA's are a great example for people that are employed and have enough income to stash away some funds - but unfortunately we have a large enough segment of our population who can't (and I understand that some of those just don't handle money responsibly, but there are a lot of other reasons that can happen as well). I like the 2-tier system countries like Australia and Singapore offer. It provides a basic level of service for everyone, with the option to "buy up" a premium service. What no one wants to talk about is how much the lobbyist affect how we talk about health care here in the United States. We have some very rich industries that want to keep the status quo at any costs. As a young Catholic school student, we were required to do service work - we had to have x number of hours per semester or we could not stay enrolled. At the time, I attended school 1 county over from what was then the poorest county in the country, Tunica county, Ms. It wasn't hard for us to find places to do service, and I remember asking one of the Nuns why didn't these people just stop doing this, or start doing this, to change their situation. The answer she gave me has stayed with me to this day. People don't really choose to be poor, or under educated, or under employed. They do what they know. If a child is born into a family where no one has ever graduated high school, or never attended college, then that child follows the path they know. Just as we know it takes 30 days to change a habit, it sometimes takes generations to change a lifestyle. It's easy to judge other's circumstances - I'd rather help effect change than just be pissed off because some of my very hard earned money goes to support someone who didn't do the work I did. And yes, I get pissed off when someone in front of me at the grocery store pulls out an EBT card to pay for their purchase while I've got a hand full of coupons and my back hurts because I spend too much time looking at unit costs, walking all over looking for sale prices, etc. I get it!! We all need to be responsible, and do the work it takes to be successful I worked 2 jobs to get through college, so my divorced mom could concentrate on taking care of my younger brothers, and keep them in Catholic high school. I know what sacrifice is, and I think it builds character. My generation is the first in our family to go to college - my mother and her brother knew there was no future in the small Mississippi town they grew up in. My uncle joined the military, and my mom left for a big city where there were more opportunities than a job in a garment factory. They both worked so hard so their children would have a better future, and thank goodness for us. I love my relatives still living in that small Mississippi town, but we are worlds apart in our lifeviews and experiences. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's not really black and white, and while I am a huge advocate for personal responsibility, I still think we have to help the weakest in our society. Will someone who doesn't really deserve free healthcare have access to it? Certainly, but we have to balance our desire to have a completely self sufficient population with some compassion. The problem right now, as I see it, is that we have gone to an extremist society - far left or far right, and I think real solutions lie somewhere in the middle.
Ok, now I'm going back to watching football....too much thinking this morning lol.
Rooting for Michigan today - that's up your way, right? Are you Michigan or Michagan State? I'm an SEC girl, so I bleed football on Saturdays lol |
