The Universal Healthcare Myth

So we've been hearing on and off about President Obama's plan for universal healthcare. In fact, he included about a $700 billion so-called "down payment" for his healthcare plan in his record-breaking budget. I've thought quite a bit about this, and had numerous conversations with others on this topic. I believe the direction our country is headed in regards to this issue demonstrates exactly what is wrong with much of our society today, which is that people believe they are entitled to certain things. This overwhelming sense of entitlement has been created through our out-of-control entitlement spending as well as a general attitude of apathy. In fact, while I was doing my student teaching I asked my class of 10th grade economics students who believed that the government should provide healthcare for all citizens. Almost the entire class emphatically raised their hands. Now, some of this may be due to their youthful empathy and drive to change the world, because, as we all know, any person who isn't a communist at age 20 has no heart...while any person who isn't a conservative by age 30 has no brain. However, I believe much of this has to do with the general sense of entitlement that is present in much of our society. It used to be generally understood that in order to achieve most things in life, a person has to work hard and earn it...however, it's not like that anymore. Attitudes are shifting, and it's really beginning to scare me. We're drifting more and more toward a socialized way of life - the way of life that says if my neighbor has less than me, then shame on me. That's not what this country was founded on, and that's not what capitalism is all about. Capitalism says that you should work hard to get ahead, and that your hard work should be rewarded, not punished. The Obama administration says otherwise, however. A glass ceiling has been put on success. Obama says that if you are too successful, your productivity and success should be punishable through taxation. How is this encouraging the American Dream? It used to be that a person's motive to work simply had to be that he and his family would starve otherwise. That motivation isn't there, anymore...especially when Obama is trying to give tax refunds to the majority of Americans who don't pay taxes in the first place. Take from the rich and give to the poor...this has been tried, and it was called the Soviet Union. It'll be great...everyone will be equal, except that some will be more equal than others.

Anyway, back to my discussion of healthcare...I get distracted easily. Universal healthcare has been tried in multitudes of modernized countries...from our neighbors to the north to our allies in the United Kingdom, and you know what - it doesn't work. Universal healthcare sounds like it's all about compassion - taking care of people, and I wish it were, except that the facts show otherwise. It's simply another way in which a government can gain control over its population. Look at the British - their healthcare is sub-par, and the government is now deciding that people with certain conditions are not worth saving. You may have seen this in the news - many women with breast cancer are no longer being given the drugs they need because the government sees it as cost-ineffective. People are no longer people, but simply dollar signs. Sure, everyone has "healthcare," but there are less doctors because of less incentives and lower pay and the healthcare is barebones to say the least.

Imagine if the government were going to provide all citizens a car to drive...what quality do you think that car would be? The answer is sad, but the explanation is quite simple. Government contracts almost always go to the lowest bidder, which means that the government usually favors low cost over anything else. I see this day in and day out in the military...equipment that can obviously be made better or improved, but it won't be simply because it's being made for as cheap as possible as it is. Healthcare would be the same way...the government would go with a low common-denominator and call it good.

Then comes the question of what other rights the government would claim. If they're now responsible for our healthcare, why not regulate what we eat...how much we exercise...etc., etc. Would it be their right to do so if they're the ones paying the health bills? I certainly would want to protect my investment if I were the government...shut down all the McDonald's, and people are required to work out 3 times a week at a local gym in order to continue receiving healthcare. This stuff really gets me pissed off....Healthcare is a privilege, not a right, and I'm not going to apologize for thinking so.