Though technically this is not an opinion piece, but rather a look at the issue, I will tag is as opinion because I am basically too tired to go back over the source materials and link to the sources.

There has been a great deal of discussion lately about socialized health care with many people just going to the extreme to convince others that we are heading toward a communist state even just thinking about the topic and that democracy will fall if we even let one bit of socialism in the system.  Here are a few points I would like to make:

1. “Socialism will take away our right to vote” – Socialism is an economic theory just like capitalism, it is not a form of government.  You can have extreme socialized systems and still have democracy and choice in everything.  They are not mutually exclusive.
2. “Socialized health care is just the tip of the iceberg for more socialism” -  Uhm, sorry to break the news to you, but we have been practicing a limited form of socialism since the founding of our government.  Even the founding fathers advocated that the government had a responsibility to administer certain programs and services.  We have been in our history much more socialistic than the USSR ever was.
3. “Socialized healthcare does not work, it failed in other countries” – In what countries has it failed? The British dental problems? The problems British people have with their dentals has nothing to do with healthcare and everything to do with their view of dentistry… basically, the British hate dentist more than we do and just plain refuse to go.  Stories of people denied critical medical care always boil down to people not the system, people too involved in the bureaucracy to get thing done.  Sounds like the problem with have with our own insurance companies.  More people die from insurance companies refusing to pay for necessary procedures than do from systems run by a government.  I keep reading about all these people in England not getting medical care and I’m wondering were are all the stories about the people in the U.S. that don’t get the needed care… their stories are there just buried deeper in the news.
4. “It will destroy the economy, cause higher taxes” – No, the economy will not bomb just because some insurance companies will finally have to start competing for customers.  Currently, insurance companies charge what they can get away with because there are no alternatives.  This may not bother people with plenty of money, but those of us struggling to get by it is a constant worry and juggling act – do I get insurance in case I get sick because I sure can’t afford the medical and hospital bills or do I pay the rent and buy food.  And the cost just keeps getting higher faster than the rate of inflation.  Yes, your taxes will be higher, but you will not be paying that high insurance premium.  You end up probably with the same cost in the end BUT you and everyone will be covered.  You lose your job, you would still be covered by the government, the insurance companies presently drop you like a hot potato if you lose work.
5. “The government has a poor record of administrating, it is not the government’s job to provide health care” – Oh really, I guess we don’t have roads, Social Security, hospitals, schools, jobs, and all the other things we could have only gotten through the government because industry didn’t see a financial return.  The government is not perfect as it is made up of people, that is why we have a cycle of elections.  You don’t like it, vote the person out. At least with the government you can complain about something and have some reasonable assurance that something will be done.  Try getting that in the marketplace.  Most companies will ignore any complaints no matter how many if it doesn’t effect the intake of money.  Remember, you have no choice in the current commercial health care system, you get what they give you and you have no voice in the process.  And no one will be turned away from the government.  There is not a week that goes by when there is not a news story about someone losing insurance or not able to get insurance because of some pre-existing health problem.

I could go on for pages about this.  I have yet to have anyone come up with a valid argument against socialized healthcare or even a valid argument for commercial healthcare.

Email this post