If you are extremely wealthy or even merely rich, you can stop reading – this blog will not concern you. If you are not wealthy and favor robust health care reform in the United States that includes a viable public option – this blog will not concern you either.
But, if you are not wealthy but still do not favor robust health care reform that includes a public option because it smacks of socialism or “too much government” in your life then please read on. This blog is about an America in a parallel “non-socialist” universe. Let’s call it Non-Socialist America (NS America).
Burning Down the House
In NS America, fire fighting is privatized. So picture that you can’t afford fire protection insurance from the various private fire fighting companies. Now, your house goes up in flames but even with several private fire fighting houses nearby, no fire trucks come as your house burns to the ground. Paradoxically, your richer neighbor – who does have fire protection insurance – calls his private fire fighters who show up to ensure the flames from your house don’t jump to his house. So, a full service fire fighting outfit watches your house burn to the ground while they ensure your neighbor doesn’t get his lawn slightly singed. Far-fetched? Not really. Read about how fire fighting in New York City used to be done by fire insurance companies – complete with full looting of the house or apartment building that was on fire.
This is 9-1-1: What is your emergency and account number?
Imagine your house is being robbed and when you call 9-1-1 they ask if you are a paying member of the private police force. In NS America they say: “I’m sorry, sir, but you are not a paying member of our police department. Good luck.” If you sleep better at night knowing the police will respond if you need them to protect your family, welcome to socialism.
Tuition for Kindergarten
In this country, it is not uncommon for the hard-working and smart kids of poor folks to excel in public schools and then go on to attend top-tier colleges – many on scholarship. Money for college is out there for students who get solid grades in schools that are primarily supported by the property taxes and – gasp -- funds from the government. In NS America, what do you think would happen? What do you think would happen if we didn’t have a strong public education program in the United States? You know exactly what would happen: the rich kids would go to the best schools and the lower or even middle-class students would go to low quality schools, if they went to school at all. For all those that can’t afford to send your kid to private schools from K-12, why would you be against a public option for health care? Doesn’t that smack of at least a tiny bit of hypocrisy?
The lower and middle classes and even upper middle class should never take the fire department, police department and public schools -- all government-financed institutions – for granted. Make no mistake: the rich do not care about you at all. And if these three critical institutions were all privatized in NS America, the rich would continue to sleep comfortably knowing they can afford all three. But what would happen to you? What would you do?
So, if you buy into the security and benefits of publically financed police protection, fire fighting and K-12 education, why is a publically financed health care option such a stretch or so verboten? And you can take it even further – isn’t affordable health care as essential as police, fire and public education to a stable society that gives all of its citizens the chance to flourish.
We’ve tried a mostly private health care system in this country for decades and it flat out doesn’t work. Too many people are left behind. Just how many more children have to be without health care before someone steps in?
Very well said.
Most of those arguing that opening access to health care is socialism are not necessarily against socialism (not that they realize this), nor are they necessarily against a redistribution of wealth. In their mind, funneling money up is capitalism, and funneling it down is socialism.
Now that they have burned (and when I say burned through, I mean ruining lives, just not their own) through the internet and housing bubbles, and are attempting to claim ownership of pension funds, not to mention social security funds, we can rest assured that they will turn to new avenues of capital. Watch as they move in to the education business, the next large mandate that is funded by taxpayers. And when they bet all that money on perpetual gains, and ask us all to bail them out when those bets fail - we will hear that all too common refrain - "Nobody could have guessed"
Posted by: Cjrusso2001 | January 26, 2012 at 11:22 AM
Very well done Don! I love the people who say they don't want their health decisions made by a government bureaucrat. But they have no problem with an insurance company bureaucrat, who is simply using an actuarial table, making those same decisions. Americans who don’t understand that Canada has an infinitely superior health care system to us have their heads stuck in a cloud of xenophobic pride.
Posted by: Lou | January 20, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Brilliant. I wish the present administration could present their case with as much passion. Send this to Obama and, better yet, to Jon Stewart to get this important point across.
Posted by: Helen | November 23, 2009 at 09:21 PM
Do you have an argument against those who think it's too expensive to offer a public option?
Posted by: Linda | November 23, 2009 at 06:02 PM