It's not much, but I sent this to my Congressman, using (and substantially rewriting) a form letter at the speakout.barackobama.com site.
I am using a letter form that's supplied by the speakout.barackobama.com site, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because telling you how I feel about health care is the right thing to do.
I'm a Democrat, but I vote for Republicans when they're the best person, or when what they say makes sense to me. I figure that voting the party ticket just because I'm in that party is a way of saying 'I like other people thinking for me'. I don't like that, and I suspect you don't, either.
This health care bill isn't what anyone wants, totally. It costs way too much. It has gihugic loopholes. Theres a lot more politics and a lot less health than there ought to be. And did I mention it costs a ton of money, at a time when we're deep in the hole?
But I'm for it anyway. For the same reason that I vote for the best person, regardless of party affiliation.
Because it's the right thing to do.
Please see my message to you, along with the stories and photos of other Americans from your district and across the nation, at http://my.barackobama.com/HereFor
Thank you.
4 comments:
Health care is expensive no matter how you cut it and I don't think the bill's costs reflect anything more than what it is going to cost individuals over time without the bill. I do think over time we will at least control the cost.
I respect the people (mostly Republicans) who object to the cost. I do, too.
What I don't respect is when they won't say "I'm opposed to improving health care because it'll cost too much to do. "
Hmmm.
Economics 101 tends to support your position Bill.
the government through witholding taxes gets back a third of what it pays out. This amount is higher for higher paying professions like doctors. It often gets this right away, not even having to wait until the tax deadline. This is stimulus spending at its finest...spending money on people who live in your city, spend their money locally, and for that matter, in local stores and golf courses.
So any figure on government health spending is at least a third higher than it actually IS. If a private insurer pays that, it pays the whole amount, and must pull that amount from the premiums it charges its clients.
Having the government pay all the health care bills will end up costing folks nearly half what private insurers charge, their "premiums" are your taxes. (which are already biased in favor of the low income earner.)
I am not one of those folks who feel that just because it is "government" it is automatically more inefficient than private industry. People I know that work in "the government" are all, by and large, very hard working people that try to do the best job they can. In fact, because they are government employees, answerable to the people they serve instead of a board of directors, they are not under a load of pressure to cut corners. This bias towards doing it right instead of doing it as cheap as possible will pay untold dividends.
This means they will wash your hospital bed sheets the required every day instead of once a week like the insurance company would prefer. They will pay for disposable gloves for each and every patient instead of issuing two pairs a day. I guess that is the "inefficiency" I keep hearing about.
There is no reason to bankrupt a country to care for its people. There does seem to be a lot of rhetoric (spilled from both sides!) which might be getting in the way of reasonable care for people.
I could go on and on (as you know). I think Tabor is quite right in that it WILL cost you much the same, the big difference is who do you pay? The faceless fat cat corporation or those appointed officials who are responsive to the electorate?
Canada picked the latter option back during the great depression. the corporations squawked, the vested interests screamed, and after years of bickering, we have decided that it seems, overall, to be a good thing. Of course, it could be improved. But anything CAN be improved. That doesn't make it bad.
Anyway, it will be kind of nice to see the greatest nation on earth finally get into line with all the rest of the G8 and bring in some sort of universal heath care.
Well, don't count on it. We can be pretty blind to things. If it could be shown to be good in the short term, we're more likely to go for it. But short-term, it looks to be bad -- or at least hazardous -- for exactly the people who have to stand up and be counted.
I think that the idealists on my side want too much, just as the idealists on the other side do for their stuff. That's supposed to be where compromise starts. You can see how well that's going.
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