Government-run health insurance a bad idea
Published: June 28, 2009
I’m afraid that Gene Lyons lost me in his June 22 column (“Sickly talk about fixing health care”) supporting President Barack Obama’s plan to establish a government-run health insurance plan, the purpose of which, to quote Obama, is to “keep the insurance industry honest.”
Lyons dismisses those who argue that a government plan will drive private insurance out of business: “Could they be any sillier? One minute they’re yelling that Medicare costs are busting the budget; the next they’re freaking out about how controlling cost will lead to rationing.”
Nice apples-to-oranges comparison, Gene! I guess liberals, including the president, believe that the American people are so stupid that simply obscuring the facts makes all the criticism go away.
They chose to ignore the reality that the government can provide better coverage at a lower price because the government has absolutely NO concern for a little thing called profit. If costs are greater than the premiums collected, no problem. Government simply increases the national debt, prints more money, whatever.
Private companies can’t compete with this and IF the government chooses, it can, essentially, force the private sector out of business. There is little doubt that there are things to fix in our health system. Placing the government in competition with private insurers, however, opens the way to another government takeover.
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Reader Reactions
Mr. Salembier, your priorities seem to be out-of-whack. Let me lay out a few realities about health care & insurance that affect the argument. First, the current health care & insurance arrangement is failing too many Americans, as a constantly-rising number of citizens are becoming uninsured. Second, health care & insurance are not like basic consumer products. Unlike the photography business (for example) people DIE when the health care & insurance industries fail them. That is why government intervention is necessary. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are being denied. Fourth, most of the disagreement about the American health care situation takes place between those who have insurance (and think things are great) and those who do not have insurance (and think things stink).
My health care coverage is wonderful, and it would be easy for me say that nothing should change. However, I think that would be selfish. I know of too many working people who have no health insurance, insufficient health insurance or overpriced health insurance. Small business owners, professional consultants, and anyone not associated with a large organization feels the burden of inaccessible health insurance, and in some cases, it is costing them their lives.
By tossing-out the word “liberal”, you have shown the weakness of your argument. I am living proof that the health care problem is a matter of concern by more Americans than just liberals. Illogical, partisan sniping is one of the reasons why so many Americans are declaring themselves Independents.
With the intellectual freedom gained by being an Independent, I can use logic, rather than partisan propaganda to analyze a situation and reach a conclusion that helps our nation, rather than your political party.
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