
"This guy can only afford one more night so he's outta here by midnight, Nurse Jones!" - Blue Cross, Blue Shield Claims Dept. Representative
Tonight, President Obama will give his speech to Congress outlining his plan for healthcare reform. As always, there has been much discussion and high anticipation regarding his speech and the stance he will take on this monumental issue. Will he stand firm on a “government option”? Will he cave and consider alternatives such as a co-op or healthcare “allowance”.
Obama’s soft position on this issue to date has recieved flack from the left and the right…the right promising to oppose anything close to a public option, and the left putting their foot down that a reform bill MUST have the public option in order to create the competition needed against the large insurance industry.
Obama has stood by his goal of a bi-partisan solution, but has also given us insight about his belief that a public option is necessary. At this point, he may have to concede to the idea of bi-partisan cum-ba-yah on the issue and just do what most Americans agree is necessary. Democrat have the votes, so who cares what the Republicans think?
I am confident that President Obama will support what he feels is best for the country and not for votes. He has not side-stepped controversy just in order to secure his re-election as all the Republicans have. If every politician in this country would care more about the “doing” instead of the “appearance of doing” we might get something done on the big issues in this country.
The Republicans keep arguing that they are concerned about the cost. I challenge this logic….did the Republicans care about the money it costs to fight a war? Of course not, and their argument is that we need to keep our country safe above all elese. I agree with that, but isn’t the intention of sending our young men and women to war, both preserving Human freedoms and decency AND keeping Americans alive? Well, why shouldn’t tax dollars be spent to keep Americans alive who are dying because they don’t have the money for proper healthcare? Shouldn’t we start on American soil to heal our sick and ensure a healthy population before we spend money on a war overseas? Or, better yet, aren’t both of these issues equally important?
Wake up Americans. We don’t shop for a bargain fire department when we have a fire, or a police department when someone is breaking into our homes. We don’t shop for the roads we can afford to take on vacation, and we don’t have to shop for schools for our kids unless we choose to do so. All these things are provided for us by the government, because not doing so would create chaos and hardship and take away the equal rights every American is entitled to. No one profits from these things. Why should healthcare be any different?
Good Health should not have to be dependant on income, whereby if you can’t afford it, you’ll just have to be sickly or die. Every citizen deserves a shot on being healthy. No corporation should hold the hammer and profit from it.