Government’s Something for Nothing Health Care Reform

I’ve nearly given up attempting to explain why Health Care Reform has nothing to do with lowering the cost of health care, why it has no relationship with health care insurance offered by the private sector and why folks who don’t understand will never understand; as the line from City Slickers so aptly stated, “The cows will get it before you do.”

That having been said, Obama and the progressives are pushing their Health Care Reform package as if it were a way of lowering the cost of health care and a means of getting health insurance for those supposedly unable to afford health care insurance from those greedy private sector companies more interested in making a profit than taking care of those in need. I’d intended to write that last sentence in all capital letters, shouting at the top of my lungs; but it hasn’t worked in the past and, as I’ve found, only acts to annoy those attempting to read; the folks who insist on something for nothing probably can’t read to begin with so why waste my time shouting at them?

Neil Boortz posted an article about pre-existing conditions which illustrated why insurance companies can’t insure folks who already have something which will be a drain on the insurance company; as he put it, “If you call Geico and try to insure your car after you've wrecked it, you're unlikely to get coverage for that wreck.” Why would health insurance be any different? The answer, it isn’t; which is why pre-existing conditions make it difficult on folks attempting to obtain medical insurance.

Many folks suffer under the delusion that everyone should be eligible for insurance; health care is a right according to progressive reasoning. I should note the use of such an oxymoron, progressive reasoning falling into the same category as military intelligence, jumbo shrimp and honest lawyers; I know, that was a cheap shot. Again, Boortz summed it up, “To claim a right to health care you are claiming a right to the time and property of some other person.” No, this isn’t a right, it may well be a worthy goal; but it is not a right.

Insurance is a business based on percentages; the purpose of any business is to make a profit by offering a product or service which the public will purchase. Businesses which are able to make a profit stay in business while those who fail to understand this principle become government employees or run for office. I may have read that in one of Heilein’s books; either that or I’m becoming profound in my own right.

I wrote an article a while back about a woman who expected something for nothing as pertain to my locksmith services; asking me to make her a key that would fit her door lock, a key which she didn’t have, and at the same time expecting me to repair a pre-existing condition, the internal workings of her door had been broken. The entitlement mentality when applied to an entire society will bankrupt the treasury very quickly.

I found a quotation from the French historian Alexis De Tocqueville which many would prefer had never been recorded.

“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”

Now, add to that another thought which he wanted everyone to remember.

“The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing.”

America’s founders could have written into our framework a means of preserving itself beyond historically inevitable self destruction through irresistible temptation to continually dip into the public treasury in order to satiate the entitlement mentality of so many. Our founders failed to include a provision to halt in its tracks the ability to elect weak or corrupted/corruptible representatives whose only way of getting elected is to squander the public treasury through bribes, paybacks and pork barrel spending. We need to make it more difficult for the leeches in our society to vote.

Think about how the leadership of our cities, states and national government would be if folks knew that being on the dole meant they couldn’t vote. Those seeking office would have to pander to those who paid the bills rather than those dependent on their neighbors. Instead of demanding entitlements, those on the dole would ask for generosity; quite a bit of difference between demanding and asking for consideration. Did I mention that I believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny?

We should be grateful our government has, at its most important elected and appointed positions, men and women who are aware of the American legacy of self reliance and honor our constitution, a divinely inspired document to limit government abuse and protects individual rights. If such were not the case we’d be in serious trouble, having spent money we don’t have on entitlement programs paid for by taxing hard working industrious individuals and businesses; sure glad nothing like that could happen here in America.