As noble as providing healthcare for everyone might be, that is not the purpose of government.
If do-gooders want to ensure everyone has health insurance, they should band together out of the goodness of their hearts, open their own purses, and found organizations that can provide this service. Hell, I would cheerfully contribute to such an organization (my dream in life is to be a doctor who gives away healthcare to those who cannot afford to pay). But these people shouldn't be abusing the power of government fiat to force the rest of us to dip into our pockets to subsidize a service we do not agree with.
As Thomas Jefferson said, taxing someone to pay for something that is antithetical to his beliefs is the worst form of tyranny.
"MassPackersFan" wrote:
We are the only post-industrial nation to believe that.
Private insurance companies are already forcing us to subsidize a service for others that we do not use, and healthcare costs have risen to the point that you absolutely need coverage. Private companies have the power, and their sole interest is ever-increasing profit.
"Nonstopdrivel" wrote:
See the last 40 posts where we discuss just how much profit health insurance companies and hospitals make. If you're going to bitch at health insurance companies pulling 4% and 8% profits, I simply won't be able to agree with you.
Government has the power, and has been exercising its power to regulate private companies. Banking, Auto industry, transportation, now healthcare. If you're going to say that private companies SOLE INTEREST is ever-increasing profit, government's sole interest is ever-increasing power. Power trumps profit every time.
Government is the ultimate monopoly - It makes the rules, can print or borrow all the money it wants and pass the consequences off onto others. What scares me is when there's zero history of efficiency when the government's competed or otherwise made a dive into the private sector (Post office competition with FedEx, Medicare come to mind), the government is TRYING (successfully or not) to set up their own health insurance company with the power to force you to join it.
No company has or ever will have that power.
At least our government is representative. We have no say when it comes to these private companies who hold the real power in the country. Democracy my ass. Capitalism trumps "Democracy" (I realize we're not a true democracy) in America every day of the week. Health care is just another example of how "by the people for the people" has become "by the privileged for the privileged."
I honestly do not understand this irrational fear in representative government, yet complete blind trust in private for-profit business that has screwed us repeatedly, and very publicly, in the past years.
"MassPackersFan" wrote:
Because the banking collapse was not at all affected by government meddling. Read up on the Community Reinvestment Act. Also, I don't see anybody here showing "blind trust in private for-profit business". If I missed it, please point it out.