Gasp! Social Medicine?

 

I’m troubled about our country and what we stand for. We hear arguments about health care reform in which people warn against socialized health care. They tell us that we don’t want socialized medicine. What they are saying is that heath care should be a realm in which massive profits should be there to be had by businesses. I wonder if the health of it’s citizenry is a responsibility of a nation. Doesn’t the police force protect our health against those who would harm us? Doesn’t the fire department guard against the fires that threaten our health? What about the “Board of Health” if keeping the citizenry healthy is not the government’s job, then why does the “Board of Health” exist? Why does the government ban smoking if they are not responsible for our health? Okay, what if I don’t back socialized medicine. What if I took it a step further. What if I suggested that our country subcontracted out law enforcement? We could shut down the FBI, the Secret Service, the Treasury Service and all other state and local police agencies. Companies could offer contracted out services in a more cost effective manner. Granted, policing some neighborhoods that house corporate headquarters might suffer. Those headquarters might have to be closed, policing the District of Columbia would not be cost efficient and the halls of government might be a tad less safe until they found the right “Police Service”. Some sacrifices would have to be made.

 

The idea that the health of each and every person in our country should be any less of a social responsibility than their safety from fire, bad water or crime is preposterous. The reality here is that there are powerful groups who would lose tremendous wealth if health care were handled in the same manner as fire safety, crime safety, safety from infections or from cigarette smoke. When the wealthy try to tell you that socialized medicine is bad, suggest that they are right, suggest that socialized policing is just as much of a waste as well. The poor wouldn’t be much less well-off without police anyway, what do they have to protect? We could close all policing agencies and let the wealthy pay private security firms for their own police forces. Of course costs might be high because if your paid police should happen to shoot a poor person who just had the misfortune of car trouble in the wrong neighborhood, the hated lawyers would step in and redistribute some of your beloved wealth.

Reviews

[Debra Stevens Edwards (..]

A very true piece written in a time when people need to take a stand for ourselves as well as for those who can not stand for themselves. Great piece thought provoking and insightful. It remindsme of something Chloe would write. She is like the Social Conscience of w/c lol. Very well put.
Debby

[Eve]

wow, lol...so true, man I would love the gov to pay for my health care, then I would actually be able to have some. I think you hit the nail on the head here. I wonder if lil girls and boys would be so eager to grow up to be a doctor if the payload wasn't so sweet. Imagine, doctors that are Doctors because that is their actual calling... that's the doctor I wanna see.

[Siobhan MacIntyre]

Nope, what this person who opposes socialized medicine is really saying is I want to be able to see a doctor before I'm dead. If you think it works so well, try comparing medical care for the average citizen in a socialized medical environment with ours.

I'm back to saying if you want to live as a socialist, move to a socialist country. Otherwise, leave this country's free enterprise--and freedom, period--alone. ;-)

[Katie B]

I very much agree with your sentiment. I'm lucky enough to get health care benefits through my employer (after three years of none) but since they are only part time benefits they are not the greatest. Knock on wood something serious does not happen to me.

I have been saying for awhile there are certain things that should never be profit driven, education, police, fire, EMS, and definitely health care. I'm blessed with good health at the moment.

If you think about it how much money do hospitals lose a year by people who are unable to pay the bills? They do not have insurance so they go into a hospital without them when they are very hurt, rack up a bill, and they are never heard from again because they can't afford to pay it.

Also my mom is a nurse and the CEO at her hospital is throwing it down the toilet because he's more worried about his paycheck than making the hospital run right.

Anyway sorry about my rant our health care system is major problem in this country.

[Perplex]

socialised medicine is a carrot dangled in front of the poor to get them to vote for people who have no intention of implementing change. the people knocking it more than likely have ties to the companies that stand to lose money if it were implemented. they keep the citizens of the country ill because then they have to spend more money on medicine -- a vicious cycle exacerbated by vicious companies whose only care is their shareholders.

[Kristina Moulaison]

Very affective slant. Thought provoking and timely. Catchy little title too.