Footsteps to Follow; Shoes That Can Never be Filled!

Today, the nation paid respects as we remembered Sen. Edward Kennedy. Kennedy was the remaining patriarch of what some have called The American Royal Family. The loss of Ted Kennedy is not only a private loss for his family, but a loss for the American people. Kennedy was a patriot, a true American hero. Despite the wealth and success associated with being a Kennedy, Ted fought for the common man. Ted was a champion for all. He fought for civil right, women's right, he was an outspoken advocate for equal treatment of all citizens. His most notable battle front was on the topic of healthcare. His firm belief was that quality healthcare was a right of every American, not a privilege of a select few. With his unfortunate passing and departure from the Senate, Ted did not live to see his life's "cause" fulfilled. Massachusetts now must find someone to take up that cause and work to fulfill the legacy of Sen. Kennedy. Quality affordable healthcare is a right that needs to be afforded to all citizens of these United States. Ted has left footprints to follow; although his shoes will never be filled.

Health Care is a Right for All

While the debate over health care reform rolls on all across the country, we need to ask ourselves, "can we afford not to?" I find it hard to believe that the United States, one of the most advanced, powerful nations in the world, cannot provide comprehensive health care for all of its citizens. The average life expectancy for an American is approximately 73 years, which falls significantly behind other countries, such as France, Sweden, and Canada. We need to be able to protect our citizens and provide them with the best opportunities to live long, prosperous lives. I am definitely not saying we should have a government-run health care system, because we all know that most things which are government-run do not work. (Or they run up huge deficits). Speaking as one of the younger citizens who will eventually have to pay for the Trillions of dollars deficit that the government has amassed, we do not want to increase the shortfall of our budget. A single payer system, similar to the current medi-care program, would be a possibility. Nobody would be forced to switch health care plans. If you are happy with your current private health insurance provider, you could continue on with them. However, if you ever lost your coverage, you would be able to get care under the social health plan. The plan, of course, would be available only to citizens and legally documented aliens. Funding for the program....
Nobody likes to hear it, but there would have to be a tax. As someone who believes that we are pretty much taxed to death already, I find it to be a hard, yet realistic pill to swallow. My proposal is this...
Everyone is taxed the same amount. Regardless of income, status, or any other previous qualifier everyone is taxed the same. Let's say for arguments sake that the cost is $100/month per tax-payer. This covers them and their dependents (a spouse and up to three children). If both parents are working and tax-paying, they both pay into the system; there is no additional benefit, sorry. I have always thought we should limit the child tax credit to three children anyways, so this policy would do the same. The single-payer system would cover up to three children under the age of 18 (23 if they are enrolled in a 4 year college). If parents decide to have more children, by default, they also decide to pay an additional amount into the system, ($25 per additional child). These numbers of course are not realistic, I've just used them for demostrative purposes. For those people who say, we don't want socialized health care, I am sorry, but it benefits us in the long-run to have a healthier work force more capable of contributing to society. For those who say that the system would, in effect play "God", the system would not deny health care to the disabled or the elderly, it would actually have the potential to help them more than the current programs. It would; however, dictate the length of care that people would receive if they are on life-support for an extended time and lose all brain function. If somebody is effectively rendered to be a "vegetable" than the unfortunate decision to cease life-support funtions will be left to the administering doctor. It is a sad decision to make, but is usually the best decision for all parties involved. I have seen the protest against a social health program all over the country, but have noticed a significant older population joining in and would like to point out: if you are on medi-care currently, you are on a socialized health care system. Reforms must also be made in the private system, to ensure that those of us who retain our personal insurance do not suffer through ridiculuous rate increases and coverage requirements. The insurance industry has been gouging the medical community for years, and it is time to put an end to the blood-letting. We need a health care system in place to take care of our citizens, not one that prices many people out of coverage. We need to take care of our weak and infirm to help keep them strong. We need care for those who have cared for us, servicemen and servicewomen; veterans of our military deserve to have a better health care system in place for them when they return. All American's deserve the right to a healthy, prosperous life, and we need to be able to provide ample coverage and opportunity to do so. We need health care reform.