Freedom and Healthcare

I have an acquaintance who is from Denmark, staying here with her family for a year. She was SO excited that Obama was elected, and she was SO excited at the prospect of socialized healthcare. She forwarded an email to me from her sister-in-law, an American who married a Dane and has been living in Denmark for 7 years. The story was about some medical condition that this woman went through, and she saw her doctor, and it didn’t “cost” her a cent. Neither did it require any paperwork. She was referred for physical therapy, and she went in, presented her Danish equivalent of a social(ist) security number, and again, no cost, no paperwork. After some time, the therapy wasn’t cutting it, and her doctor (at no cost) referred her to a surgeon, who – at “no cost” and no paperwork – did the surgery, and after 6 weeks of (paid??) leave, she went back to PT, free of cost, and got the health issue taken care of.

 

In essence, this acquaintance was extolling the virtues of socialized medicine, and inferring that she hopes the US will be there soon.

 

We are on great terms, and we love a good exchange, so I emailed her back. For your edification, and hopefully you’ll share this soon with others, I provide for you my response. [Slightly edited parts in brackets]. I welcome your comments too.

 

– Paul Revere

 

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Heh heh, about your sister-in-law’s letter….

 

Well, although I admit the system here in the US is definitely “out of whack”, I don’t think big government takeover is the right plan. Do you know the REASON healthcare costs and paperwork exist? It’s not because capitalism and the free market doesn’t work…

 

The primary reason we have the healthcare issues we do is because of LITIGATION. When someone goes skiing, smacks into a tree, becomes grossly incapacitated, and the doctor can’t “fix” the person back to 100% health, then the patient gets honked off, doesn’t take any personal responsibility, and sues the doctor (or hospital) for malpractice. Juries (another part of democracy) feel sorry for the incapacitated person, sees the men in suits (doctors, hospitals) and sees deep pockets ($$$), and awards the crazy skier 5 or 10 million for pain and suffering. The doctor’s (or hospital’s) malpractice insurance covers the bill, and insurance companies jack up their rates, and doctors and hospitals jack up their prices sky high to cover the costs.

 

The other thing that drives me nuts is the idea that “government is the answer.” President Gerald Ford said, “a government that’ big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have.” I realize you don’t have the background of a citizen raised in the United States, so perhaps the context of all this – and the reaction of conservatives in this country – is a little hard to fathom. After all, I’m sure in Denmark you’d run across an issue (not just healthcare) and you call up your friendly government representative and say, “what can we do about this?” And – because socialism in Denmark is so great – I’m sure that something productive happens from that. But you see, here is the difference:

We don’t function like that.

 

The United States – for several hundred years – (until recently) has thrived on something called “rugged individualism.” Individuals get an idea of how to solve a problem, providing for the needs of the community, and are encouraged to innovate to find the best solutions, and if they are successful, they are rewarded (monetarily) for that effort. As long as we’re not burdened by outrageous government regulations and taxes, more and more and more people get excited about solving problems on their own. It really creates a class of thinkers – movers and shakers – that believe that anything is possible. This is why millions of people immigrate to the US every year. With the exception of the huge Mexican immigration problem, most people do NOT come here because of our massive government social programs; they come here because of freedom and opportunity. And democrats (who employ socialist programs primarily) want to tax the successful to death, and spread the wealth around, and it is the antithesis to freedom.  (And as for the Mexican problem: if we cut off all free healthcare, schooling, welfare, and social programs for non-US (translation: illegal) residents, that would almost completely solve that problem; Heh heh, don’t tell me there’s no socialized medicine in the US: the Illegal Mexican immigrants take full advantage of it)!

 

The sad part, and this is really why I’m disappointed not just that a democrat was elected, but because Obama is the FARTHEST left Senator, with the MOST socialist ideas on how to solve the issues of our day: We have turned a corner away from “rugged individualism” and “I know I can do it” to “government nanny-ism” and “I hope government can do it.” I know that gets you totally excited, because now the US can join the ranks of the France, the UK, as a country that was once great, but has settled for mediocre. Have you heard of the progression of democracy? It goes like this:

 

From Bondage to Spiritual Faith
From Spiritual Faith to Great Courage
From Great Courage to Liberty
From Liberty to Abundance
From Abundance to Complacency
From Complacency to Apathy
From Apathy to Dependency
From Dependency back to Bondage

 

I think the United States is somewhere around “Apathy.”  Democrats want more and more government in our lives (which is great if you want socialism), and as more and more people find that the ONLY way they can operated is through a government system, then more and more people are on the government dole, or getting government support, or getting government sponsored healthcare, or government pensions, etc … then they essentially HAVE to vote for democrats (socialism) or they are cutting themselves off. This is the problem with the “two payer” system that some democrats are proposing (health care provided by employers, and government covering the unemployed or the young): Eventually, employers won’t be able to support it, and gradually everyone will slide over to the government system. That is only ONE example. And since a huge government will make it impossible for a private sector entrepreneur to survive, more and more people will just “give up” and start leaning on the government.

 

We saw that clearly in the first “town hall” meeting that Obama had: the woman who wanted him to give her a remodeled kitchen and a car, the guy who was in college and working at McDonalds and asked how Obama was going to give him a raise … every one of the questioners in the Obama-friendly audience was essentially saying, “how are you (the government) going to give me mine! I want mine!”  THESE ARE ANTI-AMERICAN THOUGHTS!  Really!!  An AMERICAN says, “I’m going to do it myself!”  I worked at a pizza joint AND did [another job] throughout college, and I never once thought of calling up my senator to ask how government was going to get me a raise. If you want a kitchen remodel, you get a second job, or lean on relatives, or (gasp) you do without!

 

One of the best (yet still imperfect) solutions to healthcare is the “loser pays” system of litigation. Then the idiot who pours 30 packets of creamer in his coffee at McDonalds and gets sick will think twice before suing McD’s for not having a warning label on the creamer. Same with healthcare, if an individual with poor teeth wants to sue the dentist because the abscess wasn’t solved the first time, then they will think twice.

 

I also favor (and you’ll get a kick out of this) a government cap on litigation. When a person who’s cancer surgery doesn’t stop the cancer, they’ll think twice about suing the doctor when they might only win 10,000 instead of 10 million. And they might actually lose, then perhaps they’ll just say, “Know what? I have cancer, and it sure is a bummer I can’t live forever.”

 

It’s about personal responsibility, and trial lawyers have absolved people of personal responsibility so that everything that happens to them is “not their fault.” Lawyers have absolutely devastated our country and hamstrung business & doctors, everywhere.

 

And one more thing that makes “government healthcare” an unthinkable plan is the costs. Except for the military, there is not ONE business in the United States that government does more efficiently than the private sector. Perhaps government healthcare in Denmark is great because Danish citizens are used to it. Socialism is a way of life there, so the system there has honed itself down to something that works pretty good.

 

[For this very reason I think that] democracy will not work in the long term in Iraq. Their citizens just don’t know how to function well with freedom.

 

And don’t even get me started on the costs of “free” healthcare; I’m sure the tax rates in Denmark are confiscatory. I found an article from a couple years ago, “High Income Taxes in Denmark Worsen Labor Shortage.” It said that taxes can reach upward of 63%. Doesn’t that bother you? Some Danes give 63% of their blood sweat and tears to government.  Wikipedia says even the poorest of the poor in Denmark pay almost 30%. That’s nuts. Here they pay nothing (in income tax). That doesn’t include the corporate tax (25%) or the sales tax (25%). If these stats are true – and I actually don’t place a lot of confidence in Wikipedia – Danes give most of their money to government. I just can’t believe it!

 

And Denmark is a monarchy; something else that US citizens fought so hard against after American colonists signed the “Declaration of Independence” in 1776. I’m sure a “top down” system is easier for those on “top” to manage. It’s the reason that people living under monarchies are called “subjects,” whereas people living under democracies are called “citizens.”

 

And since Denmark only has 5.5 million people (smaller than [most] states), a socialized system is much easier to work out.

 

But  – for now – you’re dealing in the US with “individualists” (not socialists). We function with freedom. But, if you’d like to be encouraged with this: more and more people are giving up their freedoms here, and yielding personal initiative and responsibility to “what can the government do for me,” and it won’t be long before we slide into socialism.

 

I hope I’m not around to see it though, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop it in my time.

 

I always enjoy our exchanges. I’m sure you can sense my passion for the potential in the United States and our way of life, and I hope it wasn’t too overbearing.

 

Although I’m pretty sure I’m not going to change you, I LOVE being educated on other ways of life, and other ways of thinking, so I wholeheartedly welcome more in this avenue of though.

 

Sincerely,

Paul Revere

Too Much To Tackle!

Now that day 50 of the ObamaNation has passed, there is so much being blasted through, I doubt we can digest it all until it gives us indigestion. Just the same, I offer you some antacid in the form of some brief commentary on a few of the articles of our time. These things could be devastating to our republic and freedom-loving people everywhere. Of course, the socialists in the White House and those who fawn over him (including the lamestream media), will swear that all these things are needed, or if Obama policy fails, that we just didn’t do more (with more of your money, and more irresponsible debt). Here we go:

 

Employee Free Choice Act, or “Card Check.”  This is far from “free choice.” It is so misnamed, because the net result of the passage of this bill would be to take away the private voting rights for union workers that are currently in place. Union bosses spent 61 million to elect Obama, and this is their payback. Yet taking the private vote away means only one thing: left leaning union bosses will use this to intimidate workers or potential workers and force them to cower under their liberal (and company killing) agenda. A survey shows that 77% of Democrats are against this! (and 88% republicans, 79% independents). Obama supporter Warren Buffet is against this! It’s not too late on this one! Please make sure our congress does what is right: (and give in to big labor strongarm tactics). You can sign the American Solutions petition here to voice your opposition, or contact your congresspeople, and local media (see below).

 

Ressurection of the “Fairness Doctrine.” (Article here) This is nothing but a democratic power grab, because conservative talk radio is thriving, making sense, and does a very effective job of making stupid liberal policies look bad. So they want a debate to defend their superior ideas, right? NO WAY! Because their socialist ideas have already been proven wrong time after time after time. And the liberal agenda is daily transcribed straight out of the White House anyway by the lamestream media. Good thing that Obama doesn’t support the Fairness Doctrine. I hope he has the guts to veto it – if it ever comes his way. This is not quite a killed deal. Senators have voted it down 87-11. Please weigh in with your rep’s, so they know you support free speech, and not government regulated speech. The Fairness Doctrine was formed in 1949 when there were limited media options, the FCC wanted to be sure that many voices were heard. There is no doubt that at this time we have the most media options in the history of the world, so the “un-Fairness Doctrine” (scrapped under Reagan for being unenforceable anyway), is just plain stupid. And lets not even get into the fact that liberals run 87% of the lamestream media. 6% are neutral, and the 7% that is conservative is absolutely thriving.

 

D.C. Voting Rights. Our founding fathers specifically set up the constitution so that those living in the seat of power (Washington D.C.) would not have undue sway over the politics of the nation. In essence, they wanted the living area of elected officials to be neutral. Currently this bill is bogged down because of an amendment. (Read more here). Would you please contact your congresspeople (below) to ensure that it doesn’t escape and accidentally get passed? This is an unconstitutional back door democrat power grab (since DC is heavily democratic). This would be a travesty, it really would!

 

Welfare Reform Revision. Bill Clinton did it right (yes, you’re not reading a typo). Clinton revised welfare during his time as president, most notably requiring welfare recipients to either work (some) or be looking for work. The compassOnate one has decided (through the Screw-u-lous Package) to reverse this: in these tough economic times, you can now sit on your butt and collect taxpayer money for nothin’. The key to turning our economy around is people working. Even Obama said the key is “jobs.” Yet providing a disincentive to work is anti-stimulus, and encourages more “couch sitting.” Welfare was always meant to be temporary; A momentary hand out / help up while you get back on your feet and get going again. It’s ridiculous to think that we can reward people for doing nothing and have a thriving economy. It’s too late for this one, but you could always call in your disagreement, or call your local congresspeople in your state to tell them you don’t want that policy implemented in your neck of the woods.

 

Overseas abortions. Hey, that’s what Americans voted for, right? Your taxpayer money now funds overseas abortions. Too late for this one, it was an executive order signed in his first week in office.

 

Federal Funding for Stem Cell Research. Yep, the big O reversed that one too. Mustn’t let all those millions of abortions go to waste now, right? It’s the plus side of killing the unborn, and you’re paying for it. That is what Americans voted for.

 

How about Terrorism? Go here for more.

 

Oh and one more side note, Obama signed a 410 Billion Dollar Omnibus Spending Bill today. That’s on top of the 787 Billion in the Screw-u-lous package. Wheee! We are merrily spending ourselves into a hole! Well, if you gotta go out – and that is what we’re doing – might as well go out in style: Hey Barack! Charge up a vacation for every American while you’re at it! Now that would get some support. “Free Vacations: Vote Democrat!”

 

I just can’t type fast enough to keep up with our slide into socialism. But I’m going to try, because I still believe in right and wrong.

 

You can always contact your representatives:

·         Call your representatives: U.S. Capitol switchboard: 1-202-224-3121.

·         Write your representatives. You can get contact information here by entering your zip code on the left side, and various contact information pops up.

Be sure to be firm and kind, so they hear you but don’t write you off.

 

And I always recommend contacting your local media (TV, radio, or even print media) about these issues.

Barney Frank Takes the Lead

(in total depravity)

 

WASHINGTON  – In national standings Barney Frank, driver of the number 77 NAMBLA – Che Guevara – Marxism – ACLU – Monte Carlo pulled into the lead. He said he owed his edge over any sane thinking drivers to his media pit crew: “Every time we got a little loose on the turns, I’d pull in, and the Communist National News and Almost Bolshevik Crew would bury the problems, fine tune my wheels of public perception, and they gave the dirtiest most twisted sounding engine nothing but a smooth purr over the airwaves, so the O – fans in the stands could still get a thrill. Now that’s ‘change I can believe in!’ ”

Frank held on in the standings despite a big push from Pelosi’s Number 0 –Total Pork – Socialism – San Fran Sellout – UnFairness Doctrine – Chevrolet. Her Mostly Senseless Now Boring Chatter crew made some last second muffler adjustments that kept her out of the limelight in the whiner’s circle. She’ll have to make some major adjustments, stay off the TV, and concentrate on sucking up to racing commissioner Barack Obama in order to improve her position. Bubba Clinton, long time Pelosi fan, said, “Y’all know the big O likes attention, and no one has the bigtime monster suck up power like Pelosi. I’m confident when Brown Nose adds their endorsement, she’ll have the extra dollars she needs to head back to the left coast with a fat pile of winnings in that giant beautiful Porkulus Cup”

 

Kommissioner Obama was aware of teams shifting money around, saying that if there was any hint of scandal, his VP of racing, Rahm Emanuel, would be sure to put good use to it. Fans praised Commissioner Obama last week for his bold move in collecting all their purses and wallets at the entrance gate, and then dumping the money onto the racetrack right at the start, allowing drivers to reach out their windows and make a mad grab for every scrap. Officials said that on the 500 lap race, all 50 drivers would have had to collect over 31 million, on every single lap, for the cash to not be squandered in the hands of the starving taxpaying fans that keep cheering them on. Commentators noted that it was highly unlikely we’d know where all the money really went, because a cash pile that size would just end up getting blown by the winds of change. Fans were only slightly disappointed at the prospect of not having the choice of buying their favorite caps, T-shirts, or autographed lug nuts, but hopes bolstered when Obama showed up on the jumbotron last week letting fans know they would soon get whatever they wanted. On a technical note, not one of the drivers and even commissioner Obama seemed to notice the fact that the fuel trucks hadn’t shown up, and cars on the track would soon be coasting to a stop. Over the P.A. at last week’s race, Obama said we needed to do the cash grab to keep the race going, yet he promised that each car experiencing a fuel starvation episode would be given it’s own personal tow truck to yank it around for the remaining laps. In order to finance the massive towing effort, insiders say that he might have to sell off the entire racing business. Yet B.O. said the cash dump was just a start. He said he hoped that the changes he hoped for would change things for the better, but he wasn’t quite sure.

 

 

 

(This article in response to the conservative email bit going around about how members of congress should have to wear their endorsements all over their jackets like NASCAR drivers. Photo credit goes to “TheRagingCapitalist.” I was also going to come up with a slick congressional twist acronym for N.A.S.C.A.R. but I didn’t want to insult … NASCAR drivers, crews, and fans).

Simple Decision: Where’s Your Faith?

 

A man named Norman Thomas was a candidate for president in 1927. He ran six times, actually, under the socialist party. He said the American people will never vote for socialism, but under the name of “liberalism” the American people will adopt every fragment of the socialist program.

 

We are there. If you need a quick flashback to Economics 101, you’ll remember that socialism kills a country because: a) it thwarts the will to excel, b) it encourages mediocrity, and c) it creates an ever-increasing dependent class of people, which the government eventually cannot pay for, and then it implodes on itself, just like the former Soviet Union.

 

We have lots of the fragments of liberalism, smoothly conveyed and attractively packaged in the person of Barack Obama. You know: the “most liberal” Senator. He doesn’t even hide it. He wrote about it in his book. Scary stuff; Just in time for Halloween. Read it yourself, if you have time before the election.

 

But more than that, there is negativity about spending yourself further into the hole (Obama wants 800 billion (with a “B”) in new spending in these tough economic times). Ronald Regan said, “No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income.” There is positivity about getting government off people’s backs and setting them free. We are the land of the free and every time we get government out of the way, the United States thrives!

There is a fascinating brief video about it here.

 

 

“It’s going to come down to what we believe in, and our opponents put their faith in government. John and I put our faith in all of you.” – Sarah Palin

 

Aside from the military – and ours is the best in the world – I haven’t seen anything of real value produced by a federal program. The best the U.S. has to offer comes from individuals liberated from the shackles of government.

 

So there you go…

 

Faith in the government: vote Obama

Faith in U.S. citizens: vote McCain