|
mantus,
i believe the government becomes an oppresive force when it mandates that citizens are required to underwrite the health and well-being of others. my statements are not incongruent... i believe the government has a role to play (heck, i swore an oath to uphold and defend the darn thing), but the role has limits.
also, i'm under no illusion that all are swamped in luxuries. your example, however, furthur illustrates my point... this bizarre sense of entitlement. why on earth should i pay your friends medical expenses just because he has college debt? on what grounds do you say it is just? maybe the cards life dealt him forced him to make a choice: pay for college or get medical insurance. he isn't ENTITLED to either... why should i pay to let him have both?
most of those same middle class families who can't afford to treat a major illness would have $15,000 in the bank accrueing interest if they hadn't spent the last 30 years subsidizing the rest of the country's medical expenses. that is, unless they didn't blow it on a new minivan.
to answer you directly, every citizen should have access to the healthcare they can afford. if this means choosing between college and medical insurance, so be it. no one deserves either.
To all TFP,
if you're trying to convince me or the few who share my position of the efficacy and justice found in universal healthcare... i would appreciate if you would answer the following questions directly.
1. is it right to demand that another person pay for your medical expenses? if so, how is this justified?
2. on what grounds do we "deserve" medical care? if we deserve medical care, what else are we entitled to? if nothing else, why not?
3. does your experience in dealing with government offices and your knowledge of how the government manages your tax dollars give you confidence in placing your healthcare in the same hands?
4. do you think fraud and corruption are better avoided in a universal government program or in the competitive market?
5. what will be the long-term impact of placing so many dollars that once flowed through the economy in the tax coffer?
__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
|