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I am admittedly an extremist when it comes to the issue of health care. I believe that allowing citizens to be destroyed by illness is as bad as allowing their homes to be bombed by a foreign country. Lack of access to health care is a weapon of mass destruction that has killed far more Americans than terrorists could dream of. Denying adequate health care on the basis of finances is in my mind akin to levying the death penalty for poverty. But like I said, I'm a wee bit of an extremist on this issue.
I support all efforts that result in more people having better access to comprehensive health care, but the only ultimate goal of my tack is to achieve universal, comprehensive, guaranteed health care for every single citizen regardless of any factor beyond their need for care.
It's not a question of whether we can afford it or not. We can't afford not to.
It's not about addressing the needs of poor people or working people or rich people. It is for all people regardless.
It's not about getting companies to shoulder the burden. Companies should be able to focus on their business, not covering their employees' medical costs.
It's about the fact that American citizens are dying because our health care system is not comprehensive, nor universal. Working parents are unable to cover their children. Elderly have to gamble on which card will cover what they need to stay healthy. Young people around the country are routinely weighing the cost of medical insurance against getting a college education or making other important investments in their future. More bankrupties are due to medical costs than all other factors combined.
Yeah, I'm an extremist; I admit it. I believe that this issue is one of great moral and social importance and if we don't improve matters, our children will have every right to be ashamed of our actions, and look sadly back on us when they read their history books.
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