Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When you give someone something for free, they don't appreciate it.
They then abuse it.
Then a spiral of entitlement occurs.
And everything gets out of control.
Oh, wait. That's already happened.
Everyone has skin in the game...or you're all on your own.
I know all conservatives think that everybody should get health care-- if they can afford it.
But do you simply believe that if you can't afford it, you don't get it. As in health care is a privilege for people with money?
Lets face it, there is going to be a certain segment of population who are going to work the low end jobs all their lives. In a capitalist Free Marketâ„¢ economy there will always be people at the bottom.
The simple fact is if you make minimum wage and your job doesn't provide employer based health benefits, you will not be able to afford health insurance on the open market. Period. $8.50/hour will get you a 1 bedroom apartment in a poor area, a bike, and just enough food not to starve.
So what do we do with this population if government benefits are not the answer? No healthcare, sad day for you?
Problem with your scenario is that $8.50 an hour is not supposed to be the wage you live on for the rest of your life. It's not my fault if these people would rather live off welfare than fend for themselves. Why should I ensure, using my own money, that these people are provided for? The argument for/against healthcare, in my mind, is the same as that which is used for/against welfare in general. Want a better life? Get a better job. Learn a skill, work your way up, get an education of some kind...it can be done with some determination and short-term sacrifice.
Healthcare is a Universal Human Right. If it's not why am I forced to pay for the healthcare of Seniors under Medicare or why am I forced to pay for the healthcare of those in the military or the disabled or members of Congress yet I'm not afforded the same privledge?
I believe in keeping our employers and employment status out of the discussion entirely.
I believe in a tax supported network that keeps 911 and ER's and Trauma Centers operating.
This is the best part of Medicine in the US and we do it VERY well.
I believe in tax supported basic medicine for the poor, the elderly and for children.
I believe in tax supported advanced medicine (Cancer, Traumatic Injury, etc) for EVERYONE.
I believe in NOT distinguishing the peripheral treatments (dental, optical etc) from "medicine".
I believe in everything else that we might need on a year to year basis being a personal responsibility
and one that doesn't even have insurance as a part of that scheme or the servicer choices we may make.
I believe everyone should have a basic policy to backstop us for the occasional hiccup in those year to year expenses
and function very much like how a homeowners policy functions. (Some will pay more for this than others)
I believe this covers it all.
Last edited by MrRational; 05-20-2011 at 12:29 PM..
Healthcare is a Universal Human Right. If it's not why am I forced to pay for the healthcare of Seniors under Medicare or why am I forced to pay for the healthcare of those in the military or the disabled or members of Congress yet I'm not afforded the same privledge?
Seniors paid into the system.
Healthcare benefits are part of the benefits package for government jobs (like 401k, etc). You, as a taxpayer and citizen, can vote to have them abolished.
There is no such thing as a universal human right. What a joke.
If you have little money, and are hungry, you can buy a bean burrito, and survive.
If you have little money, and no shelter, you can rent a modest room, and survive.
If you have little money, and your cancer treatment costs 2 million dollars and you don't get it, you're going to die.
Price it so that people can afford it, or help someone out by gifting it to them, and make it accessible to everyone.
Health care is definitely not a right. Like Swagger said, it's a service that someone devoted, in many cases, a decade of study and thousands of dollars to learn. What entitles someone to that service for free?
There are plenty of things that a human needs to survive, but where do you draw the line? Should the government provide the poor with all of their food, clothing and housing too? What about the next tier of needs, like transportation and communication? Should we pay for bus passes? Cell phones? Internet access? Car payments?
That being said, there is a need to help those who are truly destitute and have no other options. If you choose to purchase luxuries instead of health insurance there should be absolutely NO assistance for you. Millions of the "uninsured" are people who simply choose not to buy health insurance when they can easily afford it. The public shouldn't pay for your necessities so you can afford to buy luxuries.
When the Government becomes involved, they just create more dependency. We need to champion programs that wean people off of Government assistance and phase out the programs that encourage it.
I know all conservatives think that everybody should get health care-- if they can afford it.
But do you simply believe that if you can't afford it, you don't get it. As in health care is a privilege for people with money?
Lets face it, there is going to be a certain segment of population who are going to work the low end jobs all their lives. In a capitalist Free Marketâ„¢ economy there will always be people at the bottom.
The simple fact is if you make minimum wage and your job doesn't provide employer based health benefits, you will not be able to afford health insurance on the open market. Period. $8.50/hour will get you a 1 bedroom apartment in a poor area, a bike, and just enough food not to starve.
So what do we do with this population if government benefits are not the answer? No healthcare, sad day for you?
Your choice in the poll was not very broad but then one can always choose the least evil of the two, which is what I did. Of course, that tells you what I voted.
I don't support the exploitation of our health. There are hundreds, maybe MILLIONS of ways to earn a profit -- let's just stop one industry. No, this is NOT socialism. This is common sense.
Insurance companies make 4.6% profit. Everyone has a right to talk on the phone and those S.O.B.'s are making 5.1% profit. Everyone has a right to eat and grocery stores are raking in 6.7% profit. Everyone has a right to not stink and the soap, shampoo and deodorant makers are sticking it to us for 8.7% profit (household and personal products).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's not my fault if these people would rather live off welfare than fend for themselves. Why should I ensure, using my own money, that these people are provided for? The argument for/against healthcare, in my mind, is the same as that which is used for/against welfare in general. Want a better life? Get a better job. Learn a skill, work your way up, get an education of some kind...it can be done with some determination and short-term sacrifice.
