We’ve heard from a reader who seems to have a legitimate claim on the health care system. After working as a homemaker for many years, her husband was injured at work. He has coverage for his health needs, but there are no provisions for her. From this brief description, it seems that there ought to be some method in place to help her meet her medical expenses. This is an example of how a proper government health program should be used – to assist those who through no fault or malice find themselves without health coverage.Our collective problem is that we are not able to design systems that can serve those in true need, while simultaneously detecting those who are using the system without contributing. Most Americans, by just a slim margin, work and pay taxes. Some are wealthy and don’t have to work, yet they still pay into the tax system. Their contributions are based on the money their money generates for them.
Instead of working to design an equitable system that respects people, meets true needs, and rejects the scam artists, our national answer seems to be to provide good health care to anyone who asks for it, whether they can pay or not. That is a socialist’s approach to a problem.
A basic problem with socialism is that there comes a point where there aren’t enough wage earners left to support the mandated rights and needs of the society. Our current tax burden falls on the shoulders of 53% of the population – 47% pay no income tax at all. The tipping point is unclear and it probably isn’t at 50/50, but it can’t be far off. The new Health Care Reform bill that has been enacted will increase costs and lengthen the list of approved services. This will result in an overall expansion in the price we will all pay for health care (read this as health insurance). As this plan rolls out I expect the tipping point will be reached much sooner rather than later. Another sad consequence of this new law is that it only addresses the payment for health care services, not the quality of the care rendered.
There’s evidence of the soicialist failure in the state of Illinois. One of our disgraced governors, Blago, gave free bus rides to any senior citizen, whether he/she had ten cents to their name or a billion dollars. Therein rests a conflict at the most basic level. The result of this example is that the bus service providers suffered losses – ones that were not being met by the pooled tax revenues. Service cuts and fare hikes shift the cost of freeloaders to the people who actually pay the fares. That’s a redistribution of wealth in the socialists model. Those that have pay the full bill for those who don’t. Sometimes people don’t have resources because of calamities they experienced. Sometimes they take advantage of our collective largesse because they have learned to “game” the system. As a society we must find ways to differentiate between the two groups, not merely take the easiest course and pay for all, regardless of the actual circumstances.
Nobody with a heart would deny that people in dire straits need help. It takes a cold heart to allow people to suffer. It also takes an ignorant mind to think it is ok that 47% of American citizens don’t pay any taxes, yet demand free services across the board. Too many people don’t work or pay taxes because they don’t have to – the rest of us provide for them. That’s wrong, but our government supports this concept – in ideology and practice
