so obviously, this is on a lot of folks’ minds. here are some thoughts of mine to get this started. to be sure, there are lots of holes here; i do not claim to have all the answers, nor to i claim to have righteousness on my side. i am here to learn, not preach, as i would hope all of us are. so let’s talk about this with the goal of helping and educating one another, not talking down to one another as if there is a singular answer to this problem (and by implication suggesting some of us are too stupid to ``get it’;). my political ideology is ever-evolving and one that’s the result of an intellectual journey to learn all i can. too often, it seems folks start with the assertion that one party or one ideology is ``evil’’ and then just start finding reasons to attack it cafeteria style. i’d like to try and avoid that here.

i will start with the assertion that healthcare is broken. badly. there is little doubt about this. however, as i suggested here http://delusionalduck.com/index.php/site/comments/just_who_are_these_health_care_protesters/ i am of the opinion that we do not need to do something as desperately as the political machine would have us think. we’d be much better off to think hard about this first. i’m not suggesting that we get into ``paralysis by analysis’‘, but Obama’s desire to move on this so quickly seems short-sighted and overly ambitious.

i am far from a tax-and-spend liberal, but as an American, i will advance the assertion that every American who wants healthcare should be able to get it at an affordable rate. period. obviously, there are lots of devils in the details and implementation.

my favorite idea is this concept of Medicare for all. i’ve seen all the arguments for and against this, and i don’t have my mind made up yet. it’s just an idea that’s currently sticking. one thing is for certain: it will be expensive. i believe the general consensus is that Medicare for all will end up costing us like 18% of GDP. that’s too high. as i pointed out in my post above we can afford this—-we don’t want for money as a nation, we only want for common sense approaches to government spending. but certainly as a percentage of GDP it may not be the best use of our money. France can do it for around 10% or less of their GDP if i recall my figures correctly. (not that i’m advocating a system based on the French model, but they are at the low end of the spectrum, so i use it as a point of comparison only).

i’m certainly not for more government intrusion in my life. but i’m much more concerned about what the government is getting away with now (surveillance cameras, red light cameras, license plate scanners, illegal wire taps, property rights encroachments by forcing business owners to adopt no smoking, etc., etc….) that i don’t have time to worry about what might or might not be with a health care bill that hasn’t even passed yet. right now, i have a business executive in the way of my health care. the health care my employer provides for me is run by a public corporation. that means the Board of Directors and the executive team have a fiduciary responsibility to the stockholders, not my health. i never thought i’d see the day when i said this, but i truly think i’d rather have a government bureaucrat there than a business executive who only sees dollar signs. well maybe, anyway.

oh, and about these ``death squads’‘, man i just don’t know. i don’t expect that i’m going to gain any popularity points here, but c’mon. we’re all going to die. we all end up in either a pine box or an urn, yes? the rhetoric doesn’t scare me. i’m not scared of death, i’m just waiting to see what’s on the next plane. i know that i will transcend.

but my point is this: for those of you who are against any government-run health care in any way, shape, or form—-why? how do you know it will be bad until you’ve experienced it? just how do you know this? is it a gut feeling? i’m certainly aware of all the colossal failures of government programs (No Child Left Behind comes to mind), but why not give something like this a chance? why not fight for something that will work? when it comes to our government, very rarely do i ever suspect conspiracy; rather 99.9% of the time it’s incompetence. so why not fight to make our government accountable? why not fight to have competent professionals installed?

We The People can take control of this situation. we’re just not that organized. we can make a system that benefits all of society and adds to the already long list of reasons why this country is the greatest example of democracy in human history.

i look forward to hearing from you.

I posted on another part of the blog and hadnt looked at the forums- but I feel much as you do.

I am all for changing with consideration and education; when we remain stuck in our ideas and in our known mindset we stagnate and become rigid- leting new ideas and other ways of thinking and seeing life into our hearts and brains make life much more meaningful; we see things in a different light than our life long learning and preconceptions.

I beleive thats what we are here on earth to do. To question all we know, to witness all that happens, and to grow from this. When we do this we become more open to thoguhts that take core of our fellow man on earth- maybe thru our deeds- maybe thru our thoughts and actions.

As to health reform- I think that when you do the above- rethink what you know- you see that things must change. It can only be of benefit to those already happyily covered by insurance- if all had health care we would be a healthier more productive society. All could work and learn and contribute- when we are in good health>

Health care has been issues for years now and we want to have changes when it comes to our needs and wants. This is what us fellow Americans are longing for, a clear and righteous health care to have.