One final post on health care…

I haven’t been able to repudiate some of the distorted claims posted here -- too busy with life in general.

Brian, as I think there might be hope for you, I am addressing this to you – alas, I think the others have gone over to the “dark side.”

I would recommend that you read “The Forgotten Man” by Amity Shlaes. It’s about the Great Depression and Roosevelt’s “experimentation” (actually that doesn’t need quotation marks – even Roosevelt referred to his programs as experiments). After almost 10 years of Roosevelt’s programs, the economy was no better off than when he started. (That’s not just my opinion; that was the opinion of some of the people in his administration.) The only thing that really brought us out of the Depression was WWII. It is scary reading this book because you could just substitute names in today’s administration and you would have basically the same stories. History doth repeat itself.

Keep in mind that government programs (and be assured that the public option will eventually be the only option because those insurance companies which are dependent upon that dirty word "profit" will be unable to compete against the government) never work out the way the government originally promises. The original document (ISC 9) distributed to millions of Americans in 1936 had several untruths in it. It stated that “the government would set up a Social Security account for you”…and into this account “you and your employer will each pay three cents on each dollar you earn, up to $3,000 a year.” That amount, the circular added, “IS THE MOST YOU WILL EVER HAVE TO PAY.” (page 282 of the above-referenced book – caps are my emphasis)

Do we really want to step off another cliff, like the Ponzi scheme of Social Security or like Medicare, and end up with a public option in health care, funded by taxpayers dollars to drive private insurance out of business, ration health care and put the U.S. on a more equal footing with the failed health care systems of Canada, the United Kingdom and France? And have people in Washington make our health care decisions? And just like Social Security, once you’ve committed to it, there’s no going back – you’re stuck with that albatross around your neck forever.

Barbara