Life as We Make It

Healthcare and Warfare

Please indulge me today. I know I am usually not political, and I am not even sure that this counts as “political” because I am not taking sides or promoting anyone’s agenda – except my own . But as I look around this great country, I see that in certain areas, things are not really going in a direction I like. These areas are Healthcare and Warfare. In my humble opinion, these two issues are pretty black and white, meaning Healthcare = Good and Warfare = Bad. I am watching this whole debate unfold around the Affordable Care Act, and I am thinking, “You know what? I don’t want Another Single Penny of my tax contribution to go to Warfare. I want my money to go to Healthcare.”

I was partially inspired by this video that is making the rounds on The Facebook:

This video shows that “people” feel differently about war than “government” feels, because, a “government” cannot “feel”. That is our job. So I am standing up to say that I do not want our country to fund any more wars. Of course we should be able to defend ourselves. But “Defense” is different from “Aggression”. Here in my beloved home state, Amendment 1 is going to the polls, so that people can say that other people cannot get married. And everybody is Freaking Out about it, making signs and getting the vote out. Because for some reason, some people think that only certain people should be able to get married. But at least we get to vote on that. So I am proposing that we have a new constitutional amendment that states that the United States of America cannot enter into any war without a vote from the citizens – not their representatives, but the citizens themselves. And I think that unless there is at least a 60% turnout of registered voters, we cannot enter a war. Period. We cannot send troops anywhere without the consent of the people. Because we are a “By the People for the People” country, remember? Plus, if we had to vote on it, then we could not bitch about our representatives, because we would be personally accountable for the decision!

Do I think the government should underwrite healthcare? Yes I Do. To replace the excellent insurance I had when I was working would cost me $1000 per month for four people with no health issues who go to the doctor about once every two years. Now all I can afford is “catastrophic” coverage for my kids – that is a $10,000 deductible, and I pay for everything. And I have been turned down because I once took antidepressants, one of the most prescribed drugs in the country. Nothing about that seems ok to me. A 2011 report from The Center for Media and Democracy’s PRWatch notes this
“Our analysis of the financial position of 33 Blue Cross plans suggests that their capital position has reached a level that’s difficult for the nonprofits to justify, and if sustained, will lead to significant tension between the nonprofit Blues, regulators and consumer activists,” McDonald wrote. “According to our data, the nonprofit Blues held a total of $52 billion in capital at the end of 2010, or more than $29 billion above minimum regulatory requirements.”

Um, did that say $52 billion in capital, Scooby? And these guys are supposed to be the nonprofit guys, not even the insurance companies that boldly and shamelessly announce that they are in the business to Make Bank.

Belle says: Healthcare: Yes. Warfare: No