Sunday, February 27, 2011

THOUGHTS ON HEALTHCARE July 23, 2009

A friend asked me a question on Facebook, and I responded with the following wall comment. I’m putting it into this form, without mentioning names, because I feel very strongly about the question and my response. (I will point out that it was the same anonymous questioner from my last blog.)


Questioner: "I have a doctor's appointment next week. Will you go with me and pay my bill? That's universal healthcare, aka socialized medicine." (the question was repeated on someone else's page, prefaced by "I'll ask you what I asked Troy.")

MY RESPONSE: I've got a question for YOU. 5 years ago I was a single parent making minimum wage and had no insurance, but my blood pressure was through the roof- I could literally feel the blood pulsing in my head. Luckily, I was accepted into the U of I grad program, and thus had access to insurance to get the tests and meds I needed- and would have most likely died if I'd delayed getting them much longer. So here's my question: If I had not lucked out and gotten access to student insurance, but was still mopping floors.... should I have f*&%ing DIED because people like you are too cheap to chip in a few f*&%ing dollars for those who don't have your good luck and circumstances? No... no more than I should have gone hungry when I was a kid in the 80s because conservatives cut the social programs that had previously assured me of regular meals.

And to answer your question...if I had more than a grad student's income, and you needed the help, yes I would be glad to pay. As I would be glad, were I in a higher tax bracket, to contribute part of my money for a fund to help those less fortunate. It is the Christian thing to do, if you're into that.... and beyond that it is the decent thing to do. I am and continue to be virulently anti-conservative because their entire credo is every man for himself and screw everyone else... "grab that cash with both hands and make a stash...share it fairly, but keep your hands off of my stack." As you can see, I am very passionate about this stuff, and I take it very personally. And by the way, before anyone starts slinging words like "why should I help a bunch of lazy freeloaders”, let me point out that my family was poor in the 80s because my mom worked for minimum wage and my stepfather was schizophrenic...not crimes deserving of chronic sickness and death.



BOOKS BY TROY D. SMITH

"Smith creates a classic from the first chapter ... a magnificent novel."- Roundup Magazine
Winner of the Spur Award



"CROSS ROAD BLUES isn't just one of the best crime novels I've read recently, it's one of the best crime novels I've read in a long time... You need to read this one, and I recommend it very highly." -James Reasoner




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