Typical Politicians (Artwork by my good friend Dennis Keefe)
My purpose in posting these articles is let readers look at both sides of the picture.
I am in a unique position in that I am in the insurance business and have been for almost 30 years. However, I know that a big part of the problem has been created by my industry. It is not that the industry is bad, but it has been abused by the public and the private sectors, and is now a part of the problem.
I definitely feel that we need health care reform in our country. However, after all of the haranging and backstabbing that is going on, the plan that is being presented to us is not much more than window dressing, to make some feel like they have really accomplished something.
Having said that, it is my opinion that what the esteemed Senator from Kentucky did was wrong. I have been dealing with Medicare recipients for 25 years, and have never seen them so worried about what was going to happen.
I have personally witnessed a doctor turn away a lady with a shoulder injury because she was on Medicare and he wasn't accepting any more Medicare patients.
Had President Obama not stepped up and asked for a little more time, there would have been a mass exodus of doctors from the system and then where would your and my parents go for coverage.
Lots of people have critized the Democrats for voting on the Reform package in the middle of night on Thanksgiving, but few remember or realize that it was a Republican Congress that passed the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 at 2 am on a Sunday, and it was this legislation that lead to a profiliration of Medicare Advantage Plans that has caused a rise of almost 12 %, and alone is predicted to bankrupt Medicare in the next 5 to 7 years.
And yes, the insurance industry is very profitable for the companies. Would you want to put your faith in an industry that was failing and not making money. If they don't make money, then they can't pay your claims.
I realize that pouring more money on the problem is not the answer (especially when there is no more money to pour). And it is ludicrous to think we can add to a national debt that has already grown so big that in a couple of years we will not even be able to pay the interest.
However, we do all live on the planet and in the beautiful country together. And unless we do something now (not soon, but right now) we are going to see more of our seniors and our neighbors go into a welfare system that will also only increase our ills. And it will also cost the taxpayers.
Our emergency rooms are already full of people who can't afford to go to a doctor, so they go there for simple illnesses, and since they can't pay, they get treated at taxpayer expense. Maybe by having some other system in place, we can save some money there.
I don't know the answer to this problem. I doubt that there is anyone who has a "perfect" solution. If there was one, we would have heard of it by now.
However, I do know that if we don't start treating each other with respect and listening to others viewpoints, then our whole system (not just healthcare) but our whole way of life is going to go the way of the Roman Empire.
We are not God's Chosen People!!
We are a part of a world and a country that is bigger than just us and much more important than the Rush Limbaughs and the Harry Reids.
Come on people!!! WAKE UP!!! Talk to that neighbor who disagrees with your political persuasion, and more important, listen to them.
This country was founded on the principle that all men (& women) are created equal, and we all have an equal right to our opinion.
If we choose to be a Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Mormon, Muslim or Wiccan, that is our right and it is nobody elses business.
So what if the President didn't go to church. I didn't vote for him because of his religious beliefs.
I saw an interesting political cartoon today. It was of a couple driving by a street sign that said, "Obama is failinig miserably." As they past the sign the back of it said, "At cleaning up Bush's messes."
The point is that it is not really Obama's fault. It is not Bush's fault. It is not the Republicans or Democrats fault. And quite frankly, it doesn't matter whose fault it is.
What matters is that we stop the bickering and work together on a solution. Because the alternative is not even fathomable.
Have a great day America, and Canada, and Europe, and Africa, and everywhere else in the world with the exception of Kansas (it just shouldn't be there).
