What Improvement?

I realized an interesting thing today. The arguments for nationalized healthcare (aka the government-run health insurance option) focus on how we can provide health insurance to those who do not have it today, whether this be a choice or a lack of resources to pay for insurance ourselves. Some parts of the arguments focus on how health insurance companies are unfairly profiting off their policy holders and demonize the pre-existing conditions that disqualify some people from changing or getting an insurance policy. The argument comes down to the fact that people who have resources, should take care of the people who don't have resources.

The current arguments focus on the evils of the current system, at least in the eyes of those selling the concept, and how they think their plan will combat these evils.

Where's the improvement to the system?

The arguments for nationalized healthcare provide no new ideas or plans to improve the current system. Most polls show that almost 80% of americans are satisfied with their healthcare coverage. The ideas being pushed on us right now provide no improvements to the system for the majority of americans.

Of course the argument could be made that improvements are being made by providing services to those who do not have those services now, but doesn't that kind of go against the whole concept of equality, fairness and democracy. This is clearly a direction that is intended to take from the rich and give to the poor. Some might call it class warfare.

It is the scary part of the representative government that we live in. Popular vote decides our leaders, but what happens when they create policies that do not have popular support themselves?

When you see people screaming at their leaders in town hall meetings, these are the thoughts going through their heads. When their leaders ignore the sentiment of the majority, it upsets people...they feel that they have no voice and no control. One congressman publicly stated recently that he would vote against the will of the people if he thought it was good for them.

It disturbs me that some of our leaders truly believe that they know better than a majority of the constituents they represent.

We should ask ourselves what improvements will government-run healthcare bring to our system. We should ask our leaders how this will improve the lifes of the majority of americans.

I think I understand the arguments against what I am saying and I will address them in a future post. The idea that health care is a foundational human right, I believe, is false. I'll tell you why later.