Socialized Medicine Is A Bad Idea

Mandatory health insurance a good idea - Opinion

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"For a long time, it seemed like a distant dream. Now, plans for universal health coverage are finally reaching the stage where they might become reality. In fact, they already have in Massachusetts."

-Socialized medicine does not work. Socialist anything doesn't work. You have to wait on waiting lists for months just for a basic operation.

"The MassHealth law, passed on Tuesday, aims to cover 95 percent of all of the state's uninsured residents by 2009 by requiring all residents to obtain health insurance by July 1, 2007. Among the provisions of the law are clauses mandating companies with 11 or more employees to offer health insurance, fining businesses that do not offer insurance and expanding the help provided to those who cannot afford insurance."

-How is forcing a company to do something moral? The government is forcing companies to offer health insurance, and they have to "help" the people who cannot afford it. If they cannot afford it, then they do not deserve to own it.

"Despite the obvious benefits of the plan, one of the most positive things to come out of the debate concerning the law is that both parties came together to negotiate an efficient plan advantageous to all citizens. Of course, hard to dismiss is the fact that the state was facing a loss of $385 million of federal Medicaid money if the Legislature did not reach an agreement by the deadline. Still, the cooperation of Democrats and Republicans, as well the plan itself, should serve as a guide to not only other states, but the federal government as well. Not often do the two parties so overwhelmingly agree on a single issue, yet that is exactly what America needs right now, during this time of war and economical instability."

-Just because both parties came to agree on something doesn't make it right (or a good-thing for that matter). What if both parties agreed to kill minorities, or anyone that didn't like? Would that still be a "positive thing"? So what are these "obvious benefits" that you speak of? I love how no proof is ever given. Let me give you the facts; as capmag's own Glenn Woiceshyn puts it:

"The failure of Canada's experiment with socialist medicine is readily apparent: long waiting lists and wait times for specialized services, conveyor-belt treatment for routine services, chronic shortages of family doctors and hospital beds, gross inefficiencies, slow innovation, stifling and wasteful bureaucracies, warring “special-interest” groups, and the exodus of good doctors to greener, freer pastures."

On top of all of that, the socialist government taxes over 50% of your entire income to support this "moral" medicine practice. America was founded on the views of freedom, individual rights and independence, socialism does not belong here. Save it for France.

"The passage of the bill blurs not only the lines between the parties, but also the lines between wider political views. In an interview with the New York Times, Romney said, "There really wasn't Republican or Democrat in this. People ask me if this is conservative or liberal, and my answer is yes. It's liberal in the sense that we're getting our citizens health insurance. It's conservative in that we're not getting a government takeover."

-How isn't the government taking over? By forcing companies to do something that they do want to, the government oversteps its boundaries once again.

"If the plan succeeds, let's hope other states take cue from Massachusetts. Universal, government-sponsored health plans have worked in other countries for decades, but a nation as big as the United States cannot handle the issue federally. The initiative needs to come from the states, and one has already stepped up to the plate."

-They've "worked"? Please tell me your definition of "worked". If by "worked" you mean that they have been nothing more than complete utter failures, then I guess I will accept your definition. America is about self-responsibility. If you don't have the funds then you do not get luxury items such as a ferrari, a house in the Hamptons, health insurance, an 80' yacht, etc.