In the first two parts of this series, I examined and pointed out things which are more factual and can be validated quite easily. Now to delve into things which are more murky but clearly show which side of ethics any person is on. Including how much they are willing to blindly follow corporate propaganda.
Advertising- I mentioned before that insurance policy holders pay for $millions spent on advertising by insurance companies PER DAY. It comes to $billions spent per year. TV, internet, snail mail, email, telephone, “free” health fairs, advertising products (key chains, bags, etc), newspapers, magazines, you name it. YOU pay for ALL of it.
Hint- NONE of that money is being spent on medical care.
No Debate- Where do most Americans get their information about the universal healthcare debate? Corporate media. The very same media corporations that collect the advertising $billions every year. Whom do they have as guest speakers to discuss these issues? If they discuss the issue at all, their “guest speakers” invariably come from insurance companies, lobbying firms or politicians who have received large sums of money from the insurance industry. Possibly WAR Street “experts” who sell stock in insurance companies. Even when a recent Libertarian-funded study proved universal healthcare would save $billions, numerous corporate media outlets ignored the actual study and instead interviewed the author of the study, who argued against his own findings, yet had no hard numbers, made no revisions to the actual study. He’s a Libertarian. Of course he will argue against the truth which he, himself, revealed.
So, who represents the pro-universal healthcare side? Basically, nobody on corporate media. That side of the “debate” (sic) consistently states that universal healthcare costs too much, yet never explains how that is possible, considering the costs I detailed in part one of this series. Nor the benefits detailed in part two. Those are never discussed at all. Americans have become so accustomed to having one sided corporate opinions spouted as fact that they never even question that only one side, the corporate side, is represented. Such is the danger of allowing corporate media to do your thinking for you.
Main detractors- Who are the main detractors voicing objections to universal healthcare? There are the obvious corporate entities mentioned above. Insurance companies, advertising agencies and media companies that make huge sums of money from the current system. However, there are local insurance agents and their employees. I understand their concerns though most of them have other revenue streams because insurance agents tend to cover multiple forms of insurance. Plus drug companies who are often in bed with the insurance companies. Consider CVS buying Aetna insurance while they also run clinics in many of their locations. CVS has one of the largest drugs by mail systems in the country. So they control the medications and collect the profits from premium to clinic to pharmacy.
On top of that, there are those who believe the claims of “death panels” and so forth, which makes no sense when you consider a system that has the benefits I’ve already laid out. They can never answer why Medicaid and Medicare have never had such “death panels”, aside from those imposed by the capitalist insurance and drug companies that have been involved since GWB privatized parts of it.
We cannot mince words about it. There is no shortage of people who are literally cruel. They enjoy the thought of others suffering, as long as they are not suffering or even inconvenienced. Some don’t even care if they pay more but get less, as long as they can feel somehow instrumental in the suffering of others. These people cross all religious, ethic and gender boundaries.
Human ethics- The saddest part of all of this is that so many Americans have the opinion that healthcare is a privilege, not a right. As long as they have their own, it doesn’t matter if others get sick, possibly chronically, or if the “other” person dies. Most interesting in the prevalence of this sentiment is how many claim to be “Christian”. While Christianity is supposedly a belief system that speaks clearly of caring for your fellow human more than you care about money.
Those who even think about ethics are in favor of universal healthcare. It hurts us to see our fellow human beings suffer, sicken and die for lack of access to healthcare. We cannot stand seeing people unable to afford crucial medications, making decisions between medication and food. Or asking themselves if that nagging, increasing pain in their stomach or chest can wait another month, another year. Is that purple spot or oddly shaped mole that keeps getting larger a concern? Can’t afford to think about it.
“I hate Socialism!”- Since I began this series, I have encountered a number of people who use this argument. The interesting part is how many of them are on SOCIAL Security. Hmm, where do they think that name comes from? It comes from the fact that it is a SOCIALIST concept and always has been. Social Security is funded by society for the benefit of society. The people paying into it now pay for the benefits of those collecting on it now. The same is true with Medicare and Medicaid.
Let me repeat that definition of Socialist programs. A Socialist program is any government program or policy which is funded BY society for the benefit OF society and the members of that society.
The others who argue against universal healthcare are members of the system which profits from the current system. Insurance corporations, lobbyists, politicians who get “donations” from the above, insurance agents, advertising companies. Note that these people rarely work in the same sense of the word that manual laborers do. They will claim that manual laborers need to work harder, work multiple jobs, “get an education” (In what? They cannot answer.), leave their children in daycare while they work 80 hours a week (until they become sick and never mind the cost of child care), don’t have children, don’t buy a vehicle, don’t eat out, don’t have that latte.. Oh, and be sure to get lots of exercise and watch corporate media in between.
Karma- The blindest part of this viewpoint is that younger people who pay into the system at this point are getting sicker. They lose days of productivity because of illness. They lose income because of it. They pay less into the system because of it.
The logical end result of this is that you wind up with huge numbers of people winding up with chronic illnesses, possibly disabling illnesses, unable to work, unable to make a living. What happens then? They get kicked off of insurance and placed on Medicaid and SSI. So they are no longer contributing to the system, they are a drain on the system.
The insurance companies get to keep their profits, taxpayers pick up the bill and fewer people are paying in. Such a system is doomed to failure because it is unsustainable. The worst part is how much of it is preventable.
End points- Some people want to blame Russia or China or immigrants or whomever they can for the failure of the current system. This is not anyone else’s fault, this is purely an American problem brought on by greed. That greed is at many levels. I’m sure with the details I have offered that I have only offered the most obvious culprits, yet it is still not discussed openly.
So, call me a Russian troll, tell me I hate my country because I think all Americans should have health care without going bankrupt. Call me a Socialist like it is a dirty word because I care about society. You can offer insults but until you can explain how the current system is better for everyone, not just the most affluent, you have no argument as far as millions of us are concerned. Even for the low upper middle class, the cost of access to medical care is slipping out of reach at this point.
Is universal healthcare perfect? Probably not but name a system that is perfect. When I say “best” I mean just that- best. Not perfect. When we come up with a perfect system, let me know. We’ve never been there and no country has been. That’s not even on the horizon as long as we keep fighting the fight of money over human life and well being. This is not about “perfect”. This is about the greatest good at all levels for the greatest number of people.