Universal Health Care

[Dr. Boogie]

They're convinced that a government-run health care program will fail because it will be run by the government, which is bad whenever the government isn't being run by a republican. Also, they loathe spending money on anything other than defense.

Everything else, including talk of "death panels" and such, is just crap they're throwing out to try and scare the public into backing them.

[Command Prompt]

I guess my main question is, are conservatives actually this stupid, and fail to understand how having a socialized health care system is cheaper in the long run, or has it really boiled down to partisanship, and they don't vote for it, simply because they hate all the people that will vote for it.

I mean, in Canada, the fraction of a penny I pay in taxes for helping other Canadians out is fine by me, because, even if I wasn't trying to be altruistic about it, it would still be in my best interest to help out others, all the time, because the guy who can afford his health care will probably not end up a criminal and possibly steal my shit. That's kind of a big stretch but, really, its not that illogical, is it?

That seems to be the main argument I hear from the republicans, that they cannot see how it's their responsibility to pay for the health of someone else. Is anyone else confused by how a minimal investment in someone elses' welfare will pay off, even if its for selfish reasons?

[Tadao]

Originally Posted by Command Prompt

I guess my main question is, are conservatives actually this stupid, and fail to understand how having a socialized health care system is cheaper in the long run, or has it really boiled down to partisanship, and they don't vote for it, simply because they hate all the people that will vote for it.

I mean, in Canada, the fraction of a penny I pay in taxes for helping other Canadians out is fine by me, because, even if I wasn't trying to be altruistic about it, it would still be in my best interest to help out others, all the time, because the guy who can afford his health care will probably not end up a criminal and possibly steal my shit. That's kind of a big stretch but, really, its not that illogical, is it?

That seems to be the main argument I hear from the republicans, that they cannot see how it's their responsibility to pay for the health of someone else. Is anyone else confused by how a minimal investment in someone elses' welfare will pay off, even if its for selfish reasons?

So you kinda just decided to not read my post then.

[kahljorn]

As a conservative I don't want the governmunt to interfere with my healthcare. I'm happy with my medi-cal and I don't need the government messing it up or changing it.

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by Command Prompt

I guess my main question is, are conservatives actually this stupid, and fail to understand how having a socialized health care system is cheaper in the long run, or has it really boiled down to partisanship, and they don't vote for it, simply because they hate all the people that will vote for it.

I mean, in Canada, the fraction of a penny I pay in taxes for helping other Canadians out is fine by me, because, even if I wasn't trying to be altruistic about it, it would still be in my best interest to help out others, all the time, because the guy who can afford his health care will probably not end up a criminal and possibly steal my shit. That's kind of a big stretch but, really, its not that illogical, is it?

That seems to be the main argument I hear from the republicans, that they cannot see how it's their responsibility to pay for the health of someone else. Is anyone else confused by how a minimal investment in someone elses' welfare will pay off, even if its for selfish reasons?

Among the core beliefs of the Republican party are the idea that taxes are bad, no matter what they're used for, and that the government should rarely be involved in anything, which is mostly just an extrapolation of the first bit.

Beyond that, there's the idea that if there is a government program that is helping people with something, said program is doomed to be abused by people, and thus should never be attempted. You take a complete lack of faith in other people, add in the belief that everyone should just fend for themselves, and you've got a fair idea of what's going through the heads of a lot of modern conservatives.

[VaporTrailx1]

I just have no faith in the government running anything. How many congressmen does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

[Jeanette X]

Originally Posted by VaporTrailx1

I just have no faith in the government running anything. How many congressmen does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Just two, but good luck getting them in there.

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by VaporTrailx1

I just have no faith in the government running anything. How many congressmen does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

I don't think a government-run plan would run 100%, but worst case scenario, people would have mediocre health care instead of no health care.

Also, anyone who thinks government health care would drive private insurers out of business ought to check and make sure that UPS and FedEx went out of business when the postal system came into being.

[ZeldaQueen]

Originally Posted by Dr. Boogie

I don't think a government-run plan would run 100%, but worst case scenario, people would have mediocre health care instead of no health care.

It's going to go the way any new program goes: start off and be fixed and tweaked as time goes by. Just like the Constitution. I might be wrong, but I don't think any program like this would be made, tossed out, and left as is forever.