Healthcare reform is not about Democrats or Republicans, but about the real people who are struggling every day to find or keep health insurance for themselves and their families.I come across comments like this on a daily basis. Are they saying that we need to restructure everything in our society so that people can operate without having even $500 set aside for emergencies? This same family doesn’t have $500 to handle dealing with an ice dam on their roof. They don’t have $500 to deal with car trouble or replace a broken appliance. They wouldn’t have it to deal with an unexpected legal issue either. Following the logic of overhaul supporters we need to overhaul the home maintenance system, the car repair system, the appliance replacement system, and the legal system so people can meet their basic needs without having any money to their name.
It's about MomsRising member Jamie in Mississippi whose husband struggled to decide whether or not to go to the ER when he thought he was having a heart attack for fear of having to pay their $500 deductible plus co-pay.
I am concerned about the issue of poverty. It’s a huge logical leap, though, to say the answer is to overhaul entire industries. In addition to being unnecessary, it will not work. The only thing that will help Jamie’s husband is having money on hand to pay for the things they need. We can debate how to make that happen. My claim is overhauling an entire industry will have many repercussions without solving the problem in question.
Lack of social healthcare and lack of personal savings both have a common root: short term selfish hedonism inculcated into us by our corporate masters.
ReplyDeleteInstead of organizing and acting in the long term interests of ourselves and those in our class, we are told to spend on drugs and entertainment to dull the pain of everyday life.