Posted by
Steve on Monday, August 17, 2009 10:22:01 AM
Today, the accomplished world traveler, Barack Obama, is visiting Phoenix to speak at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention. He is expected to try and mend fences with the military and maybe speak about his government healthcare takeover.
Yesterday, Barack Obama visited the Grand Canyon. I have no objections to him visiting the Grand Canyon. I also understand that when a President visits somewhere, there are understandable restrictions on the people that are in the area. What made the event memorable is that Obama tried to play himself off as some sort of a westerner. He looked and acted so out of place that when he put on the act, it was truly laughable. Those in the east might not pick up on it because they do not live out here, but we in the west know what a true westerner acts like.
One bit of good news is that Senator Kent Conrad (ND) announced that the “public option” will be dropped from consideration from any healthcare reform bills. That is good news on the surface. They can still achieve their goal by government regulation, but the easy way through insurance is not on the table right now. The fight is not over as any revision that allows the government to stick its nose in the business of health care is not good for the country. I hope that most people are not disarmed by this “sop” to the masses. It is a victory and it should be savored, but it is not final victory. It is like winning a battle in a war, it is good, but not the final objective. Right now, the Democrats are on the run. If we keep the pressure on, we can achieve a lasting victory. If we take the pressure off, we will lose everything we ever won.
What we need to do now, is get government out of the business of regulating health insurance. Licensing companies and agents who sell insurance is still a good thing. You want to make sure that the insurance you get is legal. But, that is where government regulation should end. We need to be able to buy our insurance anywhere we want. If I find a policy in Vermont that is cheaper and gives me what I want, I should be able to buy it. Right now, that would be illegal.
I should also be able to pick and choose what is included in my policy. That way I am paying for what I might potentially use. My wife and I are over childbearing age. We have no need for maternity services. Why should I pay a fee each month to pay for maternity services that I will never use? Why can’t I drop maternity services and save a small amount each month? The same can be said for many of the other required things in health insurance. Some things I want included are not included. Some things I want excluded are included. I should be able to pick the things I want included and then pay what I want to pay. If I want cheaper insurance, I could choose to have fewer things covered or lower amounts. The choice would be between me and the insurance company. The government would not be involved. This would not cost the government any money. In fact, it would save the government a lot of money because the cost of health insurance for government employees would go down. The Democrats would never go for this option because it gives them less power, not more power. Democrats are into power. Anything that gives them more power, they support. Anything that takes power away from government they are against.
That is just one simple idea that would save at least millions of dollars each year. It would most likely save billions. There are other ideas that are simple to adopt that would save people billions. As the costs go down, more people would have health insurance. But, only the people that want health insurance would have health insurance. If you do not want health insurance, you should not be forced to buy health insurance. People should not be forced to do something that they do not want to do, just because the government says they should do it. We should support freedom for Americans. More freedom means a stronger America. It also means some people will not choose to do things the way that we want them to do them. That is just fine as long as they are not harming anyone by making those choices. We own ourselves and as long as we are making choices that affect just us, the government should stay out.
At least that is one man’s opinion, as long as there is still freedom to say what you believe. That time is rapidly closing, but it was fun while it lasted.