In the comment from Paul:
If a plan could be created (and I’m not saying there’s one out there, but let’s imagine together) that would have a near zero net cost to you (in other words your taxes would only go up by an amount roughly equivalent to what you already pay through your employer)

Why does someone want to go through government to get healthcare if they are already getting through an employer?

We see everyday how badly government runs their current programs, examples: Social Security, Schools, Transportation. Do we really want to hand over our care to the government? What about the privacy issue? People fight everyday to keep our records from government intrusion (ACLU) and the same people that support them are more then willing to hand over health records over to a government run program?!

There are to many examples already in place such as Canada and England where people have to come to America to get their procedures done, otherwise they have to wait months to get possible life saving surgery. Doctor’s are in a decrease in these countries, they are coming to America to support themselves, they can survive on a fixed income in these countries. How are they expected to pay back thousands of dollars in student loans?

Hillary is already said her plan will cost over 200 BILLION a year! She touts this will save American Consumers money? I will bet you any amount of money that the 200 Billion mark will easily be increased to over 300 Billion within a year. how is that saving us money?

What happens if the SCHIP does eventually go through and is paid for by the increase of Tobacco Taxes and people just stop smoking or it decreases the number of people smoking or they go to the black market? Where do you think the government will come to next to fund this program? Oh oh do you eat fatty hamburgers at McDonalds? Do you drink Coke? Guess what they’ll tax next to support that program?

Every day my jaw drops at how people are more then willing to throw up their hands and let the government take control of their lives. But God forbid if our government is eavesdropping on a possible terrorist phone conversation, then all hell breaks loose.

How much is the average American going to have to pay for these programs until they wake up one morning and see their paycheck is almost gone due to some form of taxation?

The country was founded due to the high taxation of the English Government. There is no where for people like us to start a new government. What we need is another Boston Tea Party. A revolt one day soon will have to take place to awaken the politicians and awaken the people that do not pay attention to any form of the political process. We need to open eyes and some of us do not want our rights taken away nor taxed to death. Choice i’m told is a good thing!

Ok i’ve said my peace for now.

We need SCHIP. It has a purpose. But if we only make it about funding we ignore all the other reasons this bill needs to be changed. I know for those of us working in the cigar industry or tobacco industry funding is the #1 problem. But I think that all the potential flaws of the program need to be pointed out. Bush has already been accused of being in the back pocket of the Tobacco Industry.

In an ideal world everyone the US would have health care, a safe place to live, enough to eat, and equal access to education. Universal health care is a great idea but where in the world can we see it implemented for the benefit of the people? Personally I don’t want the government making health care decisions for me ever again. Been there and done that.

By the way, what’s so bad about universal healthcare? Put aside who in politics is pushing for it. If a plan could be created (and I’m not saying there’s one out there, but let’s imagine together) that would have a near zero net cost to you (in other words your taxes would only go up by an amount roughly equivalent to what you already pay through your employer), and no citizen would be without healthcare, why is that bad?

Think about the money saved by keeping non-emergencies out of the ER (or treating problems before they become emergencies). I’m not trying to start a political debate. I’m just trying to approach the issue from a purely intellectual standpoint. I can understand not wanting higher taxes (that’s what this post is all about), but I don’t understand opposition to universal healthcare in general.