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by Susan Sorenson
October 11, 2008
How can we expand access to, and increase affordability of, health care to those with low and moderate incomes? How can we make health coverage more accessible for vulnerable
populations, such as racial and ethnic groups, the elderly, disabled, and the poor?
The most basic explanation from a Constitutional view is this: After declaring and fighting for their independence, inspired American citizens got together and wrote a Constitu
tion. That is, they created a legal, binding contract with the intent of protecting their rights as declared in the Declaration of Independence.
It was their belief that the only legitimate purpose of a Constitutional Republic, which they formed, is to guarantee all citizens equal protection of their divinely endowe
d rights to life, liberty, and the ownership and control of property, as defined in the Declaration.
They understood that the function of good government is not to provide "equal things". Thomas Jefferson said that "a government strong enough to give you everything
you want, is strong enough to take everything you have". History proves this to be true.
Unfortunately, many today have been led to believe in the socialist view that the government should own and control every aspect of society so that everyone has equal things--<
/i>not equal protection of their God-given rights. America, however, was not created as a socialist nation. Socialism inevitably leads to the impoverishment of the people coupled with tyrannical government power and control. America's Founders saw a futu
re filled with something much better for us!
In the Constitution are listed a very few powers delegated to the government. Government-controlled healthcare is not one of them. Health care costs are so high b
ecause of government regulation. Insurance companies and hospitals are regulated so that those who do have insurance must pay for the services of all those who do not. This is not equal protection of our rights under the law, which is the stated purp
ose of our Constitution.
A strong, prosperous middle class based primarily on small family owned businesses was the stability of the American economy until recent years. With freedom from undue government regula
tion people prospered. Without taxation of their income, there was strong incentive to produce and share.
It was the cultural understanding of Americans for many years that it was the function of the family and the church (not the government) to take care of the poor. And this
system worked very well. Americans have historically been the most generous and caring people on earth - and the healthiest.
However, individual responsibility, the hallmark of a free society, has been removed. We don't pay for our medical bills, insurance does. We don't pay for our insurance, our emplo
yer does. Through almost unbearable (unconstitutional) taxation and regulation the average middle-class American has been reduced to poverty or near-poverty. We are told that the very government that has done this to us is the one we should look to to ta
ke care of us!
I know an employer who offers his employees the choice of health insurance or $6 more an hour. He feels that the market will take care of itself if the government will get out of the way
.
The truly compassionate and caring posture regarding healthcare is healthcare freedom - the unregulated free-market offering of many innovative and positive choices created
to meet individual needs; a healthy environment, including clean air; nutritious foods; pure water; freedom to work, play, and worship; and the nurturing and support of the traditional family.
It is not compassionate to force people into a medical system that is so overpriced and regulated that most Americans cannot afford it even if they wanted it. Many people I know a
re quite disappointed with modern health care, which is advanced in the area of "super-first-aid" but seriously lacking in prevention of disease.
I hope my words, at the very least, get you to thinking outside the prevailing political box.
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