As teenagers, I believe we can make things happen. If we believe in something strong, enough then you can make a difference. I don't know what many of you think of the Health Care Bill, I don't know whether you're for or against it, but that doesn't matter. I'm not here to convince all of you that my view is the right one--but I want the general public, the government, whoever to know that I am against it.
I'm against its general principle; that we, the people won't have the option to choose what we want, that the government is taking over yet another part of our lives. That as a middle class family it will cost us ten percent of our income to get heath insurance--insurance we rarely ever use. I believe in helping people that need it, but not at the expense of our freedoms. I believe in giving to the poor, but not at the expense of becoming poor. “But!” you might cry, “That would be the greatest sacrifice!” But if we all become poor than who will help us? Surely then the government would help us, and distribute the money they do not have.
Our lives are about choices. Healthcare is one of them. I have been to a house to repair a roof that is caving in because the owner can’t afford to fix it. The owner stood on the porch and watched us as we worked, talking on her Blackberry. That is a choice too. I believe in letting people choose—even if their choices don’t seem like the right one. But don’t make me pay for those peoples mistakes. In our current system there is more incentive to stay home, not get married, have kids and lose every job that comes your way, so that people who work hard can support you.
A single mother with three kids goes to the doctor. The visit is paid for because this single mother can’t afford to buy health insurance. She has a cell phone, is smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and has ten different tattoos. She get’s food stamps because she can’t feed her three kids. She chose to have those kids, she chooses to smoke and have a cell phone. The government tells us that we deserve these things. We deserve healthcare served to us on a silver platter, that others should pay for our mistakes.
Forty six million people don’t have insurance in America. At least, that’s what the census tells us. Fourteen million of those people actually qualify for Medicaid, but they never have bothered to sign up. Seventeen point six million technically could afford healthcare, they make over fifty thousand dollars a year, and another nine million make over seventy five thousand. Another eighteen million were under the age of 34…could it be that they simply decide that they didn’t need health care due to their young age?
According to the Bluecross Blueshield, only eight million people are actually without coverage and earn too much to qualify for government assistance, but not enough to buy their own coverage. And even then, laws prevent hospitals from refusing these people care if they come into the emergency room.
Don’t tell me that the rich are selfish snobs, that our poor deserve our help. There is a reason why the rich are rich and the poor are poor. There is a reason why the woman stood on her porch with a cell phone while her house collapsed around her. There is a reason why a hard working intelligent person rises to the top. And if it’s unfair that some people are smarter than others…well that’s another can of worms all together.