Friday, March 26, 2010

Books-Civil War vs Health Care Control

When I retired 2 1/2 years ago I was given a passel of books. Those of you who know me, know that I am a voracious reader. I have read almost all of those books and all other books by those authors, at least in that series.

I started again this past week "Lincoln," an historical novel by Gore Vidal. As I began reading, I began to notice the similarities between then and now.

I don't have at my fingertips all the statistics, but the root cause of the Civil War was not slavery, but states' rights. The Southern states wanted the right to determine whether or not to retain slavery as a way of life. Today's issue is federally mandated health "care."

Last I heard, 13 states' attorneys general have suits ready, if not already filed, questioning the legality of the bill under the Constitution. Many states have declared that they will not enforce this law. At what point did the Federal Government acquire the right to mandate that a citizen purchase a product or service provided by a private corporation that the citizen may not need and/or want and/or be able to afford? Do we work for them? Or do they work for us?

There has been talk among individuals of secession. There has been talk among individuals of war if this product is forced upon us the citizens of these United States. I don't know how many, if any, of the people saying these things are serious. It doesn't really matter. This issue has become one that needs further consideration rather than the standard assurance by the government that they know what they are doing and that they can do what they have never done before: run a business profitably. Or at least not at a loss.

Does anyone really know what is in this bill? The bill that the president talks about seems to be different than the one that Congress has now passed. Our "representatives" in Washington need to at least read the whole bill and consider the long term ramifications before they vote. Oops! Too late!

1 comment:

  1. One of the things that really bother me is that national health care does NOT apply to Obama, his wife or any of the congressmen who passed it. What happend to leading by example? Australia has socialized healthcare and from what I hear, they are trying really hard to shake it off cause the government basically tells them who to do what to. Since when does the government know what's best for us? Gee, social security and Medicare worked out great didn't it?

    ReplyDelete