Government Sponsored Health Care: The Absence of Common Sense

The health care debate continues to rear its ugly head.  The back and forth, the ebb and flow from both sides of the aisle is ridiculous.  Once again Americans get a front row seat to the show that reveals the exodus of common sense from our leadership.

Indeed we must concede that the health care system is monumentally complicated.  The absurdity lies in the assertions that either republicans or democrats have a fool proof plan.  There can be no system in place in which all Americans will have affordable, sustainable health care.  Unfortunately, some will fall through the proverbial cracks.

What needs to be concentrated on is whether or not we want government to have a controlling interest in our private health care.

Let’s examine government’s track record on controlling its own agencies shall we?

One government agency that we all know of is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The stories of hurricane Katrina are well known.  The storm of the century affected people from South Marsh Island, LA to beyond Mobile, AL.  Picking up the pieces from this catastrophe was no small task.

Louisiana’s illustrious governor at the time, Kathleen Blanco, stood anemic as she and her administration tried to gain control of New Orleans.  FEMA arrived and for the next 3 days nothing happened-nothing. 

It was not until the boot of Lt. General Russel Honore touched the ground did something change, and change it did.  General Honore brought action, change, and clear, common sense thought to the situation. 

FEMA engulfed itself in its usual bureaucratic nightmare.  It spent more time trying to make sure insane procedures were followed, rather than distributing supplies to people who were suffering.  Then, in traditional Washington style, they found a scapegoat and blamed the whole thing on him.  FEMA may not be the best choice to model national health care after.

Let’s take a peek behind the social security curtain okay? 

If you have ever found yourself having to deal with anyone at the Social Security Administration, then you are not having a good day.  It is akin to having your wisdom teeth pulled during an electro shock session. 

The people who work there (generally) have little or no interest in helping anyone do anything.  The managers of each office are tucked away in secure undisclosed locations.  To say that you will have to wait to get anything done there is the understatement of the century. 

To be fair if your request is normal, and there are special circumstances, then everything will be handled in a timely fashion.  If there is anything out of the ordinary, however, then that changes everything.  It is as though no one can handle a request whose answer is not spelled out in their procedures manual.

On top of all of their ineptitude, we are being told that social security will be bankrupt by as early as 2012.

Again, the Social Security Administration may not be the best model for government health care.

How about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)?  That should be a government agency we can mirror health care from right? 

The IRS’s record speaks for itself.  The IRS has done nothing that our government did not want them to do.  But that is the point. Our government is so absent of common sense and fairness, that they have allowed one of their agencies to use whatever means necessary to collect tax money.

Decades of strong-arm tactics, threats, legal judgments, seizures, foreclosures, and the like are the norm for the IRS.  In all those years no administration has though once to reform this agency.  But, they did bring down Al Capone, so we can call it even.

The government as a whole lacks reason.  We have all heard stories, true stories mind you, of the government paying $283.00 for a hammer, or $4000.00 for a toilet, etc.  It is this kind of absurdity that makes people suspicious of the government. 

National, state, and local government can’t so much as build a road without it taking 3 or 4 years, but they want us to trust them with our health.

The real crux of the matter is control.  Government run health care would be equal handing over your civil rights on a silver platter. 

Think about this.  First, the government would have unprecedented access to your most personal information.  Second, they would surely claim the system is operating in a deficit within 10 years.  This stands to reason because our national deficit is projected to be 11 trillion dollars in the next 5 years. 

With these two things in place, the government could then start to restrict behavior because it raises the cost of health care.  There would be no more high risk recreations like riding a motorcycle, skydiving, hang gliding, owning a sports car, etc. 

Then they could restrict foods because the wrong foods make us unhealthy, and you guessed it, raise the cost of health care.  It would truly be a Pandora’s Box.

This may all seem like an alarmist and cynical point of view, because it is.  The reason is that the government has done nothing in the last 40 years to gain the trust of Americans.

While the current health care system may not be great, turning it over to the government would by like throwing gasoline on the fire.