Why is the US so afraid of Social Health Care?

by eyeslice 298 Replies latest jw friends

  • coffee_black

    Primative Dave, My grandson's whole point in his walk is to inspire people to help on a personal level. To volunteer at thier local shelter... to give financially if they are able. He is visiting shelters in DC., as he has all along his route. For the most part, the politicians can't be bothered. He has tried to meet with politicans, and having spoken to countless homeless children on his journey, he has a unique perspective to present. Most people don't even know that there are 1.5 million homeless children in this country. In general, the politicians don't want this number known, as he has discovered...with just a few exceptions.

    You say you provided for your family's health care. Does it not matter that other's simply cannot do the same? How can you presume to judge the life circumstances of others?

    And how do you presume to know my heart and the hearts of other hard working Americans? One's first obligation is to provide for one's family. Yes, there are some who cannot provide for themselves, and measures should be taken to help them, and in time to help them be self sufficient.

    From where I am sitting this is the mentality expressed by so many Americans today - "I've got mine. You get your own somewhere else. And don't do anything that might lower my property values while you're at it."

    How arrogant you are! That has never been my attitude, nor is the attitude of anyone I know... and it shows in the fruitage of my life. I do not own a home...so my property values are not effected.... and the reason I don't own one, is because I have used the money I might have invested in a home to help others. I've never regretted that. I don't need much myself..

    Yours is the attitude that prevents constructive dialogue that could actually help. You've made your assumptions, and in your mind they are fact.


  • mkr32208
    I don't trust government to do this properly and to look out for our best interests

    But you DO trust big business? Interesting... Tell me how is do you get air with your head that far up your ass?

    disinterested or incompetent medical care

    News flash thats the exact same thing that we have here...

    And they are not going to allow those who choose to avoid drugs and surgery to maintain their health with vitamins, herbs, and exercise

    Bullshit, fear mongering, you don't think that people in canada are allowed to choose their own medical treatments?

    The insurance companies in this country are abusive and are only intersteted in the bottom line the $$$$... There are some things that shouldn't be decided by how much money you can get and peoples health is a big one.

  • PrimateDave


    "And how do you presume to know my heart and the hearts of other hard working Americans?"

    I don't know you. I only know that you are opposed to "free" health care. What else can I assume? Since there is no option for free basic care currently available from private souces that can be made available to everyone in the country, it is up to the national government to provide something, anything.

    Besides, I am an American. I am single and have no children. I have worked hard for a living. I am currently unemployed. My previous job had no benefits. The local economy is in bad shape. I'm using my savings and moving back in with JW family.

    I'm really a very conservative person. I don't want to ask for assistance. I don't trust the government either. I have no chronic illness that I am aware of, but what if I did?

    I stand by what I said about property values and the attitudes of (some?, many?, a majority?) Americans. Just Google "tent cities" for current news stories about local governments evicting homeless people for violating codes. Even churches that offer a place for homeless to set up tents are being harassed. Why should it matter if poor people set up shelters on public or donated land except that those with property are selfishly afraid of losing wealth?

    I am very much concerned about the plight of homeless and poor people, just as you are, because I am poor, though not as poor as some. I am fortunate enough to have family support.

  • Robdar
    Perhaps it has something to do with the overall mentality in the USA towards the poor and working class.

    I think PDave is spot on.

  • PrimateDave


    I did not mean to imply that you were one of those selfish property owners. When I reread my previous posts, I saw how that comment could be construed as being directed at you. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

  • BurnTheShips
    Medicare has much lower overhead costs than private insurance

    This is false. Not saying you are lying or anything. Just thought you should know. The commonly used figure for Medicare overhead is not a valid comparison to what private insurances report.


  • I quit!
    I quit!

    I think a lot of it is the fear mongering fueled by the health care and drug industries. You hear it constantly on right wing talk radio. We are being told that it is socialism and the government can't do anything right but I guess a lot of people don't stop to think socialised programs like the fire and police departments work fine. Our highway systems and national parks are all forms of socialism. I also think that a lot of people understand the difference between socialised medicine and single payer. Then there is just the old racist fear of a black man being up to no good. I think that is a growing fear. Sad but true.

  • sammielee24

    Because Americans exist on a level of constant fear. It degrades their thinking every step of the way and it is often an irrational fear. Fear of words - socialism/communism/marxism...you hear those words being tossed about constantly on this board and yet 3/4 of Americans don't even have a clue what they mean. Fear that they might get asked to pay a little more in taxes, fear that if they pay taxes that it might be used for someone they don't like or a group of people they can't abide - homesexuals, unmarried mothers, the poor, the sick, the homeless, liberals; fear of change..fear, fear, fear.

    It's comical really if it weren't so truly sad. Americans actually pay just as much in taxes as other more socialized countries in the world - but they get little in return. They have a mentality that says it's okay though - as long as you don't link it to the dreaded scary word - social. On one hand they tell you they believe in personal responsibility and are afraid of government, but the same people use every government service available to them without any problem. They scream personal responsibility and then sue the pants off someone when a hot coffee falls on their lap or their favourite pants get lost at the cleaners. A contrary mix - they can ignore tent cities and 10,000 people waiting for healthcare in LA but then tell you they have the best health care in the world. They can tell you they don't want socialization but then demand the government insure their money in the bank through taxpayer dollars - called FDIC. You can show them 20,000 bodies piled up in one morgue and tell them that those bodies are people who died because they had no healthcare - and they will tell you it's their own fault those people chose jobs without healhcare, it's their fault they didn't have the brains to get a better job, it's their fault they didn't get taken care of at the poor hospital. Show them pictures of the concentration camps with 20,000 bodies piled up during the war and they will say, those poor victims - it's interesting how easy it is to ignore, denigrate and still punish the victims of a healthcare system that simply doesn't work - even if the body count is the same. Even if that little girl was someone's baby and that woman was someone's mother, that man a breadwinner for his family - they are at fault for their own demise. It's the American way as the right wing talk show hosts tell us daily - they sign off by saying 'the United States of America - greatest country on God's green earth'...while another person dies from lack of care. Go figure.


    Note the tax statistics for the USA are between 14-34% which puts them at a taxation rate of many European countries, Canada and the UK.

  • brinjen

    That's about the same rates as us.

  • I quit!
    I quit!

    I think a lot of people think their health insurance fine until they have to use it. A person I work with wife recently got sick with a long term illness and now he is starting to worry about the bills. I know some who's husband die from complications with diabetes. It was a long process, her insurance ran out and she wound up losing her house. When my wife went through cancer we got to know a lot of people that were fighting with their healthcare providers to cover certain things.

    The healhcare industry is spending a lot of money to generate fear so guys like Bill McGuire of United heathcare can pocket 1.7 billion dollars upon retiring while people die due to lack of heathcare.

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