Use of Taxes

[Langdell]

The problem with universal healthcare is that it will NOT fix the rising costs of healthcare. If we spent 1.4 Trillion dollars next year on healthcare, that number will keep going up and up and eventually the tax burden will have to be carried by more and more people meaning those with lower incomes.

The income tax was created in 1913 (I believe) At first, only the 5% wealthiest (hmm, does that percentage ring a bell?) paid income taxes because of all the government spending, more and more families are forced to pay taxes.

Instead of giving “free” healthcare to everyone, we need to examine why healthcare costs are rising steeply. Keep in mind that technology always lowers the cost of something… (think big screen tv) However, in the healthcare industry prices are only going up and that is because the government has placed too many regulations and has interefered with the free market.

We have been on government run healthcare for the past forty years. If you are not sure what I mean, just google “managed care.” This was government implemented and mandated and has contributed to the rising costs of healthcare… It isn’t the ONLY contributor. There are others worthy of looking at and reforming.

Healthcare does not need to be paid for by the top 5% wealthiest families. (History proves this number WILL change). The rising costs of healthcare will only cause our system to collapse and then the poor will be WORSE off than they are.

We need to reform the broken system. Get the government OUT of healthcare, allow the free market to work and prices will steadly fall. Once they have fallen back to a normal rate, people will start paying out of pocket for minor things and have insurance for MAJOR catastrophes like a heart attack or a broken leg. It will be cheaper to pay out of pocket for seeing the doctor for your annual exam than it would be to pay a monthly premium, deductible and a co-pay.

We need to go back to what insurance was originally intended for.

I would rather not have an income tax and use my money for charities I deem reasonable… and those do NOT include planned parenthood or secular education systems.

I agree. IMO, it’s not as if the current healthcare proposal is good except for the isolated abortion problem. Rather, the current healthcare proposal will probably be harmful in the long run in addition to the immorality of paying for abortion.
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[Langdell]

According to the CCC:

The political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and to ensure especially:
…in keeping with the country’s institutions, the right to medical care, assistance for the aged, and family benefits;
the protection of security and health, especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc.;
… (CCC 2211)

How do we ensure everyone the right to medical care without universal health care?

One way is to provide subsidized care for the very poor (which we already do) and to regulate the private insurance industry in such a way that everyone who’s not very poor is able to get coverage.

BTW, I highly recommend this short, well-written book on the health-care crisis by the economist Arnold Kling: **Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care **.

amazon.com/Crisis-Abundance-Rethinking-Health-Care/dp/1933995130/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252085421&sr=1-1