Do people 'deserve' universal health care?

[Lion]

Here's an idea...how about if the government covers ONLY the uninsured? As with welfare, once you have employment and can be covered that way, they can take the person off the government run program. That way, those of us who are happy with what we have can be left alone.

That I appreciate, good idea, one that people can build on.

What's the point of spending billions to protect Americans through military means if Cancer, heart disease, or some other sickness can kill them at higher rates then terrorism ever could?

You make it sound as if you believe America has the highest rate of deaths from cancer, heart disease, or other sicknesses. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I don't infer anything, what I say is what I mean. I never said anything about highest death rates among the world, I said that terrorism, including the 3000+ who died in 01, does not kill as many people compared to sickness. Yet hundreds of billions are spent on wars, and a fraction of that is spent on research, or preventative care or any other sort of healthcare solution.

Next time, please read what I've said carefully. I tried sarcasm in one of these threads and found it quite offensive and I make every attempt not to use it again, and stay as close to facts.

You just said it yourself...by CHOICE! That is the only reason the number jumps higher. Why include that number? Why force someone to get health insurance if they don't want it?

Yes, I said by choice. Please read on....

Some conservatives say that the number is 11 million, but the number of uninsured, either by choice or due to lack of money is around 30 million. Taking the conservative guess of 11 million, what is your solution for their healthcare? Do they deserve help even?

So to clarify (since it seems you missed the point of that particular sentence) is that there are 11 million people there, that is if the conservative guess is correct. I ignored the other 19 million when I asked my question "Do they deserve help even?" It's not a loaded question

I know what you will say. It's for their own good. It's for the good of others because if they had health insurance, they would get care when needed, etc. However, how is that any different than forcing someone to stop smoking? How about if you stood behind someone who was overweight and forced them to run on the treadmill and monitored their eating? That would be well and good if someone WANTED that done to them, but if they didn't, it would be akin to slavery.

Please don't put words in my mouth. I like healthcare for everyone, but I'm not as stupid to believe that I am correct in believing that my opinion is what is best for a country not my own. I can be wrong, and the only way I can either re-enforce or alter my opinion is by challenging the other side's points.

I think health coverage for all is like public education for all. Your analogy with the overweight person, or the slavery comparison is your opinion, and I can respectfully disagree. So the point of my previous post: What should you do about those people (11 million by conservative estimates) who don't have health insurance because they simply can not? Your first point answered that question nicely, are you willing to pay a little more tax, or cut military or other spending to fund that? Would it work with all Americans?


By the way, slavery was a lot worse then paying some extra taxes. I've seen people in Pakistan live under bonded labour, and the situation of their lives was the saddest thing I have ever seen. I can tell you right now, as a taxpayer who pays into the government run healthcare system, there is simply no comparison.