Do people 'deserve' universal health care?

[Saheli]

Why is it, in USA, that if a person is poor, he mustn't have worked hard enough? Why is it that people in USA only "deserve" what they can pay for?

Why is it that the worth of a US citizen can be measured in dollars, but not in generosity or humanity?

No-one chooses to be poor or a burden on society (ok - a few exceptions, but the general assertion holds good), and it is callous in the extreme, to my way of thinking, to allow an unfortunate person to suffer more when is is within my power to help him.

My husband works two jobs; I have one job and go to college full-time...we have two children. We can't afford health insurance and can barely afford the basics: food, electricity, gas, etc. Forget going out to eat (unless it's a birthday or something when sometimes we get money from relatives) or buying something we would like...or going out on a date where *gasp* we might need an extra twenty bucks.

Even so, I am not sure where I stand on this issue. I do not believe anyone is inherently entitled to healthcare. But I know I sure could use it! If my husband paid for health insurance for our family, we would not be able to afford our bills...and we do not have nice things. I mean, we don't have a fancy car or a nice house. We buy the cheapest, best-quality stuff we can and scrape by..it's not like we buy expensive things and then complain about upkeep. For families like mine, it would help tremendously.

We had to put our children on Medicaid, and I'm thinking about applying for food stamps. I would LOVE to get another job. I would LOVE to afford what I need. But I have no extra time to do it! It's either work my job and go to school or quit school and get another job...but if I do that, I have to start paying back all my lovely student loans because obviously, I've had to take those out.

The most frustrating thing is that everyone around us thinks that we are just blowing our money. My mother in law constantly says, "It isn't that you don't make enough money, it's just that you spend too much." Yeah, on bills! There's nothing left after that. Seriously, we have $17 in our bank account right now; it's not like I'm crying poor with a couple hundred in there. Our income is barely more than our expenses.

You may not believe it, but it actually IS possible to be working as hard as you can and still be poor.

I don't know what the answer is: some say health-care reform, others say charity. But you know, those people who think charity is the way to go here's an idea...do some yourself! It has to start somewhere...why wait around for the other guy?

Truly, what I want more than help is a little validation. You know, someone to say every now and then, "Damn you guys are doing the best you can," rather than just assuming that if you live in America you automatically will make a decent living. It's offensive...much moreso than not having insurance.