Comments on: The Public Option

By: Lamar White, Jr

Lamar White, Jr — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:07:36 +0000

Sheesh.

What kind of tea should we bring? Iced tea? Earl Grey? Green?

You’re so right, George Bennett. Bush would have never bailed out the banks or the auto companies.

Oh, wait….

I know you guys are all in denial about this, but Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on November 4, 2008. Pretty solid margin too.

By: George Bennett, Jr.

George Bennett, Jr. — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:15:43 +0000

Do you feel good when your taxes pay for your neighbor’s welfare? Probably so if he is truly in need. All prior presidents even Clinton tried to restrict welfare to only those in need. None have ever come close to that goal, but it makes for good politics. Obama and the dems have learned that they can buy any election with welfare addicted voters.
Now Obama wants you to pay for your neighbor’s mortgage, government-owned banks, and Union-owned auto makers; all unconstitutional while the watch dogs(press) salivate at his glance allowing him to turn the most powerful country in the world into a USSR style failure. Just when you think someone might start complaining(or at least tell the truth) about this peaceful destruction of our country, Obama says he wants taxpayers and their employers to pay for those same neighbor’s who don’t have health insurance. These communists also want to take over the energy industry with “cap and trade”! If the press doesn’t start waking up the sleeping electorate with the truth, nothing will stop the take over. Soon when taxpayers cannot pay for all of the Obama/dem voters’ bills they will have but two choices: 1. Join the addiction and hold their hands out or, 2. Leave. No one will work with 90% taxes or for a communist government. Everytime we pay federal taxes today, we are contributing to the take over of the United States of America unless we can stop the take over!

Let’s show the Obama-lead take over that we will not allow this to continue on July 4th at Guinn Auditorium Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana from 11:00 to 1:00. Bring some tea.

By: Drew Ward

Drew Ward — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:19:10 +0000

This argument against a Public Option ignores some simple economics.

1. Universal Health care is a must. We know we have to have it. We actually currently do have some sort of system with the uninsured seeking care where and when they can find it. Of course many cannot find it. But those who do receive either free care, indigent care, or medicaid receive that care while inadvertently passing on those expenses to taxpayers or those who can pay (and now pay more).

2. A public option — one run by the government adds a second layer of competition. If government provides an allowance for health car expenditures, and then offers their own coverage at that amount, then competition will increase and simple economics will cause the prices of competing insurance providers to fall. Whether you use government or private insurance, everyone will pay less in the end.

3. Somebody’s got to pay for it. With a public option the taxpayers pick up part of the tab but can benefit from it. Otherwise either employers or workers have to pay for everything.

I don’t believe health care, nor education, nor law enforcement, nor any slew of a number of basic services should be money making ventures. The profit from such systems should be a society-wide profit not a monetary plus for a single company or agency. Certain things should be available to everyone and certain things are worth paying taxes for.

By: Lamar White, Jr

Lamar White, Jr — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:46:30 +0000

To Karen Gadbois:

I am honored that you commented on this issue on my blog. I am a big fan of your work on Squandered Heritage, and with all respect to Lee Zurik, they should have given you a Peabody as well.

I put out my own personal story on purpose. I made a conscious decision, and as such, I do not feel as if I am revealing my private life as a way of asserting my own dignity. I know, beyond any doubt, that I belong to a much larger community of people who struggle to access health care– rich and poor, young and old, gay and straight, black, white, Hispanic, Asian and native American. And Karen, I know you will agree: We are all dignified.

To Michael Smith:

Thank you for saying it better than I ever could. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You and your twin are two of the most brilliant people I have ever encountered, and Louisiana is lucky to have such compassionate, intelligent, and empathetic people living and working within its borders.