peachygirl_GA: But weren't some of you the same people that didn't want the govt. interfering with your person life like with the security measures they wanted to take invading your personal rights and liberties? It's the same thing!
Not even close. Its not a matter of *snort* 'personal rights and liberties', that's the impoetant stuff like the gov spying on you without a warrant, or taking away habeas corpus. This is simple economics, its the M-word and big capitalism... oh, and tossing a very large and meaty, profitable bone to the medical-drug-insurance industry. See, if it were truly *shiver* "socialism", we wouldn't have the profit factor and there would be a single payer system.
Economics 101: Lets say -- just for giggles and grins -- that you, for whatever reason, don't have health insurance. Suddenly, you get sick or injured... OMG, its bad and getting worse. Within a couple of months, you've run through all your liquid assets just trying to stay alive.
You can't buy insurance because of that pre-existing condition rule. Since you still own stuff and your spouse is working, you don't qualify for state assistance. Soon, you start selling off your stuff and then the house goes, and you move into the converted garage behind your aunt's house. And you keep paying out mega bucks for your sad, but costly 'condition'.
Maybe you got enough equity out of your house to pay for a few more months of treatment, but then your spouse looses his job due to absenteeism for taking all that time off to care for you. You're down to eating beans from the food pantry, and picking out clothes from the discount bin at the thrift store. Then you sell the car -- or more likely its repo'd some dark night -- and your credit cards are maxed and debt collectors are hounding you... but forget bankruptcy relief, the Rs made sure 'deadbeats' like you will be compelled to pay... no excuses!
OK, now you're really poor, totally broke and destitute, and sicker than ever. Congratulations, you finally qualify for public assistance. Now your kids can get state aid, free school lunches, foodstamps, a housing allowance and your medical care will be funded... courtesy of us tax payers. You're a terrible drain on the system, a freeloader, the proverbial Welfare Queen, despised and demonized by your former friends.
OR... if you had participated -- either by choice or by law -- in Mitts, Ahnolds or Hillarys healthcare plan, you'd have the medical care you needed from the get go, AND you'd still have all your stuff, AND a job, AND you'd still be buying more nice junk and paying you're bills, and all those taxes that keeps the economy afloat.
Class dismissed.