Nothing Is Provocative: Conceptually speaking...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness....But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. " The Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776.

I love the concept of "higher taxes for the super rich" in this country. I think the idea that higher taxation of the "super rich" will really pay for any government program ridiculous. It is an error to make a broad sweeping statement like "will be funded by increased taxes for the super rich" and expect it to be a true statement.

One thing that you should understand regardless of your political "orientation." Super rich people don't pay much along the lines of taxes. They certainly have the resources and finances to exploit any and every loophole available. I know some super rich people that pay less tax most years than I do. They do this because they can buy this or that and write it off. They do it through having enough money to property swap and take deductions or sometimes "losses" on that property. They do it by creating a new company to dump money into that will for some odd reason just happen to lose a lot of money. They are very bright and can afford to throw some cash around to save themselves some cash. Don't kid yourself. No matter what government does to try to tax them, they will find a legal way to beat it. It is one of the ways they became rich in the first place. They decided that if they give their money away (to the government or whoever) they have less money. So, they found ways to quit giving it away. Ta da! Now they have more money for themselves. Excess taxation of the super rich simply won't work.

So, where will the money to pay for government run health care come from? You! Who else do you think? Granted, you may not miss the money you aren't getting for a raise or the overtime work that you didn't receive (since your boss is now CLOSELY watching his payroll amount). You might not immediately notice the extra money you paid for goods or services since all vendors that have goods or services will be forced to raise their rates to pay health tax on their employees and still stay in business. No matter what way you slice it, you will pay.

Without a doubt we all lose with government health care. There is no way in which we win. There is no way as citizens we can afford it. If we did want to give 8-10% more of our money for health care, why would we pay the government to do it? If our government wants to make health care affordable and available for everyone, they should focus on eliminating liability lawsuits in this country. Lawsuits are the one thing that constantly drive up our health care costs. In the day of our parents, if you needed medical help you researched a hospital the best you could and trusted that they would be able to serve your needs. For the most part, they did. If a doctor at that hospital was negligent, he or she lost their license.

Most health professionals that I know are forced to carry insurance at such a high rate of coverage (since in this country, there is barely a limit to a monetary settlement) that their health insurance premiums are higher than my mortgage. So, I hope they can earn a decent amount of money or they work all of those shit hours in a very high stress job to pay a large percentage of their income to insurance companies.

Regardless of whether or not a health care professional is negligent, a death or other traumatic event with one of their patients carries an emotional burden for them. If they operate on you and you die, they carry that guilt and sadness forever. Although a death or botched operation is a horrible thing, there is no amount of money that brings a child or parent back to life. In the event of medical tragedy, everybody loses. Most people in the medical profession work that difficult job because they are in love with their fellow humans and want to make a positive difference in the lives of their patients. Keep that in mind. I don't think you could ever find anybody in the health care industry that goes into their day thinking "Geez, I hope I can hurt/kill somebody today with my negligence."

Turning control of our health care futures over to the government is a mistake. If you are a proponent of this, I respect your view, but if I agree with you we will both be wrong. Government taxation of all citizens and forced participation in any elective program violates our Constitution. Our government should not have the power to force us to buy anything let alone something we don't necessarily want. Also, our government should not ever have the power to fine us if we refuse to buy what they are selling. Keep in mind that the "representatives" that are deciding this for us have exempted themselves and their union political contribution buddies from it. Really doesn't sell it much, does it?

Either way, I don't think we are best off banking our health care on people that can't run the post office. These people really can't run anything successfully. Well, I guess they CAN run up a monstrous deficit and ruin capitalism in this country. YES THEY CAN! YES THEY CAN! YES THEY CAN!

This really is the new American dream.