Does anyone else feel that we have fallen through the rabbit hole? The news is filled with reports about how terrible the economy is, but new blockbuster movies bring in millions of dollars every weekend and restaurants are bustling. Gasoline is threatening to go below $1 a gallon, while we still pay a fuel surcharge for flying or taking a cab. We are seeing unemployment growing at an alarming rate, while the healthcare sector gained a record number of jobs.
Particularly troubling is the growing gap between those who “have” and those who “have not”. One segment of the population frets over the long-term effect of botox while another segment cuts their anti-nausea drugs in half because they can’t afford the full prescription. The “haves” complain about the taste of prep for colonoscopy while the “have-nots” suffer abdominal pain, blood in the stool, and anemia but cannot be tested for colon cancer because they have no health insurance.
I am an American through and through. Eagle Scout. God and Country award. I believe in democracy and the basic concepts of capitalism. Still, something is wrong here. How can you have liberty and the pursuit of happiness if your life is cut short because you can’t afford to go to the doctor?
Years ago I read a book by a very conservative writer. He argued that in a democratic capitalist society three forces are at work—government, business, and a loose coalition of organizations such as churches, non-profits, service groups, etc. At any given time one of these two may have a disproportionate amount of power. When this happens, the other two sectors join forces to implement change. For example, businesses were using child labor until social groups teamed up with government to pass labor laws. The idea is that at any given time things may be out of balance, but over a period of years the balance will be restored.
These days we are certainly out of balance. We have, indeed, fallen through the rabbit hole. The fractured and dysfunctional nature of our healthcare system is killing people, ravaging families, and destroying dreams. Now we know that it is also strangling businesses. Simply put, the cost of healthcare covered by industry prevents American companies from being competitive in the global marketplace. Isn’t it time to address this imbalance? While we are busy bailing out banks and mortgage lenders who made untold fortunes using practices everyone knew were irrational and unsustainable, or propping up car companies who kept cranking out cars no one wants, perhaps we can also find a few billion here or there to work on healthcare. After all, it is hard to sustain the American dream when you are on your deathbed.
This is a good article of yours. Well-informed and impressive. Thanks for sharing this to us. It could be resolved when we work together to handle these problems to avoid fall into the rabbit hole!
Posted by: bogartkick | May 19, 2009 at 02:46 AM