I think that we as like-minded conservatives need to put aside minor differences and band together. We have a common goal - return the country to what it should be; FREE from governmental oppression. In order for us to be taken seriously, we have to be a cohesive group and put aside minor disagreements.
The current congress and white house are filled with individuals who are the antithesis of what our founding fathers envisioned us to be - self sufficient, giving and humble. Unfortunately, too many in the media refuse to press these idiots because they are too afraid of being non-PC or worse, they espouse the same tired beliefs. Allowing government control of almost half of our economy is extraordinarily dangerous and will certainly lead to ruin for us as a nation in both economics and the amount of personal liberties we enjoy. We just need look to Europe and their socialist ideology to see that socialism as primary governmental policy does not work. Do we really want to pay upwards of 60 percent of our incomes to receive the same substandard care that they do? Free-market economics and RESPONSIBLE governmental regulation are the answers to solving the health care woes we have. Tort reform is also a major contributor to skyrocketing health care costs and is something that also needs addressed. While law-suits only make up a small portion of the cost of health care in terms of actual dollar amounts, the fear of law-suits drives insurance prices sky-high which then haves a domino effect on what doctors have to charge patients. This also applies to the pharmaceutical industry and why their drugs cost so much. Just talk to an OBGYN doctor to see how much their insurance costs and you will see a large part of the problem; or research how much money some class-action law-suits cost the pharmaceutical industry. Making law-firms rich off of these suits is another matter all together, but there again, the huge settlements push prices artificially higher than they need be. This is why I feel that there should be a new state or federal court system put in place to weed out law-suit fraud. Their only role should be to hear these cases and then send them on to the higher court if it is found that the law-suit has merit. The party being sued would not even have to deal with attorneys unless this “filter” court deems that the suit can go forward. Caps on punitive damages for injury or wrongful death must also be enacted.
True reform should also consist of creating 100 percent tax-free insurance money pools to be used by those in financial need. These pools should be managed by private lending institutions, run by insurers and regulated by state governments to balance the authority the insurers would have in allotting funds to patients in need. These pools should be basically run like HSA’s are now with tax penalties for use outside of legitimate medical expenses and HSA’s and MSA’s would remain in place for those who can afford to pay into them. Pool funds would be held by lending institutions and backed by low-risk bonds to gain interest. People who prove financial hardship to the state government and insurer should then have partial bills paid from the pool funds. Corporations and private individuals should receive tax write-offs for making donations to these pools to keep funds solvent. People who use the funds should then be required to pay back as much as they can tax-free into the pool monies through a payment plan similar to a loan. Actual dollar amounts would be determined after service has been rendered to the patient and would be determined by a panel consisting of insurance representatives and state government meeting with individual clients and reviewing financial records together. While health care is a perplexing issue, I believe that a carrot-stick approach is much more conducive to maintaining freedom than federal mandates. I don't just blame Democrats for growing governmental reach; too many republicans have also furthered governmental size and scope. President Bush made a huge mistake in pushing the patriot act due to infringements of our rights and forgetting that freedom is of paramount importance. Most of the Patriot act is not based in conservatism and this piece of trash health care reform bill (power-grab) isn't either. We do not want or need any big-brother types of people telling us how to live our lives. We have to make this fact known loud and clear through mail, e-mail, blogs, demonstrations and events such as the Tea Party movement. Every voice counts and this is a fight we cannot afford to lose. Our party must return to true fiscal and social conservatism. What I am referring to is that we must truly work to cut governmental size and influence in every aspect of our society. We need to stop apologizing for being Americans and start doing things on our own, as individuals and not rely on government to keep us safe or happy - it will ALWAYS lead to tyranny. The analogy of the trapped monkey is a prime example of how this works. If you place a treat inside of a trap that only consists of a hole small enough to fit its hand into, but won’t allow it to be removed with the treat, the monkey will be trapped by not letting go even though he’d be free by just letting go of the treat. So it goes with people habitually feeding at the trough of governmental “generosity.” Right now, a majority of our collective hands are gripping the treat (promises of government invasiveness and pork keeping us all secure and safe) and keeping us trapped by federal bureaucratic inefficiency. Shrinking the size of the Federal government will be a painful but necessary endeavor. It is true that there are many jobs that would be affected, but displaced talent can create their own companies or join private-sector firms. To lessen the impact, I believe that a phased approach should be embarked upon in that normal attrition should start the down-sizing with direct cuts to the work-force occurring later. Foreign aid for the most part should be eliminated and that money redirected to temporary unemployment benefits for displaced government workers (maximum of 6 months of benefits). After the cuts are made, the military needs to have its budget increased but spent wisely on weapon systems and training. We cannot afford to fall behind on defensive or offensive military capabilities. Keep in mind that the military budget is a small piece of the budget pie – Social security, Medicare and Medicaid and pensions are a much higher percentage of the GDP than the military. Social Security should be phased out in favor of HSA’s, private hospice savings accounts and the pooled monies collected to support the aging. Medicare and Medicaid should be privatized or eliminated in a phased approach also to transfer health care decisions to individuals and not bureaucrats. It is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to deal with health issues and we cannot place that responsibility in the hands of government. Basically, I feel that the direction President Obama and his rubber-stamps in Congress are taking us leads to one conclusion – a socialist welfare state. This is not the country I want; nor is it the country that so many have fought for and given all to protect. We all have a duty as citizens to defend the constitution and its principles and not allow power-hungry politicians from either side of the political spectrum to erode our freedoms.
