I’m going to be out of pocket for a few weeks — an outpatient surgery procedure and then a period of recuperation. So as not to offend anyone with a drug-induced rant, and because I’ve been so critical of those people who seem to have taken leave of their senses with irrational positions, I’m going to stay quiet until the drugs are no longer needed. Not to fear, I’ll be paying attention to what’s going on and, as our esteemed governator says, “Ill be back.”
In the meantime, please let your representatives know your thoughts about health care reform. It’s an important issue. We’ll all be affected by its outcome. Listen to the business leaders who say that costs are affecting their ability to compete in the global economy. The outsourcing of American jobs will continue until and unless we can fix our broken system — health care costs aren’t the only reason for outsourcing, but those costs certainly are a factor. Labor costs aren’t confined to wages and salaries but include benefits such as health insurance. Listen to the providers who are begging for a public option. Listen to your conscience — is having 1 of every 6 Americans uninsured and millions more under-insured evidence of a moral country? Yes, tort reform can wring some costs out of the system, but at best only a few percent, while insurance company profits have risen over 400% just this decade. Are your benefits improving by that amount?
As a country, we voted last November for change — for something other than business as usual. But we need to fight for that change. It won’t happen if we just assume that one action will make a difference. There are powerful interests who are fighting even harder to keep things the way they are, and they continue to use fear as their primary weapon. Remember that fear is our greatest enemy. Fear and apathy.
Until I’m back, keep up the good fight, and stay well.
