So over the years I've asked many people "If I __, (you fill in the blank) does that mean I won't die?"
I usually ask this of people who feel they have the right get on my face and harangue me about smoking.
The answer, of course, is invariably "No.", but that doesn't seem to ring any bells in their empty heads.
The same is true of Obamacare. If you have Obamacare it does not mean you won't die. But listening to Demagogues..err....Democrats, they have been coming out of the woodwork telling us about all the people who will die if Obamacare is repealed.
Yes, people will die. They will die in car wrecks, they will die of old age, they will die in drive-by shootings, they will die from cancer, they will die from heart disease, alcoholism, liver failure, stroke, aortic aneurysms, seizures, drug overdoses, and a myriad of other causes. But they won't die for not having Obamacare.
The fact is that people die every day. And Obamacare can prevent very few of these deaths, and the few people it does "save" will ultimately die anyway. We all do.
So why are the leftist Democrats so upset that Republicans are trying to repeal Obamacare? It is simply that Obamacare was passed to get the votes of those who would benefit from it.
The Socialist Democrats have had power, and have clung to it for so long by providing the ignorant, greedy masses free stuff at taxpayer expense ever since the last Roosevelt administration. And it really ramped up after World War II. Roosevelt passed a few things during the depression, but the real ramp up in government giveaways began with Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" programs of the 1960s, which to date has cost taxpayers an estimated $40 Trillion with no discernible results.
In the beginning Democrats could get votes by knocking off the little things - like a modest Social Security benefit to keep old people from being destitute. Or a modest unemployment benefit during the Great Depression. However, once these small things had been handed out, they needed more things to give away for free to get the votes they needed to stay in power. And the more they try to find stuff to create new entitlements, the bigger and bigger the things they find are.
Which brings us to today.
Obamacare is arguably the biggest, farthest reaching giveaway yet. It is 17% of our National Economy! It encompasses every aspect of our lives. It's passage, despite Obama's claims to the contrary, has resulted in millions losing the healthcare plans they had and liked, ever increasing costs, ever increasing premiums, ever more limited providers, ever decreasing choices, and fewer people covered. Billions (Trillions over 10 years?) are in play. People be damned.
The primary goal of Obamacare - wait for it - is to do so much damage to the US Healthcare system that the only option left is a government, single payer healthcare system. Think Canada or England, where people routinely wait anywhere from 6 months to 3 years for a simple MRI. People under these systems also routinely die while waiting to see their doctor or a specialist, or they are denied certain treatments because they are too old, or too sick. That's reality under a government, single payer system.
There are other realities that will come into play with a single payer government healthcare system. Think government is already too intrusive into your life? Under single payer the government can promulgate all manner of new regulations (no legislation required) that dictate to you what you can eat (think banning fast food) what you can drink (think 18oz sodas), where you can live (think environmental impact), where you can work (think coal mines) what games you can play (think banning football) all in the name of being safe and having a "healthy lifestyle", in the delusional hope of holding down healthcare costs.
EDITOR'S NOTE: it also gives leftist politicians a hellava lot of power over a big chunk of our economy, and thus our lives.
It will also result in restrictions on how much and what kind of medical treatment you can get. Think death panels. If you're
80 years old, suffering from heart disease, you could be deemed too old and have limited years to benefit from a heart transplant. In other words, death panels. In other words, people will die.
I will die some day, and so will you. There is nothing that can prevent that. Some will die earlier than others, and there's no way to predict or prevent that either.
An elderly friend of mine recently said "I've lived so long that my doctor tells me that if I want to live longer I have to give up everything that makes living worthwhile."
So it will be with single payer. The difference is that my friend currently has a choice. Under single payer, that choice is gone.