Of those who would scream “socialism”
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
By Rob Thompson
Second to the fictional "death panels," the so-called "public option" has been a prime target for the hysterical opponents of President Obama's health care reform. They denounce the program as "socialist," or describe it as a "government take-over" of our health system.
Laying aside for a moment the fact that the public option would do no such thing, the wild attacks do raise an intriguing issue. It is this: if a public option health plan constitutes "socialism," then America has already arrived at such a point (happily and willingly) a long time ago.
As an advocate for children and families, I see the importance of different types of "public options" every day. For instance, most of our children attend publicly-funded schools. Many make use of publicly-funded crossing guards and eat publicly-funded meals. With just a little imagination, it is easy to see that North Carolina would be a drastically different place if we didn't have a public option for so many institutions and services that we take for granted.
Take, for instance, the publicly-funded police. They investigate crimes and catch the criminals, or at least they try. But what if we had to rely on a private company for our all of our safety needs? This company, let's call it "Blue Shield Big Gun," would presumably need to make a profit to stay in business and satisfy its investors. After a few years of operating, Blue Shield Big Gun would realize that it could save lots of money by refusing to protect citizens who have previously been victimized by crime. Before long, however, the violence and crime from unprotected neighborhoods would become so rampant that Blue Shield Big Gun could not effectively protect its ever decreasing coverage area and we are all in trouble.
On the off-chance that Blue Shield Big Gun caught in any criminals, we might rely on a privately-run, for-profit company to operate our prison system. It obviously costs much more to incarcerate violent offenders and sexual predators than it does lock-up the run-of-the-mill pickpocket, so perhaps our private prison company would give local residents a choice: pay for this criminal's imprisonment or welcome him home.
One could play out this scenario with any number of existing public options - the court system, public schools, social services - and find that the absence of a public option is a frightening prospect. And in the case of health care, it is an extremely frightening reality. Despite our national riches, over 50 million Americans lack health insurance.
That's a disgrace that poses a much greater danger to our collective freedom and well-being than any imaginable problem that could ever result from a "public option" - whatever silly label defenders of the status quo attempt to hang on it.
Rob Thompson is the Executive Director of the Covenant with North Carolina's Children
Last 5 posts in Progressive Voices
- Keep North Carolina on the road to recovery: support state fiscal relief - July 30th, 2010
- Dr. Don Berwick is an inspired, and inspirational, choice to lead Medicare - July 27th, 2010
- North Carolina’s shameful treatment of innocent, former death row inmates - July 26th, 2010
- Seeds of a solution evident in the housing crisis - July 20th, 2010
- Corporal Punishment Takes a Hit at the General Assembly - July 15th, 2010
Email This Post
Print This Post
