Congress passed, then President Bush vetoed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill. This legislation would provide health care for 10 million uninsured children at an added cost of 35 Billion per year. President Bush said it is too costly and a move to socialized medicine. He thinks we should concentrate on providing coverage to the poor and wants to compromise with Congress. As for now, Congress is unwilling to compromise and is gearing up to override his veto.
I sure want to provide care for the kids but Bush may have some points. My biggest reason not to support the bill is that the AMA is for it. They are generally opposed to any legislation that even smells like socialized medicine.
To oppose this bill is like being against apple pie and motherhood. Even though it may be too costly and will lead us even more rapidly to the inevitability of a single payer system (the federal government), the President’s veto is another nail in the coffin of the Republican Party. It is a virtual certainly that Hillary Clinton will be the next president and an equal certainty that universal heath coverage will become a reality. The Iraq War was enough to have done the Republicans in, but the veto of SCHIP sealed their fate.
It’s sort of nice that the rest of the nation will be able to join me on the porch and not have to work. Fortunately, the government will be taking care of all our needs. I was just born too early. I had to do something called work to finally earn the privilege of sitting on the porch. I must admit that I was born a privileged child in that I had a brain and was given the eye of the tiger by my family to survive and achieve. We sure didn’t have much money and nothing coming from the government. I was also lucky that I didn’t get sick very often. My mother was my primary care physician. She was armed with Vicks salve, Syrup Pepsin and Mercurochrome; that took care of most everything. Also, a doctor’s office call, in my day, was only a couple of dollars and they even came to the house. So, because most folks aren’t fortunate enough to have a mother like mine and modern medical care is so incredibly expensive, I would have to say I would support the SCHIP bill. My main problem is agreeing with the AMA.