I want to know: When did having health care insurance in America become a right? Moreover, why is it, in certain people’s beliefs, such a right that I should be forced to have health insurance or worse, if I own a company (which I do) that I should be forced to provide healthcare insurance for my employees?

From my understanding and reading of the Constitution of the United States of America there is no such provision or mandate. But, most liberals (Democrats or what I should say is Socialists) want to put in place just such a policy?

Take for example Hillary Clinton: In her speeches as a candidate for presidency she has actually said that freedom is meaningless if a family can’t take their child to a doctor’s office for treatment. I want to know where this happens? Even the poorest today would be covered under welfare (medicare or medicaid) - I know, my own brother had to have his hips replaced and was not able to pay for the surgery. He was unemployed, had no health insurance and somehow still had both his hips replaced at UCI Medical Center; a very reputable, well respected teaching hospital. So I say to Hillary: Stop trying to scare people with your lies.

Then you have John Edwards who said in response to the question “what if I don’t want health insurance?” Mr. Edwards reply was “you won’t have that choice.” WHOA! “You Won’t have that choice!” Mr. Edwards are you actually saying that you are going to take our (another) freedom away?  I will be forced to have health insurance? If I don’t are you going to put me in jail?

I don’t know about you, but I was born into the land of the free, the home of the brave. I take this very seriously anytime someone threatens my freedom. I hope that the rest of my countrymen and women will feel the same way and shun these ideas. We as a country need to realize that these people are not looking out for our best interest they are only seeking power. The power to control the individual. The power to make the choices for you. You do really need to ask what would be next: You can’t eat at McDonald’s or Wendy’s or Burger King. You can’t drink coffee. You can’t drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi. You can’t go out at night. You can’t kiss someone. You can’t  eat ice-cream or cookies (Sorry Baskin Robbins and Mrs. Fields). -- Yes, all these things are bad for you just like not having health insurance. So the government is not going to allow it.

The question is where will they stop at trying to control our lives?

On the issue of making an employer pay for health care this does much more harm than good. First, employers can offer full insurance coverage today (and many do) also most already offer to pay for a large portion of an employees coverage making coverage very reasonable (it can even be paid for with pre-tax dollars (when I had a plan like this and paid with pre-tax dollars I actually had more take home pay). A point to remember is that the employer never actually pays this cost anyway. The cost is simply passed on to the consumer (just like any taxes on a business).

Any cost incurred by a company to deliver a product is factored into the price f the product. If the costs increase (mandating healthcare coverage for example) then the end product price will reflect the increase. In fact it will cost more since the company needs to make additional margin to cover the overhead of those dollars. What this means is that insurance will actually have the effect of becoming more expensive than it is today.

A great example of this is to look at the costs included into any Union made automobile. The unions have placed these types of burdens on auto companies for years. So much so that in the last 2 years these companies have struggled to remain competitive and have lost market share and profits.

Now it should be said that I do have health insurance. While I think it is a good idea for everyone to have health insurance I do not think it is my place to make you have health insurance. Nor do I think that my employer should have to provide me health insurance.

In my life there have been periods when I did not have health insurance - by choice! Instead I chose to drive a car, or go out to movies, or consume alcohol. I chose to purchase books or ice-cream or cookies or soda. I chose to do other things with my money instead of investing in health insurance.

See we each have choices. Each of us make choices. Some of us have made bad choices which may have limited the amount of income earned. Those people may not be able to afford health insurance. I get that. I feel for them, but I should not be forced to pay for them (we have enough of that with our welfare burden). Instead I think there is opportunity for insurance companies to have a major medical insurance plan that is available at low cost that these people can elect to buy into (I have not researched it but I would bet that it is already available). Make it their choice.

No one forces anyone to work at a company that does not offer health insurance or for one that does not pay for health insurance. Now, not everyone can work for these companies either. So getting a job at one requires education and skills. Work toward improving education and skill-sets and we are better served. We will have better workers, better productivity, more people having health insurance.

Do not let these people continue to steal our freedoms. Every time we allow a freedom to be taken is one more step closer to tyranny.

America in Nov. 2008 stand up and let your voice be heard - let it be the voice of freedom. Let it be the voice of reason. The voice of choice.