I’ve always thought that one of the greatest things about American society is the fact that most Americans are “givers” – they will volunteer, they will help some cause or the other. People routinely donate to charities, volunteer their time at local public schools, and line up to give blood. Neighbors are busy, if nothing else, in coaching local baseball/soccer teams.

Which is why I find the opposition to government led healthcare such a surprise. I admit that Obama’s plans need to be fleshed out in more detail, and there are a whole lot of important questions that need to be asked and answered before such a reform can be realistically thought about, much less implemented. But still what he’s trying to do is a good thing, if you keep in mind that healthcare in the US is prohibitively expensive, and that many people go bankrupt every year because of healthcare expenses. Expensive healthcare is the No.1 reason for bankruptcy in the US.

Ira Rosofsky at Salon puts it pretty nicely whe he writes :

I’m 62 — old enough to cash in my 401K, yet still too young for Medicare — and, despite my advancing age, some might view this as just another infantile boomer rant. But I want to put in a word for the idea that the elderly among us are just plain selfish — as is any group with health insurance that believes what’s good for them is threatened if made available to others.

Where is the idea of community, the idea that we sacrifice and help others? Those who oppose government, conveniently forget that the community, “we the people,” wrote the Constitution to “promote the common welfare.”

There’s been a whole lot of stupidity about “death panels” in the press, and the lead rumor-monger is none other than a potential president. I totally agree with Carl Hiaasen, also at Salon, when he writes :

Nobody with an IQ higher than emergency-room temperature could ever believe that “death panels” would be appointed to nudge the elderly toward euthanasia. Yet for idle entertainment, it’s hard to beat Sarah Palin’s ignorant nattering on the subject.

He goes on to say :

Nobody knows for sure how many Americans don’t have medical coverage, but the most frequent estimates range from 43 million to 47 million. Some carry no insurance by choice, but the majority simply cannot afford it.

We’ve already spent more on Iraq than the Democrats’ current healthcare plans are projected to cost over the next decade. Yet some of the same bright bulbs in Congress who were excited to bankroll that foolish invasion are now huffing indignantly about the price tag for insuring our own citizens.

Reform can’t work without including the uninsured, not just because it’s humane but also because it will ultimately save taxpayers a fortune. The public cost of treating uninsured patients, who often don’t see a doctor until there’s an emergency, is boggling.