Standing with a group of protesters outside U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's office on Friday afternoon, Matt Ullman worried that his sign -- "Born free. Died waiting for health care" -- sent a mixed message.
"I picked that one, and now I'm kind of wondering if it reads right," he said.
Ullman was troubled that motorists who passed Cleaver's office on W. 31st St. might think he wanted the federal government to take a more active role in the administration of the nation's health care. He does not.
A recent Gallup poll indicates that most Americans want Congress to overhaul health care. The 40 or so protesters outside Cleaver's office represented the minority opinion.
By most measures, the U.S. gets a poor return on the vast fortune we spend on health care. So why preserve the system?
Ullman, for one, said he does not trust studies which show the U.S. trailing similar nations in life expectancy. "[T]he mortality rates are skewed," he said. "They don't mention that some of their babies die within 30 days -- that kind of skews those results."
W. Dale Russell waved a sign that said "Free health care will cost you your country." Russell is aghast at federal spending levels. "We're spending my great grandchildren's money," he said.
I asked Russell if had a solution for controlling health-care spending, which represents 16 percent of the gross domestic product. He said this was a "moot point." Russell went on to describe a secretary he once employed "who wanted to cancel her health insurance so she could have a bigger paycheck, so she could party more. What should we do about those people? Give them a free ride?"
I told Russell that I thought Obama wanted to make people buy insurance.
"Right," he said.
It sounds like you would like that.
"No."
But you just complained about somebody opting out.
"That's right. But who's going to pay for it?"
A woman joined the conversation, which then turned to a provision in the legislation that would make private insurance illegal. Or so the right says. The left says the notion is hooey.
On the other side of the street, a woman who gave the name of Tina held a sign declaring socialized medicine to be a failure.
You can't name one country where socialized medicine works? I asked.
"No."
So it doesn't work in Canada?
She shook her head -- no.
I mentioned poll results I had seen in a recent New York Times Magazine article about rationing. Last year, Gallup found that 56 percent of Americans have confidence in their health-care system. In Canada and Great Britain, the number was 73 percent.
Tina focused on the 27 percent of Canadians and Brits. "What about the rest of them?" she asked.
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Rep. Cleaver has a history of turning a deaf ear to those who do not represent minority or special interest groups within the 5th district. Therefore, there were 40 people wasting time that could better spent raising funds for "Fire Emanuel Cleaver!" billboards.
For some reason Rep. Cleaver measures success by the amount of $$ he brings back to special interest groups rather who will in turn re-elect him rather than practicing fiscal responsiblity.
I'm from Missouri, if you want to re-form healthcare SHOW ME reform in Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans & Indian Affairs Health Care systems so that those entitlement programs are not running in deficits.
It is not about health care reform, it is about the government controling the life of every U.S. citizen from cradel to grave. This is why Obama-care cannot be allowed to pass. The cost of one-payer Socialized Healthcare is to be measured in the loss of the Republic and the freedom secured by its Constitution, not in dollars and cents.
Oh look! A Rasmussen poll dated Wednesday, July 22, 2009 shows that 53% of US voters now OPPOSE Congressional Health Care Reform- and only 44% support it. So I guess those 40 people that were representing the "minority" are now part of the majority.
I would imagine that people are beginning to read the bill and learn more about it since it came out last week. Pitch- You really don't have your ear to the ground, do you? This has been rumbling for a while- I would have thought that with your journalistic prowess that you would have been ahead of the 8-ball, seen this coming, and presented less of a "liberal slant" in your article.
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