First off, this question is primarily directed at individuals living in the United States, but anyone is welcome to contribute.
My question -- is it moral for the U.S., a country that possess a great deal of wealth and resources, not to provide universal health care?
Now, I've heard the arguments against it before, but they are all very shallow and don't hold up well. "It's too expensive!" -- are you willing to look your loved ones in the eyes and tell them dollars are more valuable than people? "There is no benefit to wealthy individuals and corporations" -- on the contrary. The uninsured make up the majority of those doing your grunt work. The people who fry your burgers, take your orders, sell you shirts, gas up your tank and yes, even watch your children all make up the bulk of the uninsured population. You may not care about us as people, but you care when that cook with untreated pneumonia coughs on your plate of fettucine alfredo or when your nanny with the flu sneezes in the faces of your children. In addition, what company prefers to have employees who are always fatigued, zoning out, calling in sick and coming in late because of untreated minor illness? "Universal health care will create long waits in the doctor's office" -- Could be, but I can assure you, as an uninsured person I'd rather have to wait my turn and be patient than suffer without end because health care is too expensive and unavailable. "Things are already being done to help" -- True, in some cases. In Michigan, you can qualify for free insurance if you're making less than $3,500 a year. What if you're making $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000? Out of luck. These methods alleviate guilt but don't do anything to help those who are truly trying to better themselves through work or education.
I don't want to know it it's convenient or if it'll help the rich get richer, I want to know what the moral and ethical implications are, and whether refusing to meet the needs of the poor is something Jesus would approve of. What do you think?
For your reference, the number of uninsured persons in the U.S. in 2003 was 45,000,000. 8.5 million of these were children. That's 15.6 percent of the American population, in case you were wondering. The source for this stat is the U.S. Census Bureau
My question -- is it moral for the U.S., a country that possess a great deal of wealth and resources, not to provide universal health care?
Now, I've heard the arguments against it before, but they are all very shallow and don't hold up well. "It's too expensive!" -- are you willing to look your loved ones in the eyes and tell them dollars are more valuable than people? "There is no benefit to wealthy individuals and corporations" -- on the contrary. The uninsured make up the majority of those doing your grunt work. The people who fry your burgers, take your orders, sell you shirts, gas up your tank and yes, even watch your children all make up the bulk of the uninsured population. You may not care about us as people, but you care when that cook with untreated pneumonia coughs on your plate of fettucine alfredo or when your nanny with the flu sneezes in the faces of your children. In addition, what company prefers to have employees who are always fatigued, zoning out, calling in sick and coming in late because of untreated minor illness? "Universal health care will create long waits in the doctor's office" -- Could be, but I can assure you, as an uninsured person I'd rather have to wait my turn and be patient than suffer without end because health care is too expensive and unavailable. "Things are already being done to help" -- True, in some cases. In Michigan, you can qualify for free insurance if you're making less than $3,500 a year. What if you're making $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000? Out of luck. These methods alleviate guilt but don't do anything to help those who are truly trying to better themselves through work or education.
I don't want to know it it's convenient or if it'll help the rich get richer, I want to know what the moral and ethical implications are, and whether refusing to meet the needs of the poor is something Jesus would approve of. What do you think?
For your reference, the number of uninsured persons in the U.S. in 2003 was 45,000,000. 8.5 million of these were children. That's 15.6 percent of the American population, in case you were wondering. The source for this stat is the U.S. Census Bureau
