Health Care

I have a major problem with the new SCHIP program that congress is trying to ram down our throats. I don't want the government paying for my children's health care. I will say that for a very brief period of time (approx 3 months), we were on state health care. However, we were way below the poverty line for income at that point.

Now, we make well over the poverty line. We are a single income family. If we did not have military health care, we could still afford to pay for health insurance. Yes, we would have to reduce our standard of living. Maybe we would have bought a smaller home, lived in a neighborhood that was not so prestigious, only had one car, not had high speed Internet, not had a cell phone. Perhaps, we might not have cable or eaten out as much. The point is, we could have done it.

Now, congress is trying to provide "free" health care for children up to age 25 (since when are 25 yos children?) in families that make up to $80,000 a year. Why couldn't someone who makes $80,000 a year afford health insurance?

No, I don't live in a high cost of living area. But, I did. And on the same amount of money we make now, I was able to afford to put my children in private schools. If I could do that, I could have homeschooled them or put them in public schools and purchased private health insurance.

If you have ever lived in a country that has socialized healthcare, you understand why I don't want it. I lived in Greece for a short while when I was in the Navy. It was not a good thing to have to go to the public hospital. After having access to American hospitals, going to a hospital where the emergency room is just one big open room and they don't always give you pain killers before setting your bones is just not fun. The people there who could afford private hospitals went to them.

I am tired of liberals (Republican liberals included) telling me that I have to pay for everyone to do this and that. Our schools are awful and they just keep throwing money at them.

Money and government over site are not the answer to everything. This country needs freedom. I am willing to fight for it--are you? Let your congressmen and senators and the president know that we don't want to pay for "free" health care with increases to our taxes. The idea that taxes on tobacco will be enough to pay for this program is laughable. We are trying to do away with tobacco use. At some point, the cost will be so prohibitive that not enough people will purchase tobacco products, then where will they get their money from? Not ME!