My First Socialist Worker Meeting

I attended my first meeting sponsored by the Socialist Worker Party this evening at Sanger Branch Library. It was great. My grandfather, his brother and my older cousin were all socialists and I felt right at home among the assembly. The topic was 'universal health care' for Americans. Wow! How radical is that.

Local physician Dr. John Ross was one of 3 panelists who spoke of the need for universal health care for all citizens as their right of being a citizen. Insurance companies would argue against it and have, in fact, been successful in stifling any thought of that. This is why they contribute so heavily to members of Congress. They know that once the tide begins to shift against them, it's good bye profits and easy street.

Some in Ohio are making an attempt at a single payer health care system at the state level. SPAN Ohio is attempting to get petitions signed to bring up legislation for universal health care in Ohio. Their website has informationon this project: http://www.spanohio.org/

Nationally, HR676 attempts to address the issue and one can only imagine the number of representatives, coached by the insurance donors, who will castigate the bill. In fact, that was the very issue I brought up during the open forum section of the meeting. Surely the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies have slick ad agencies already working on disinformation advertisements against such a 'radical' plan.

It was pointed out that Medicare seems to work well with a one-company administrator. Another point was that if corporate America would not have to plan for employee health care plans, they would free up great quantities of capital to invest in their product. Further, if taxes were slightly raised for the cost of the plan, that small increase would be balanced by the citizens not having to pay monthly insurance costs, prescription drugs, co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred even with 'insurance.'

Clearly it is a no-brainer. Yet that means nothing because of the amount of money and power wielded by insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyests in Congress. They have already 'bought' the majority.

I believe that soon, millions of middle-class Americans will wake up and realize what a ruse this has been, how they have been scammed by both the insurance industry and politicians. Whether that comes sooner or later spells the difference between savings now or later.

I'd bet on later.

A link that discusses the issue: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072707S.shtml