After watching a newscast of a Barney Frank town hall meeting that was disgraceful, I was furious. The town hall meeting that was meant to be full of concerned citizens wanting information or those who had legitimate concerns was actually packed with vocal health industry hit-men and women who were spouting lies and trying to scare the senior citizens there. They kept bringing up the lies about ‘death panels”, the government having access to your bank account, rationing, and the stripping of benefits for the elderly on Medicare. LIES! ALL LIES!
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After seeing that, I had to write a letter to each of the Kansas Senators and Representative who (supposedly) represents fellow Kansans. My letter follows:
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Senator Sam Brownback, KS August 20, 2009
303 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Support for healthcare reform legislation
Senator Brownback,
I hope that the legislative session is treating you well. I am writing today to voice my support for legislation to help reform the healthcare system in the United States of America.
I first must express my disgust at the tactics being used in an attempt to derail legitimate conversation regarding healthcare change. As a former Republican who currently identifies myself as an independent voter, it only underscores the validity of my decision to no longer identify myself as a Republican.
As an average American, what I see from my living room is this: health insurance and healthcare companies whose profits are threatened are walking lock-step with profits-first Republicans to do almost anything to block any form of legislation that would slow the wide-open spigot of money flowing into those companies. It is obvious to me that various organizations are sending very vocal plants to town hall meetings and demonstrations. They present themselves as average, concerned citizens in order to spread lies and rumors to those who are attempting to gain information and engage in a thoughtful discussion. It is particularly shameful that this deception and these practices extend upward through the ranks of radio and television talk-show hosts and, seemingly, into Congress itself. This behavior has done one thing for me: it has solidified my stance that legislative changes to the health system must be pushed through despite the fear-mongering and outright lying from some.
As a true average American citizen, I am outraged at the behavior shown in the hallowed halls of Congress. In my younger, more naïve years, I imagined Congress as a collection of intelligent, honest representatives of the people. I know now that a portion of those walking the same halls John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan walked are as dishonest as they come and are only there to represent their own and their friends’ wallets.
I will state that I am in favor of a government insurance plan as an alternative to private health insurance. This option should be open to anyone who cannot obtain private insurance or when private insurance is beyond their fiscal means. I am also in favor of the plan being available to anyone who chooses to join the plan on their own accord, assuming a sliding-scale premium based on income.
I am opposed to mandating that small businesses contribute to health insurance for their employees, but would be in favor of tax incentives to small businesses who do contribute. I believe that many small businesses just could not afford the additional cost on top of the current government-mandated costs for each employee.
I am in favor of eliminating tax breaks for large insurance companies who report record profits year after year. The only reason to pad the insurance company’s pockets with taxpayer money is greed, and that should be stopped. The taxpayer money saved could be better utilized by helping to provide additional health care to those in need. While you’re at it, drop the tax breaks for the oil companies who are recording all-time world-record profits in a time when most average Americans are struggling financially. That additional taxpayer money could also go toward healthcare spending or toward reducing the deficit.
I sincerely hope that there is serious, intelligent conversation going on within the halls and behind closed doors of Congress. I understand the competition that low-cost, government-run healthcare presents to private health insurers and providers. Hopefully a middle-ground approach can be found that would lessen the impact to them. However, at this time in history, I believe that too many have-nots are suffering in a country of plenty to justify sustaining the status-quo for greed’s sake.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Mark
