Thursday, December 18, 2008

One Third Favor Socialized Medicine

According to Rassmussen,
Fifty-one percent (51%) of U.S. voters oppose the creation of a single-payer national health insurance plan overseen by the federal government... Thirty percent (30%) favor a government-run health plan, and 19% are undecided.
At the risk of sounding glass-half-full (ok, technically 30% full), what are nearly a third of my fellow citizens thinking? Are there really that many people in the U.S. now who believe that everyone else owes them medical services? Or, are they just ignorant enough to believe that government pulls money for health care out of a big magic pot supplied by cooperative leprechauns. (I confess, the way the Feds have been behaving lately, that view isn't entirely irrational.)

On the other hand, 52% of voters chose Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States, so perhaps I should — in a glass-not-quite-half-full way — be thankful that the number is less than a third.

4 comments:

VH said...

The "universal health care" drums are beating and it looks like even high profile businesses are ready to give in to such an outrageous idea.

Anonymous said...

Maybe since members of Congress get government health, the 30% think they deserve it too.
There's a budget item that should be deleted.
And the pension - they can do 401ks like the rest of us, and watch the value drop 30% in less than a year...

Jeffrey Perren said...

Good idea. Not to mention including them in all the other rules they opt out of.

The lack of harmful consequences that reflect back on those engaged in immoral behavior is one of the chief reasons it's so widespread -- and not just in government.

Jeffrey Perren said...

VH,

Sad but true, and for a long time. During the 19th century there were dozens of railroad executives eager to run to the government to get an unfair leg up on the competition. Clamoring for the politicians to interfere in the market is as loud in large corporate board rooms as it is at HuffPo.