by Bob Schmidt

Created on: July 03, 2009

With an eye on the huge deficits being faced by the federal government, as well as state governments, it is difficult to understand how anything significant can be realistically considered at this time. Elected politicians are supposed to act in the public interest. With a crisis looming everywhere every direction we look, can we afford to add to the list of funding problems?

Healthcare legislation can be studied before long term decisions are made. It is bogus to present the issue as a crisis that must be resolved without even debating the issue. The rush to pass legislation before it can even be discussed properly is irresponsible. There are lessons to be learned from the recent bailouts that were rushed through Congress without proper consideration.

While healthcare is high on the list of priorities, the allocation of existing taxes that should be a part of funding should be considered. For example, in the area of tobacco taxes already being collected at the state and federal level, little of the revenue is dedicated to offsetting health problems caused by tobacco consumption. Although it is difficult to obtain actual numbers, some states dedicate less than 10% of their cigarette tax revenue to health issues.

Tobacco and alcohol taxes have always been a "cash cow" to state and federal taxation. The tax receipts are used as general fund revenues instead of the purpose stated in justifying the taxes in the first place. Social Security is the classic example of the same type of thinking. The receipts from the taxes are never saved for the purpose stated, but spent wherever politicians find deficits that they cannot cover.

Sadly, a rush to quickly decide the fate of healthcare legislation will probably continue. There seems to be no patience for serious debate on the implications of obligating additional trillions of dollars to be spent by a country that is now a debtor nation. The historical examples of deficit spending by any nation pale in comparison to the potential expense of present healthcare proposals.

The road to any destination can be a long one, but all intended destinations can be reached by taking one step after another. Universal healthcare might be a worthwhile objective in the United States. If that is the objective, it can be achieved by taking one step at a time. By reducing the current number of Americans who are uninsured by increments, instead of one large leap, it might be accomplished in an affordable manner.

As a nation with a proud history of independence, the United States cannot afford to leap blindly into healthcare programs likely to destroy the economic viability of the country. Everyone knows the lessons of being financially responsible, and the penalty of spending without regard to income. Should American politicians decide to bankrupt their country on this issue, they will demonstrate a dereliction of the basic duties to which they are obligated. Putting our country in danger of survival is treason, and always has been.

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