by Bradley Charles

Created on: October 30, 2009   Last Updated: October 31, 2009

The first thing I want to say is that I think that President Obama and Congress for the most part have what they believe to be our best interest in mind, just like I would like to think that has been the case with each president before him. That being said, I don't think that anyone who hasn't lived on the lower middle class to poor side of society, can really judge what's best for the needy.

"Universal" health care is kind of a dumb concept anyway because the word "universal" implies that it's going to be what's best for everyone and there is no way to make everyone happy nor to take care of the needs of each individual person with one program, no matter what the particular problem is that is being addressed.

Take myself for instance. I rarely ever get sick. I have been around the flu every year, in relatively close contact with 25-35 different employees at work each week, and even once with my wife having the flu, I've never had it. The last time I went to the doctor, I think it ended up being $50. No need for insurance for me.

I agree that some people need it that can't afford it and this program might benefit those who aren't paying taxes in the first place, which is really no change since the same leeches are draining the country of its other program benefits like Food Stamps and WIC. This brings me to a great story.

I work in a grocery store and our business is, to be honest, reliant on Food Stamps. I would say that at least half of our revenue is generated from Food Stamps, so of course, I see a lot of customers that have Food Stamp cards. One day, I catch wind of this guy who is walking around the store and talking customers into letting him pay for their food with his Food Stamp card in exchange for a fraction of the total amount paid to him in cash.

I know the guy by name so I wait for him to come into the store, and sure enough, I catch him at it. I took him outside and told him that if he didn't want me to report him, that I didn't want to see him in my store anymore. He stammered "I'm sorry Mr. Brad..." several times, smelling like liquor all the while. This is what Food Stamps is funding.

Side note, the same guy has 'two' Food Stamp cards, one from New York and one from Georgia, which is, of course, illegal. The more systems that we have in place, the more systems people are going to figure out how to cheat.

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