A nation betrayed

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To the Editor:

It was another sad day for our nation when the Democratic Party passed the health bill over the objections of the people and without a proper consensus between the parties. Instead, we have a national health care policy born of corruption, greed and blind ambition. The president made many backroom deals with labor unions and politicians whose beliefs and morals, as we can see, can be bought when the price is right.

It still doesn’t solve the underlying problems. Healthcare is still too expensive, and this law does not address or limit the cost. The insurance companies can double your cost tomorrow, and you can only write a check. Tort reform hasn’t been addressed, and for the working poor like myself, I still can’t pay for it.

It’s unfortunate an earlier part of the bill was removed where people who didn’t sign up for healthcare would be sent to prison. At least that way, I’d have free housing, three hot meals a day, and free healthcare. Now, I’m looking at penalties from the state and penalties from the federal government for not having healthcare.

I bought a home on the Vineyard in 2005 and scrape by each month to pay the mortgage, utilities and food. After that, there’s not enough left over to pay a $500 monthly health insurance bill. Instead, I go without and pay my doctor cash when I need to renew my prescriptions. I can only hope I don’t drop dead before my last child graduates high school, because I really can’t afford healthcare now.

That check will go to the government for tax increases and penalties to pay for bonuses at banks, insurance companies and auto manufacturers. I thought President Obama wasn’t going to redistribute wealth and the poor (me) wouldn’t get a tax increase. He did promise that, right?

The government that pays $800 for a toilet seat and $400 for a wrench is now in charge of our health care. I know the government is so good at running things efficiently and effectively and now they are running healthcare (what nation will the Canadians go to for healthcare now that we’ve adopted their system of rationed healthcare? Granada?). We now have a healthcare commissioner (a death czar, soon to be named) who will determine who gets what care.

When the Commonwealth passed the mandatory healthcare insurance requirement, our legislature promised the second part of the process was to address the high cost. Instead, they passed the requirement and dropped even the pretense of addressing the cost. Is your state representative or senator even discussing it? Having elected lawyers to reform tort law is akin to having the fox (or an unnamed dog from Vineyard Haven) guard the hen house.

As mentioned by a previous writer, I too was brought up in a Republican household. Amongst the many Republican values my parents taught me are faith, self-sufficiency, independence, integrity, charity, stewardship, and moral character. All of these values are missing from the Democratic Party politicians who are currently ruining our Commonwealth and nation. I’m proud of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) who is steadfast and loyal to his constituents and beliefs. It’s the sellout crowd like Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) who betrayed their nations. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our local Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA) who long ago sold us out cheaply. It will be a pleasure to see this law repealed and the Democrats in Congress replaced.

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. ~Oscar Wilde

David Cartier

Edgartown