Much was made during the George W. Bush presidency regarding safety and privacy. Those opposed to Bush policies frequently invoked Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
I've read enough of the founders to be certain that they would apply the same sentiment to domestic programs with altruistic goals -- for example, "universal" healthcare.
If the federal government succeeds in seizing that portion of healthcare that it does not already control through Medicare and Medicaid, government-controlled rationing will replace "essential freedom." A two-tiered healthcare system will ensue. Politicians, the politically connected and the wealthy will get first-class medical services. The rest of us will get rationing at the whim of bureaucrats.
Those who support government-run healthcare must believe the American people are incapable of taking care of themselves and each other unless coerced by force of law.
Those of us who oppose government intervention into healthcare share a deep abiding faith with the Founding Fathers that we the people are capable; that government meddling outside those powers enumerated in Article I, Section VIII, of the United States Constitution is dangerous to individual liberty.
The simple facts: The federal government -- before cap and trade and before "universal" healthcare -- confiscates approximately 20 percent of gross domestic product. State and local governments confiscate about 10 percent more. In simplest terms, that means 30 percent of each and every American's earnings must be confiscated by direct taxes or indirectly by taxes hidden in the cost of goods and services. Current proposals will increase that confiscation to nearly 50 percent.
When this "reform" passes, your healthcare will be rationed and your cost of living will increase. That is, you will lose "essential liberty" regarding your healthcare.
-- William Burke, Thousand Oaks