Quote:I'm not sure I would trust healthcare (or social security, or emergency services) in the hands of private enterprise. All private companies care about is making a profit. Health care isn't about making a profit, it's about making people well, or lessening their pain, even if it's not profitable to do so.
I would not trust the US goverment to run a tricycle, let alone anything larger or more complex like say a healthcare system. On the other hand the current system isn't working and needs to be fixed and private companies can't do it.
And as for the stupendous selfishness of people saying "but I don't want to pay for other people to get better", what about the taxes you already pay? They might be used to build roads that you will never drive on, or schools that you (if you have no children) will never need. Heck, they might even get used for something that you don't agree with, like drug rehabilitation clinics. Is spending some of that money on health care really any different?
I live in Australia, where we have a government run medical system (with the option of private health insurance). If I break my leg, or get hit by a car, or my endometriosis flares up again, I can go down to the hospital and get treated without paying anything, regardless of whether I am rich or poor. Yes, a certain amount of my taxes (including the Medicare Levy, which is 1.5% of my annual income) goes towards it, regardless of whether I get sick or not, but I don't care. I like that system, and I wouldn't trade it in for whatever bullshit system you have going in the States.