FAN: Universal Wealthcare

We sometimes dive into politics and I think I want to cannonball into this one. This one isn't about blowing shit up or torturing terrorists or pulling the fingernails off of child molesters before burning them at the stake. This one is about universal health care. Or is it? Maybe it's just about spending money wisely. Don't jump all over me for this if you're in the President's corner. If you read closely you'll see that I want those that really need it to be covered. Those that really need it. That's the problem. How do you define them?

This issue has been hot for a while and I'm just now writing about it. Why? Well, I finally have time and I saw something on TV this morning that disturbed me. I'm not even sure what city it was in, but people were in line waiting for a free health care clinic to open so they could get processed. It was still dark outside. The line was long.....think Wii lines 2 weeks before Christmas at Walmart long. Why did this particular clip annoy me? They spoke to some people in line and showed many more. The stories they told all sounded good on the surface, but I'd like a little harder edge to my interviewing of these people. I have some really hard questions I want to ask. Really hard. Ready?

Where do you work? If you are unemployed what system are you currently in to make a living? I want to know these things why? Well, I'm guessing that some of the folks in this line have an option to buy cafeteria insurance at their jobs and they don't. I'm guessing some think they can't pay all of their bills if they take out money for health care. Sure, call me an asshole for pointing this out and I'm also sure it's only a fraction of the people there, but how many of them in a family of four have four cellphones? How many of the family of fours have four televisions, all hooked up to premium cable? Roll with me people....I have to be right about some of them.

I have a job. I have a very good job. I have very good health coverage, but it's not cheap by a long shot. See, my company offers four different plans. Guess which one I have? The most expensive. Why? Because it's important to me. We're a relatively healthy family but I can't stand systems. I'm not going to a doctor when my shoulder hurts only to have him give me a form and tell me to so see a shoulder guy. I'm going to the shoulder guy on day one. I pay more just so I have that luxury. What do I pay? I don't know but it's between $3-$4k per year. I don't expect somebody who is making $30k per year with a family of 4 to pay $3k for health care, but I do want them to pay something. Again, I'm not trying to be a creep - I know there are millions of Americans who really truly need this and I'm not saying don't give it to them. What I'm saying is to be very, very..........very careful when handing out the golden tickets. Somebody who is historically poor - YES. Somebody who is historically stupid - NOT SO MUCH.

There was a lady in line who had a young lad with her. She was waiting in line to get him free glasses at the clinic. Ladies and gentlemen, this did not look like a woman distraught and down on her luck. Her coat would cover the cost of the glasses! I do not take the eye care option on my insurance. Why? Well, because I know what our eye care costs are for the year and since the eye insurance sucks and only pays for certain things, the entire nut paid out of pocket yearly is the same cost as paying the premiums all year and getting their measly deductions. We go to Walmart for our vision needs. The eye doctor is not a Walmart employee. He just has his office there and they get bulk prices for the wares which makes it very attractive to him. We talk about it. I've been going there to the same guy for over 10 years. I love him. My wife loves him. My daughter loves him. My exam costs like $40. I buy the most expensive breathable, disposal contacts that they offer. Total yearly cost? $160. Still A Stroke has purple Miley Cyrus frames that her friends rave over. She has the no scratch no glare lenses and I think the whole deal was $140. How much would it be without the name attached and without the space-age polymer applied? If that mom smokes or plays the lottery or goes to lunch everyday - she should be shot. She's taking the time and resources away from a kid who really does need the glasses because she is irresponsible and careless with her financial decisions.

One more rant and then I'm gone for the day. I've been paying $3-$4k per year for health insurance for my family since we became a family. I'm 40. My daughter is 9. I think Mrs. Fan is ....29....I think she says? Guess what? Yes if something bad happened we'd be screwed, but I would guess that since we were married, in any one year if we would pay for medical out of pocket we would not have incurred half that much in costs. You can go to the doctor without insurance. They have very lenient payment plans. I want to go through that line of people waiting for the free clinic to see what kind of cars they all drive. You know deep in your heart you want to know too. How many moderate family cars are there? How many leases are there? Those leases aren't for Saturns. Trust me. You weigh 350 pounds? You sure could afford the buffet and snack cakes, fatty. Back of the line. You have an 80 gb iPod? The cost of that alone would pay for 3 doctors visits easily. Priorities. Make sure your family is taken care of and then spend your money however you want to.

I am not against every American citizen who needs free health care to have it. I just want to sit on the board and help determine who needs it. Is that too much to ask? Let the left say what they can have. Let the right say who can have it. I grew up in the second poorest county in Pennsylvania. I had a paper route when I was about 12. I had people who couldn't pay me $1.10 on Thursday until their checks came in. I would also see those same people at Nick's Cut Rate buying smokes, lottery tickets, magazines and cheesie poofs. That's the economics lesson I had as a youngster. Still A Dad gave my sister and I the best lesson a parent can give. Is that a "want" or a "need"? You can't buy one of the two until you can afford it. You need to figure out which is which. When grown ass men can't make the right choices for their families, please don't take it out of my tax dollars. Pass it on.