Apparently there is no healthcare problem

This opinion piece from the East Valley Tribune just shows how short-sighted and dumb some people in the news media can be.

The piece entitled "Shadegg has a point about healthcare" argues that no one really goes without healthcare. After all, we have a system that provides reduced or free healthcare if you cannot afford to pay or don't have insurance. Don't even get me started on the inefficiencies of running a system this way.

Ok Mr. Le Templar, while factually true that we do not turn away people in dire need of healthcare would you admit that with about 45% percent of bankruptcies being related to medical expenses that we still have a huge problem.

The problem is that the middle class gets screwed in our current system. If you are very poor, there are programs to help. If you are very wealthy it is likely that you have an employer who provides health insurance. That leaves people in the lower and middle class in a lurch if they lose their job or cannot buy healthcare on their own. I personally have been in the unenviable situation of trying to decide whether it was worth going to the doctor to have something checked knowing full well that my insurance would only cover a small portion of the cost and would likely drop or greatly increase the cost of my coverage the next year.

I doubt I am alone in making that calculation. There are many times when individuals decide to go without vital medicine or avoid going to the emergency room or doctor because they hope their problem will go away without a two or three day hospital stay putting them thousands of dollars in debt.

There is also a larger problem. The only reason I am no longer running my own business is because of healthcare. It was not that I could not afford my premiums, it was that as a two to three person company our insurance was always at risk. I could not ask my family to risk going without healthcare for the sake of my personal ambition. The satisfaction of doing what you love and being your own boss sometimes takes a backseat your family's well being. There is also the fact the no matter how much I wanted to provide insurance to my employees, it was simple financially out of reach.

I think what you are referring to is a distinction without a difference. Your argument is both specious and asinine.

The Republicans Make Me Laugh...

This article from the Arizona Republic goes into a hypothetical matchup between Janet Napolitano and John McCain and not surprisingly Janet is ahead by 11 points. I maybe be occasionally disappointed by Janet, but I have to say she is very smart, competent and a masterful politician. Apparently, the Arizona Republican Party thinks that intellectual giant John Shadegg will crush her if McCain decides not to run... Here is the money quote:

On the GOP side, U.S. Rep. John Shadegg is among a handful of potential heirs apparent to McCain's seat. McCaffrey called Shadegg "one of a number of people who are in a different league than Napolitano."

It is almost hard to stop laughing when you read something like that... IS that league little league? If Shadegg is the best they have got, they are in a lot of trouble. I hate to break it to you guys at the ARP, but Shadegg is a wienie.