With Liberty and Health Care For All

In her letter of 10/9/07, 'Gotcha Covered' (The Gazette, Colorado Springs), Kathy Verlo wonders why ‘socialized’ is a derogatory term and she makes the point that under a federal government single-payer health care insurance system, ‘everyone pays and everyone benefits.’
Well, first the simple truth. The elephant in the room that no one will notice is that under our Constitutional Republic (not the ‘true democracy’ to which she defers) the federal government has no constitutional power or authority to enact any federal health care or insurance system, mandatory or voluntary. No current Congressman, Senator or prospective Presidential candidate to whom I have made this point has been able to refute it. Short of a Constitutional Amendment such a program is a State prerogative. If our State’s constitution permits such a program then it should be proposed and debated in Denver, not D.C.
Second, socialism is just another name for collectivism which has been foisted upon the world in various forms including communism and fascism. It has never worked. It did not work that first harsh winter in Jamestown and it doesn’t work anywhere today. Socialism is merely the equal sharing of misery. Does she really want us to be more like decrepit, decaying Europe which produces nothing really, except laziness? The fact is most people of means who need specialized medical care come to the U.S.A from Mexico, Canada, Great Britain and most of the world. Most medications and medical treatments are the product of American research and development.
Finally, which successful federal government social program does she want to model this one after? You can hear the pin drop. There really aren’t any. These programs rapidly become bloated, inefficient and counter-productive to their original intent. Let’s leave the federal government to its true responsibilities of defending the borders, coining the money and building the roads on which to deliver the mail. I agree that we can make improvements in our health care delivery and insurance systems, but not the way that she has proposed.