Cheers to Let People Die

You know what pisses me off? People saying everyone that is getting free health care is because they made "poor choices" Excuse me? My mother didn't CHOOSE to have the plant she worked for shut down...for the second time....and be out of a job. She SURE a HELL didn't CHOOSE to get breast cancer while she was out of work.

My mother paid taxes for 40 years, never took a dime from the government before now. That included when she was 19 and her my dad and my sister were living off peanut butter and pancakes. But because the company she worked for decided that "record profits" just weren't enough, they shut down her plant. Even AFTER accepting Bush's tax cuts.

I am SO SORRY that my mother CHOOSE to LIVE, by seeking treatment. I am SO terribly sorry it falls on the tax payers. Jeez... I think I need a drink before I chuck this computer.

I watched the video clip of this moment. It was a sad moment in many ways. The candidate being questioned did not even respond to the shouts. No response means agreement in my opinion.

BUT, I'm glad this happened. Maybe this was exactly the trigger we needed to really get to the bottom of this long on-going healthcare debate. Because this is what it boils down to, what kind of country do we want to be? One that let's people die if they can't afford healthcare? Or one that comes together, as we do in many more areas of life (education, transportation, utilities, CAR insurance, etc.) to provide at least a minimal level of service for everyone?

We have the resources to do it, we live in one of the richest countries in the world. We just need to make health of our people a priority, and not just for those who can pay the most.

ADDED: One of the biggest myths floating around right now - that rich people are rich because they are smart and work hard, and poor people are poor because they are stupid and lazy. Pleae get out there and meet and talk to people outside your small, sheltered, part of the world... I work in outplacement, counseling people who have been laid off from their corporate jobs. I've seen countles people who have gone from solidly middle-class, two good paychecks, to fear of homelessness within months after two layoffs and one medical crises. Happens all the time!!

Please do not lump all republicans in this category....! I am pretty conservative and I do not believe that someone who made a poor choice should be left to die!! I think most republicans and any compassionate decent person regardless of religion or creed would certainly feel the same way. That man made a poor choice and once he's back on his feet will need to help pay back those costs!

the NY times is extremley liberal and biased as are many and it's very easy to take it all out of context isn't it? I resent the article saying it's the GOP's base to let people die..Wow....! I think we are deviating from the issue at hand. We can not afford to cover everyone's health care costs. We don't have the money period. I don't have a great solution...but let me tell you I sure as heck pay enough in my own health premiums that I don't need to take on someone elses.

When are people going to stop feeling entitled? There are no such things as handouts...We reep what we sow....Why should you provide for me if I am lazy do nothing or make poor choices...Whose fault is that? The liberal base is basically provide for everyone...Entitlement...Entitlement....Entitlement....

I say to the person whose kids are on gov aid for medical because you can't afford the $400 a month...Oh my stars....what about my rights to protect what I work for and the fact that I pay $1500 a month in health care to protect my family? How much more should I be paying for you? My sister's health insurance wouldn't cover her PT...$15K. Yep she's been paying it BACK ALL ON HER OWN. Excuse me but shouldn't she get a handout to because her insurance was not fair? She's a single woman trying to make ends meet and do the right thing and yet she'll have to pay more for you too! I can't afford my $1500 a month but guess what can't we can't afford not to have it either. so we have to cut elsewhere which is what our government needs to do. Curtail spending as should the american people....I'll bet we could afford what's important if we didn't spend it in the novelties. I'll bet some of you who are on the government dime still have cable, Xboxes, smart phones, more than 1 TV in your house. Probably 2 or more cars. Hmmmm

Shout Out Amen to Queen of the Castle!

I actually watched this and it is true, they cheered at the statement. I turned and looked at my husband. He was also shocked.

It saddens me that some people really think it is ok t let someone die like that, but I wonder if it was their grandchild, or child would they also cheer. I am not talking about infants. I am talking about their adult children and grandchildren.. Because many times when a young person first starts working, health insurance is just out of their reach financially..

Where is the compassion for those way less fortunate?

I was ashamed that this would be broadcast around the world, where so many countries offer health care even if you are a tourist to that country.. But cheering to let someone die, because they did not have the money for health insurance?

That was a bad moment for all of us.

Middle Class Republicans have fallen for The Big Lie. If they vote Republican, cut corporate taxes, decrease government regulations, and work hard, they can keep more of thier money in thier own pocket and the country will have a stronger military and the overall economy will be booming.. The Big Lie also says that poor people and immagrants are the biggest drain on our economy and the reasons taxes are high. That any regulation chokes business. That it is any man for himself, everybody should work and pay thier share....However, this does not apply to corporations. They have some odd extortion hold on us. If we try to regulate emissions, allow workers to unionize, ask for health insurance, or tax them at all, they will take all the jobs to China.

They dont even realize the joke is on them. The middle class carries the entire burden. Corporations get huge breaks and pay no taxes, while offering huge bonuses at the top and no health care at the bottom. The wealthy hide behind loopholes to outsmart the tax code. They vote themselves all the breaks while they grow zeros in thier account and the middle class is living paycheck to paycheck and losing benefits at work.

My mom and Dad have been mega Conservative for as long as I can remember.

So much so my dad doesnt not even believe in Natural medicine or seeing a Chiropractor...When my mom needed to see one it took two weeks for him to finally come around.

I am almost 100k in debt due to medical bills. This is what happens when the Every man for himself doesnt work.....

I hope to someday be out from undernaeth all that.

I find it hard that the everyday republicans think I should die because I have been sick.

I find it hard to think that any sane person would think that this is ok.

My kids have been on state medical for four years. If they were to get it through my husbands company it would be almost six hundred bucks.

Add me on there and it is over 1500 bucks. That is a whole pay check for us.

My dad for years had been telling me..Just buy a package for yourself....That package for myself was gonna be almost 400 bucks a month. Which we still couldnt do.

We are a family of five. I dont want to have my healthcare given to me. I would like there to be an option for less expensive packages.

The other battle I have is...My preexisting conditions make it impossible to even get excepted into a health plan. No one wants to touch the recovery efforts and things I still have to get through with my eating disorder.

Health is a global right. We have the technology to be able to do great things and increase peoples quality and lenght of life.

Rich people are not worth more...in money...life and the pursiut of happiness...and part of being happy is being able to live healthy..and healthy free fromo stress....I would love to know someday that my medical bills are not keeping my kids from getting to do things like Karate and swimming..Cause right now They dont get to do those things...because we dont have the extra to pay for them....All our extra goes to medical bills....which at the end of the months it is only about 75 bucks.....

So what is $75 per month off of 100k?? not to mention that 87% of what I owe has hit collections and is stacking interest that will be owed faster then I can say stop!

We just hope that nothing hits Judgement each month..Which would mean they take our paychecks....without regard to the fact we have a family to feed and house.

I have not read responses yet..thank you fro asking this because I have been wondering what the republicans on board have to say about me dying....because if I get sick again...me dying may just be cheaper in the long run for my family and my kid's future.

I'm right wing and end of day, no I can't support letting people die. But obviously this is a complicated issue without easy answers and I think people are just tired of everyone's hand in their pockets. I don't believe health care is a right. Why would it be since it's not free? Doctors need to get paid unless they chose to donate their services. They paid a fortune in medical school tuition, have their own living expenses, and worked their butts off, harder than the vast majority of us, in interships etc. Why is it anyone's RIGHT to force a doctor to treat them? Why is it anyone's RIGHT to force a company to give them a certain drug? The companies had to spend money to develop those drugs. If these companies aren't paid for their drugs, they'll shut down and go into another business. I believe it's a choice we make as a society how we want to handle these things and getting the waste out of the system so healthcare can be more affordable is of course something I support. But it may be people saying it's their RIGHT to healthcare that pushes people to say no it's not, die if you can't pay for it. Is it anyone's RIGHT to have a car from GM? Maybe some people say it's a necessity for me to live a nice life and I'm valuable bc I'm a human being so give me a car. Healthcare isn't always a matter of life or death either. So that can be a grey area. I know that healthcare is a big part of why I keep working. I want to have health insurance. That was true 20 years ago when I was in my early 20's. My father told me that having a healthcare was a big incentive for people to work. That should still be true. And I also think it should also be a decision point for how many children people have. We're wealthy and it was a decision point for me. I never ever want to have to put the burden of my children's healthcare on society so we stopped at two. Yet people with no healthcare and little money go ahead and have 4 or 5 children bc it's their RIGHT and then it's their RIGHT to have health coverage for those children as well as themselves. As someone who pays about 50% in income taxes, it gets annoying to hear. So I think part of this movement is to force people to be responsible and take care of themselves again. Everyone wants to tax the rich more. Why is it anyone's RIGHT to take even $1 more dollar of Warren Buffet's money? If he wants to give it, great. But he EARNED it. He's smarter and more talented than most of us. He doesn't owe anything more just like most rich don't owe any of us more. The vast majority of rich work super hard, are smart and talented and earned their money. It's theirs, not ours. Healthcare costs money. It has to come from somewhere. Same with college tuition. Everyone wants grants and scholarships for their children. Where does that money come from? That's another reason we stopped at 2 children. I want to make sure we can pay for a college education. If I start seeing more people curtail the number of children they have so that the parents themselves can pay for their children's healthcare and education, I'll stop worrying about how much money is going to be taken from my pocket in taxes and in turn, will be more generous. Fear starts to drive selfishness.

A., I think what some people are frustrated about is they pay their bills, they pay their mortgage and in my husband and my case, we pay our medical insurance out of our own pocket. Those are our priorities. We drive older cars and don't have a lot of the toys and gadgest others do because we can't afford them. I know personally of a 30 year old who doesn't have medical insurance. He has the latest IPad type phone, He has more than one big screen TV. He has a more expensive car than I do. He has a motorcycle He buys $80 on jeans plural. He COULD afford medical insurance but feels entitled to all the toys first. Should there be consequences for this? For Him? What should that be? Or should the consequences be on those silly enough to pay there own way like the chump that I apparently am. I don't think you can have it both ways but there are people feel they are entitled to the freedom to make what I would feel are poor choices and that governement will be forced to take care of them if they chose an expensive phone plan, car payment over medical insurance. Should we support people who have fallen on hard times or can't take care of themselves? Yes. How to make that work in a fair equitable manner? I have no idea! Right now it seems to hurt those of us who take care of ourselves first. Don't get me started on the mortgage bail out. Not paying their mortgage has worked out UNBELIEVABLY well for a few people in my community that I KNOW of. I would hate for anyone to be kicked out of their home but to now be in a position where they can remodel their homes and get even MORE of the latest trappings? Again, how do you take care of who should be taken care of without letting a good portion who think the are entitled for some reason take advantage?

How anyone can defend our current system is beyond me...

we pay 3 times (or more dependent on the article/survey) for health care as other 1st world nations (england, spain, finland, gasp, canada) yet we rank below Cuba (yes, you read that right) in terms of outcomes (measured as the average health of the total population).

on top of that, at least 1/3 of the families I know have at least one adult working at a job they dislike, doesn't work for their family, or doesn't pay them what they're worth (or all three) but they can't leave because they need the health insurance. And don't tell them to go get a different job - have you seen the eonomy lately? And some of them would love to start their own busines but oh, wait a minute, there's that pesky health insurance issue again. What a waste of talent and lives!

For profit is ok - pharmaceuticals and insurance companies calling all the shots and skewing the system is not. Someone w/cardiovascular issues can get a bypass or meds but can't get the insurance company to help them do lifestyle changes to eliminate the need for bypass or meds. How wrong is that?

My brother was recently sick. The insurance company okayed a biopsy but his doctor had to fight for blood tests? What? We can't do the least risky thing (and cheaper thing) first?

and for those that are all about individual responsibility - well, you really aren't individually responsible and never have been - your employer is taking care of you through insurance or getting you access to less expensive insurance. And fifty years ago, there were cooperatives and churches to help when people had serious illness because, folks, it takes a village to survive and thrive, not just to raise a child.

Looking forward to your responses, A.. My parents, now in their mid 60s, used to be moderate Republicans. It really pains me to say that they are now what most people would consider Tea Partiers. I frankly attribute this directly to their switching from watching CBS news (my dad watched it for decades) to Fox News over the last few years. My brother is still a moderate Republican and when we all get together as a family both my brother and I are shocked to hear my parents "new" political views. I'm ashamed to say that their political views are now, IMO, cold and disheartening -- including their "every man for himself" healthcare views. It makes me depressed, to tell you the truth. Oh, and my parents have great medical coverage themselves because guess what? My dad is a retired community college TEACHER.

And "Entitled" to healthcare? Yes, I 100% feel that every American in this country is entitled to health. I agree with the Canadians, Norweigans, Japanese, Mexicans, Chinese (wow), English, Swedish, Arabs, etc. etc. etc.

Great article. Thank you for sharing.

Democracy only works when people see their neighbors as neighbors, not as enemies. The power elite is making sure that all of us little people are fighting over the small droppings they are willing to give us, so that we ignore how they are screwing us over.

I only glanced at a few of the responses here, but I immediately saw "me, me, me, me."

It really makes me sad.

Paul Krugman is known for his extreme leftist 'journalism' rhetoric....he is so far left, if the world was flat he would have fallen off (darn).

People that believe this are just looking for more ways to hate the Right or the Tea Party.

I have been to several Tea Party's. EVERY single time, a lefty manages to get the microphone & initially gets the crowd to cheer him on by saying things like "we've been taxed enough", "who loves Fox News" etc then wham he starts his hate speech about the Tea Party group & other terrible negative talk that I have to cover my childrens ears over. And he is encouraged and cheered by his cronies that are planted in the crowd.

There was a reporter that was recorded saying we need to plant some of our people at the Townhalls & the Tea Party's so that we can make them look bad.

The very very small few people that we're encouraging & cheering this terrible talk about letting people die, were probably plants by the left. But yes there are some nut jobs that claim to be Tea Party people that might agree with this ignorant rhetoric but OVERALL this is NOT what any Republican Tea Partier would ever think or say. And don't forget just as there are stupid ignorant Republicans there are plenty of Democrats that fall into the nut job category, and IMO this reporter is one of them.

Statistics have proven year after year that Republicans have donated to the poor far more than Democrats. Joe Biden donated less than $2,000 for an ENTIRE year. So if WE wanted to let the poor die then why the heck would we donate money??????????? The word donate means to give freely, therefore it's not mandated by anyone, & we give FREELY.

Perhaps you should listen to Fox News, mainly Bill O'Reilly, I think you might be pleasantly surprised & he is an Independent that is a bit to the left in my opinion.

From fear of death panels to becoming death panels.
That didn't take very long at all did it.
Now let's watch how they back peddle on it.
If they seriously felt that way, then why not just admit they want people to show up with money on the hospital door steps in order to gain admittance (and they'll charge your heirs a removal fee if you have the audacity to die on hospital property).
For profit health care just doesn't work.
It's like you should have to pay the fire department before they are willing to put out your house fire - why should society in general care if your personal property burns to the ground?
Now all we need are some Scrooge sound bites "Are there no work houses? Are there no prisons?".

Besides the obvious compassion issue I have 2 problems with the Republican stance:
1) Even wealthy people can't always buy insurance. There was an article awhile back about a family who kept being denied coverage b/c each member had minor prexisting conditions.
2) They had a bipartisan group research the "Obama care" plan and it determined that it will SAVE money (think unecessary ER visits, unpaid bills, etc.) So shouldn't all Republicans be for it, then?
BTW, there was this great John Stewart episode awhile back where they went to the Republican Convention in Hawaii and they were all speaking against the health care bill, and they were juxtaposing it with interviewing Hawaiins, who have had univeral coverage. They claim it is better and cheaper than before.

Jill T- of course doctors and pharmacies still get paid under any plan. In fact the way it is now they DON'T always get paid b/c they DO have to treat uninsured people in the ER. Under universal coverage they would be paid for their services b/c all people would have health care coverage, AND they wouldn't have to go the expensive/overworked ER to get it. Also, since you bring it up, not everyone wants to tax the rich more, they actually want to at least tax them the SAME. I work hard too but make a fraction of what he does, so why am I taxed at a higher rate? I need that money. And I put it all back in the economy b/c I can't afford to save it. However, I do agree with you that it doesn't seem fair. I work only for healthcare (my whole salary is consumed by childcare costs) and I would like to have more children and but know I can't afford them. I just also think universal ocverage, done right, would help me with this- it's not just about people who don't have coverage wanting it for free vs. rich people who don't want to pay for it.

I did not read the article and I am not a very political person because I really don't believe there are any true democrats or republicans anymore. But as far as the medical insurance goes, I feel the government needs to control the amount insurance companies and doctors and hospitals can charge. Also, if they would put a stop to people suing over every thing. There's no reason a judge should a allow a million dollar law suit over something stupid. Yes, I believe somethings are worthy of suing over but not some of the ridiculous things that I've read about.
If they would control the cost of medical insurance and hosptial charges, that would help out a lot of people that either aren't working or aren't able to get benefits from their job. I know for me and my kids I pay almost $200 a month and I have a high deductible plan which means pretty much everything is out of pocket until I reach my deductible which is $5000. But I want to make sure I have something incase something major happens. Prior to being on the high deductible plan, I paid double and I still had high co-pays.
Not sure if that fits in to what the article says but I just thought I would offer my 2 cents : - )

You really think that the government is going to flip the bill for every health issue? There will be massive regulations and you will not be able to choose your course of action when it comes to your health care needs. You will still be free to die. As individuals we are supposed to be compassionate to the needs of others, but that is supposed to be our choice not forced upon us. I am not a democrat but I also would never cheer for when someone is in need and because of poor choices finds himself in need. Government run health care is not the answer and in the end there will always be poor among us. No amount of government assistance is going to take that away.

Isn't this country based on a document that only guarantees - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?? Don't remember the Bill of Rights mentioning healthcare, but maybe I missed that? :)

8kidsdad wrote - Do we all deserve to be taken care of from cradle to grave? If we do, when are we responsible for our own destiny? When are we responsible for paying our own way? When are we responsible for own choices?

This is where things need to change - based on the 3 rights we are guaranteed.

And I know about the charges on hospitals as I paid for my granddaughter's broken arm (mom let her state insurance lapse again). As a "cash" customer, they tagged my card with DOUBLE the amount needed right off the bat! Since the daycare insurance was going to cover it since it was an accident on their grounds, I made sure to get all paperwork done and sent off quickly - didn't want it lingering around running up the bill! Amazing that once the payment was in my hands to pay the hospital, a bunch of credits came thru! They set it up high as most will not pay much of their bills - so it's a huge writeoff as well!

Granddaughter can be on state insurance now, but I have her on my work insurance (w/co-pays, etc). I like to choose her doctor not be limited as to only those that will take the state limits - not that some aren't good doctors, but we have had some issues!