There are a lot of reasons why I work for a large company, as opposed to a start up or myself. And it isn’t because I enjoy falling in line with the company “vision”, or enjoy dealing with people I otherwise wouldn’t associate with. The main reason is this: Stability. Recently I got a flu shot provided by my employer, and it made me sick. Or, at least lowered my immune system to allow something else to make me sick. Either way, I’m still feeling somewhat crap-tastic. And I haven’t gone to the doctor, since I know what’s wrong. But I could if I wanted to, since I have insurance. It’s that little card glistening in my wallet telling me everything is going to be ok. Here’s a rundown of how it has single-handedly saved me from bankruptcy (and possibly alcoholism):

So the heath care debate rages on. While the bullshit about death panels and other nonsense seems to have faded into the background (where it belongs), there still remains one argument that I see repeated over and over again:

“We have the best healthcare in the world”.

Am I the only one who sees the utter fallacy in this argument? If we’ve got the best, then the rest of the world must be damn-near dead. Considering that I don’t know many people who even have a frame of reference, it’s a spotty argument at best.

Some proof? Let me relay a story from today and then ask me how government would make this ‘great’ system worse.

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I’ve done my best to stay out of the current debate regarding health care reform. Although I’ve tweeted a few things and made some comments on other people’s blogs, I’ve remained relatively silent. In part because I don’t have the time to argue, and also because all the arguments boil down to one specific idea: is universal access to health care, regardless of age / income / race / class, a right? Personally, I say yes, it should be. If we are consider ourselves the leaders of the ‘modern’ world, then we should be more than willing to take care of our citizens, and it not be based on the ‘free market’ or competition. End of story.

I know this isn’t the only issue regarding the debate (if you mention ‘death panels’, I’ll punch you in the throat. Seriously), but it seems to me that at the core, this is what it comes down to. Yes, people make valid claims on both sides regarding how different states have different regulatory setups, making it a nightmare to get a standard setup. And there’s also the little fact about how most of the big insurance companies have 1 or more members of Congress in their respective lobbyist’s pockets. It’s a mess, a broken system that is getting worse.

The American Prospect recently posted an article titled “The 10 Dumbest Arguments Against Health-Care Reform”. It’s a good read, and one that I would suggest folks on both sides of the debate read.

And then ask yourself. Do you think it is a right, or not?