Common Sense Comments - if Thomas Payne were here.

A pretty good commentary on common sense in this country. I believe in universal health care but it needs to be done privately; not run by the government who can't even run the programs they already have - Medicaid, Medicare, etc. I've seen the stupidity and waste in the way those programs are handled. Remember, I work for the government. I like what we do for the most part, but we boggle these programs with red-tape. Private insurers such as IHC, PEHP, Altius know what is needed and know how to run the program. If we get rid of the gatekeepers by making it universal, requiring "common sense" in the treatment of the "customers" - providers and patients alike, they can make it happen. Yes, government needs to be involved to make it happen, but they cannot be in charge of it.

We do need to be united as a country. I bristle at every statistic asking for "race" or "ethnicity" because I do believe that we will never be equal until we stop labeling every American by their special interest group. In days past immigrants did not want to be labeled by their past - they wanted to be Americans. They even gave up their language of origin and did not teach it to their children because they wanted their children to grow up American. I think a second language is a valuable skill, but it should be treated as such - the second language in this country; not the first - if they are to be American. There needs to be incentives to learn the language as there were in the 1800s.

So here's "Thomas Payne" revisiting Common Sense for our day. Some important thoughts.


On the health care subject, click here to read some local discussion that makes sense.