I'm pretty much in agreement with most of what Chris says here except for where he disagrees with me... lol!
All joking aside; I think it is critical we push socialized healthcare/public healthcare out into the proverbial "public square" for vigorous dialog, discussion and debate.
The PNHP has stated that "single-payer" is the ONLY solution not on the table... in their view, I am sure they sincerely see this as a good tactic.
However, no one can deny--- supporters or opponents--- that socialized healthcare is not on the table... and in the interest of honesty, fairness and democracy the American people have the right to consider socialized healthcare/public healthcare... make no mistake, it is part of the historical record that socialized healthcare had been placed on the table in the 1930's by the same movements that won the other New Deal reforms and even many of Roosevelt's own administration vigorously pushed for, and defended, socialized healthcare--- especially FDR's Secretary of Labor who remained principled and unswerving even while under vicious, vicious attack from the conservatives in both the Democratic and Republican parties who went so far as to try to remove her as Secretary of Labor by leveling charges of "Communist" and "Bolshevik" against her for advocating Social Security, socialized healthcare etc.
Frances Perkins was publicly attacked for trying to make the Communist Manifesto government policy... to which she publicly responded: "I would rather see these good ideas as government programs helping people instead of remaining words on the pages of a pamphlet."
Perkins was good friends with Communist labor leader Harry Bridges and Minnesota's socialist Farmer-Labor Party Governors Floyd Olson and Elmer Benson... and John Bernard, the Communist from Minnesota's Iron Range, when elected to Congress on the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party ticket was greeted by Frances Perkins upon his arrival in Washington.
We now have 70 plus years of unfinished business to complete in Washington... winning socialized healthcare while defending the New Deal reforms like Social Security as we advance a complete progressive agenda aimed at solving the other problems working people are experiencing today.
It is only common sense that we look to socialized healthcare paid for with dividends derived from peace to provide the American people with the healthcare living in the wealthiest country in the world entitles them to; and, in the process this creates a massive public works jobs program... up to ten million new jobs, good paying decent jobs--- a National Public Healthcare System will require some 800 bases across the country serving some 30,000 community healthcare centers.
Few people other than Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh are actually stupid enough to think that private for-profit schools could teach a nation of 300 million people to read and write when we all know public education is required for this task--- so, why would anyone think anything less than socialized healthcare could provide us all with the healthcare we need, deserve and are entitled to... and, yes, the jobs created should have strict affirmative action policies that are vigorously enforced.
Every single American benefits from many socialized/public programs in this country without any complaints:
Public schools.
United States Post Office.
Police.
Fire.
Libraries.
Parks and recreation.
Water and sewer.
Public transit.
Courts.
Roads, highways and bridges.
Power lines.
Sidewalks.
Public forests and lands.
Public fishing accesses.
Public hunting programs.
Some public city, county and state public healthcare programs which are severely underfunded.
There is some public housing; we need much more.
Democratic government itself is a public institution the result of revolution.
Many working people are now talking about the need to bring the closed and shuttered 3,700 mines, mills and factories in this country under public ownership in order to create jobs producing what society needs rather than what Wall Street can profit from. The public works jobs programs often passed over and attacked as a bunch of lazy workers leaning on shovels as part of the CCC and WPA built roads, bridges, dams, schools, community centers and all kinds of public buildings while providing us access to great artists and writers like Howard Fast whose books about the American Revolution the Tea Partiers would do well to read.
And, like I previously pointed out, we already have a massive public healthcare system in this country in the form of VA, the Indian Health Service and the NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE--- all fine examples of socialized healthcare that work when properly funded.
The failing healthcare system we are dealing with is the private, for-profit, market-driven system that rations healthcare to the hilt by forcing the poor out.
Here is the formula for peace, providing healthcare while creating jobs... very simple:
Peace = Socialized healthcare + Jobs.
I am sure the socialist Albert Einstein would have supported this formula... by golly, he actually did when he wrote his famous article: Why Socialism?
Check it out:
http://socialismtheoryandpractice.blogspot.com/2007/07/why-socialism-byalbert-einstein.html
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