While out on my morning walk (part of my own, personal health care program; I've lost 75 pounds in 9 months without prompting from anyone but myself) I was again thinking about this issue and in particular the funding of it. It's not rocket science to know that it will require more spending regardless of what Obama wants or believes, and something occured to me. I live in a state with no income tax; everything is funded through sales tax. Everyone pays because everyone buys things regardless of their source of income. I pay, the millionaires that live over on the river about a mile from here pay, the illegals pay, the tourists pay.....you get the idea. It's a pretty fair and relatively painless system where the state has a 6% tax on all goods except unprepared foods and local municipalities collect additional amounts as approved by voters for limited periods. We currently pay 7% in state and county sales tax where I live. Suppose a national health care tax was instituted at say 1%; for every dollar a person spends one cent is added on to go into the health care fund. With over 300,000,000 people in this country it'll be a pretty substantial amount which I haven't sat down to estimate, but we are definitely talking billions, perhaps trillions of dollars, dollars that everyone contributes to. It may take a 1.5% tax or perhaps less than 1%, but it's a way for everyone to contribute a small amount with no loopholes to avoid paying. And if there are any surpluses (pie in the sky, I suppose) there should be a provision for that money to be put into the Social Security fund.

Of course that still leaves the daunting question of how to administer the system so that it actually works efficiently which is what I think most of the worry is about. How do we adapt and hopefully streamline the existing infrastructure to make it work? Is anyone looking at what works and doesn't work in the countries that do have national healthcare programs? Some constructive input from you folks who live in those nations would be helpful. And what about looking at successful business models; part of the problem is that healthcare is a business with more at stake than just the bottom line but it is too often treated as though only the bottom line matters which frequently adversely affects peoples lives, but good business practices which emphasize customer satisfaction should be reviewed.

I just can't help but believe that if there was ever a moral justification for a government program then this is it. I know how screwed up government run things often become, but I think it's posssible that with all our knowledge, all our technology, and knowing that helping sick people is just the right thing to do, this can be made to work which is where I find myself reluctantly agreeing with President Barry. We sent men to the moon and brought them back safely while in the midst of a very controversial war and great social termoil and that was forty years ago. Maybe this should be our generation's version of the moonshot, one small step for man (pennies on the dollar) one giant leap for mankind (assuring that everyone has a chance to be healthy). And if not on a national level, perhaps on a state level (the eyes of Texas are upon you).

Now y'all start tellin' me how full of shit I am.