Health care is a human right

Single-payer, universal health care is the only solution, short of socialized health care, to the present health care mess we are confronted with.

I don't know why it is so hard for the United States Congress and Minnesota legislators to understand this... the rest of the world understands... but, then again, the rest of the world understands that this dirty war in Iraq is wrong, too.

In the past week first we saw the "progressive think tank" headed up by Robert Borasage and Roger Hickey abandon single-payer, universal health care. A few days ago the national leadership of the AFL-CIO refused to support single-payer, universal health care in spite of the mounting movement for single-payer from the rank and file members who pay the dues. Now we have Minnesota's DFL legislators advocating for what would be the most regressive and reactionary health care "plan" in the industrial world.

Here are the facts:

The overwhelming majority of people here in Minnesota and across the nation are for single-payer, universal health care; ask anyone and chances are they will tell you they want what Canadians have been very satisfied with for many years.

Here where I live up in northern Minnesota, the Roseau County Convention of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party voted unanimously for a resolution supporting "no-fee, comprehensive, all-inclusive, single-payer, universal health care" that would be, "publicly funded and publicly administered."

For over four years I fought to get single-payer, universal health care up for debate on the floor of the State Convention of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party. Finally, at this last convention it got to the floor for a vote... the DFL delegates voted by an overwhelming majority to support single-payer, universal health care... 72% of the delegates voted for it. No other health care proposal has ever garnered such overwhelming support from delegates.

Now, along come a couple DFL legislators bought and paid for by the HMO's, the insurance industry, the American Medical Association and they come up with this sham "health care reform" that members of the Minnesota DFL have never even discussed.

Becky Lourey was the first DFL'er considered to be "progressive" who backed away from single-payer. She derives her income from those who profit from health care so this was not surprising; as does DFL'er State Rep. Thomas Huntley. DFL'er Senator Linda Berglin has been playing us all for fools on this issue for a long time. None of these people ever got up before the state convention with the proposal they now want to shove down our throats to protect their friends who make big profits from health care. That Republicans concoct these schemes is not strange in the least.

The same thing goes for the top echelons of the leadership in the AFL-CIO, and Change To Win... many of these people make big bucks from sitting on all kinds of boards over-seeing health and pension funds that are controlled by the insurance industry and Wall Street coupon clippers... and many of these union pension funds are invested in insurance companies.

Working people know what we need and want... we want single-payer, universal health care; many of us would rather we were discussing socialized health care but we were willing to make the compromise and accept single-payer, universal health care.

This present scheme being proposed is only going to make a really bad situation even worse for most people as the doctors, hospitals, HMO's, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies continue to stuff their pockets as they laugh all the way to the bank on their way to the country club and their castles on the North Shore.

They just don't get it; health care is a human right, not another feeding trough to get rich from.

I nominate Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party State Representatives Thomas Huntley and Bernie Lieder for the "Golden Pig" award... does anyone want to second the nomination?