Do People Have a Right to Healthcare

It's not easy, in my opinion. It apparently is, in your opinion. Guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

 

I see people as generally good. Some need to be "encouraged" to be good more than others and there are exceptions,of course, but still my starting point is people are generally good.

Where we get all cattywampus is when we allow seeing things in different lights as being personal affronts. Believe me, I'm as guilty as anyone on that. But I'm trying to do better. No one "side" is going to make the healthcare system, or any other problem, better. It's going to take all of us to do these things. That's the rub. Not everyone, me included, are always willing to work together to get there.

 

Not a right.

Though, I'd hope that the market offers options that are reasonably accessible and affordable. Some governance that keeps healthcare attainable regardless of socioeconomic status.

 

And I would be willing to accept this. No problem.

 

I have (even recently) stated it is a Right (capital r). But having thought about it (and seeing other's arguments), I will now say it is not a Right. Rights are something you inherently have and can be taken away. Obviously I do not inherently have "healthcare", so it cannot be taken away.

But, I do believe it is a moral imperative that the citizenry can and should give at least a minimal amount of healthcare to each individual. And the idea it should be "free" as so many tout is false, as it would be paid by taxes, much like roads, military, police, government officials, fire departments, education and a ton of other things that can only be affordable by a group effort.

In the past, healthcare was cheap enough that for the most part an individual could pay their own way. But that is simply not the case any longer, whether through skyrocketing costs of healthcare, insurance fraud, cronyism, governmental tomfoolery, or, as is most likely, a mishmash of all of it. It is why I don't think simply getting rid of the State Line issue with insurance will cure it.

 

it's a thousand tubes of toothpaste emptied into a bucket, and now you've got to put all the toothpaste back in the tube it came out of

 

So would I.

I do not think healthcare is a right. I do think that as the most economically successful, technologically advanced society in history that we should have decent, affordable healthcare available for our citizenry. That's a social and economic issue with a bunch of debatable social and economic questions.

The problem with deeming healthcare a right is that the questions shift from being debatable, social, and economic and start being about the fundamental truths of human existence.

JMO

 

Does everyone have access to school buses? I don't think so, but I'm not sure.

 

Lord. I think you need to re-read his post.

 

JQK advocating for free dental care now.

 

I actually see this point much better now. I'll go with what Norris said.

Not an inherent right, but something that I feel we are all better off if everyone has it. Not sure what you would call that.

 

Busing is not guaranteed unless expressly laid out in an Individualized Education Plan (special education student) or an individual 504 Plan (504 is a law dealing with non-special education students with other physical disabilities. 504 pertains to "other health impaired" students).

 

[video=youtube;Mr_uHJPUlO8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr_uHJPUlO8[/video]

 

I did a poor job of expressing my larger point which was that most of us aren't far-left or far-right.

 

JQK:

 

I agree with Norris, a moral imperative.

 

I can roll with moral imperative.

 

See?

We CAN come to a consensus....

 

Posted this in Bye Bye Obamacare thread....

Wow. Never thought I would see this. Truly surprised....in a good way.

http://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/778568/31

A lot of stuff I agree with in there, including the stuff on the ACA and how it was a huge boon to insurance companies and Big Pharma. Maybe all hope is not lost. I'm willing to listen to more about this.

 

My only objection is that rights can be taken away -- which hints at no rights are inherent. Guns, voting, food/water, freedom of speech, etc. are all things that can be and are, every day, withheld or outright denied to individuals because of cruelty of man/world or punitive punishment.

I'd argue that "inherent rights" and the idea are based on principles of respect for individuals. Their fundamental function is to assume humans are largely rational and moral, and an attempt at structuring the culture and physical world so that order reigns above chaos through means of respect.

I'd also argue that it would be easier to consider them not as rights, but responsibility -- if you want to coexist among others in a society, you have the responsibility to respect life, to allow others expression etc.

All that said, rather than labeling healthcare as a simple "right" or not, the term "right" really needs an established definition first.