When political ideology strikes home, a man truly faces gut check time, particularly if that man’s politics is at least slightly in the public sphere, as mine are through this blog and my actions with the Libertarian Party, among other things.
As a Libertarian, I oppose any government mandates on what kinds of coverage insurance companies must offer.
As a man and husband, I now face a situation where state mandated coverage of a certain condition/treatment would greatly benefit me and my family. I won’t go into too many details here because my wife won’t be pleased, to say the least, if I do. Suffice it to say that we found out earlier this weekend that we need insurance coverage for something that our insurance company says it will not cover.
So we look for other options. One option that would possibly be available to me is to talk to any number of State Reps, State Senators, or Insurance Commissioner candidates about the possibility of getting a law or regulation passed that would mandate that any insurance company operating in this state must provide this type of insurance.
If I was a Republican or a Democrat, I might realistically consider that option. After all, they typically have ZERO problems interefering in private business decisions, no matter what they say otherwise.
But I am a Libertarian and a TRUE believer in the free market, even one as in this country that isn’t truly a ‘free’ market due to the excessive regulations placed upon it.
So I look at the other options, even the ones that are less desirable at the moment and even one of which is the absolute worst case scenario for me, and I work to adjust my own attitudes to be content with any of these.
Convictions only mean something if you stand by them when they are inconvenient.
Sometimes, that statement rings all too true.
Jeff: Best Wishes to you are your family during this difficult period; I hope it all works out well.
I know your party is big a theory and idealism but realistically some decisions must be made when implementing theory. For example, people who worked their entire adult lives in Albany could be facing government-funded retraining because their employer closed locally. Hey, I consider that little piece of money their tax dollars at work—particularly when compared to someone who has taken so much from the “system” and rarely kicked it (was taxed.)
Think about all the money our government spent nation-building in Iraq and think about reforming a health care system that was broken too long. You no doubt read Fletcher’s column today that included comments on reparations. While I should not publicly write this, some Black folks consider governmental actions that benefited Black folks since say 1969 to be a small part of reparations—and I am not talking about some kucklehead eating free in jail.
Just put it on a scale and remember those freaking huge bailouts. For all the beneficial thinks you do, a nation and a state that spends money on silly mess (25K for a year in prinson) can address this family health crisis—do what is necessary because the government will get it back in future taxes. Pardon me if these comments were intrusive.
.-= Slyram´s last blog ..Come On People: the Cosby Book =-.