Monday, May 05, 2008

The American Dream and health care

From Wikipedia: "The American Dream can be described as a belief in some sort of freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States of America to achieve their goals in life through hard work. Today, in America it generally refers to the idea that one's prosperity depends upon one's own abilities and hard work..."

One of the iconic routes to achieving the American Dream is by starting one's own business and making it big. Bill Gates of Microsoft did this. So did the founders of Google.

However, health care is a huge barrier. To get the best rate in the private market, one has to be part of a large and healthy purchasing pool. Solo purchasers have no negotiating power in the American market.

An article on Smartmoney's Small Business site details how one might purchase insurance solo. It makes no bones about how difficult that endeavor is. In fact, the article names health care as the number one barrier to starting your own business.

Given those facts, it is hard to imagine on the face of things why Republicans, allegedly a party friendly to business interests, are opposed to universal coverage.

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