The Hobo Philosopher

My Health Care Question

By Richard Edward Noble

Today we have a National Debt of approximately 12 trillion dollars. Nearly 80% of that debt has been created by Republican Conservatives administrations. Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 and their administrations are responsible for 9 trillion of our present 12 trillion dollar national debt.
Ronald Reagan in his tenure in office created more debt for Americans than all of the previous presidents of the United States of America – from George Washington to Jimmy Carter - combined. That includes Wilson and World War I, Roosevelt and World War II, Johnson and Nixon and Viet Nam. And Reagan manufactured this spending without a war of any necessity or consequence as an excuse. Reagan sponsored the greatest peace time military spending build up in all of American history
From an historical point most Americans agree, right and left, that our Great Depression which started in 1929 was cured by super massive government spending after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Massive wartime government spending in previously unheard of amounts was the cure for the depression not the problem.
When World War II ended, War time government spending was continued as a stimulus to counter the inevitable post-war recession. It was called the Cold War. More massive government spending was then added via the much praised Marshall Plan for the re-building of Europe and the generous GI veteran’s bill. These government spending programs are offered today as the causes for continued prosperity and the establishment of the middle class in the USA.
After this we had another massive military spending bill called the interstate highway system. This was proposed as a military necessity by President Eisenhower. This was followed by our Moon-walk program designed to counter the advancing Russians and Sputnik. All these massive government expenditures were not tabulated as costs but investments in American progress, safety, technology and well being.
At this moment our Military budget constitutes 55% of our national spending bill. We spend more on war promotion and prevention than all the other nations of the world combined. When asked about the massive government spending on our two most recent wars George W. Bush stated that spending on war did not cost Americans but put dollars into Americans pockets by creating and maintaining good paying jobs and viable industries.
My question is, if it is government spending on military endeavors that cured the depression, prevented the post World War II recession, improved technology and acted as a viable stimulus to job creation and in consequence - future tax revenues, why isn’t similar spending in the health and care of the American people just as viable an investment? Why do we not look at spending on Health Care as an investment in America’s security and progress rather than a cost? If war and war spending, even in times of peace with all of its destruction and waste, can be considered positive investments, why not health care – and as with war why not health care at whatever the cost? Certainly the American people will benefit more directly and more positively from a massive, investment in health care than could be possible from any similar inevitable and acknowledged destructive and wasteful war time expenditure. Why don’t we simply consider the health of the American people and their children a military investment and a National Security issue in the protection of America and the American people? After all we can hardly advance the cause of any future wars with an unhealthy population of young sickly soldiers.