Same Arguments for Universal Health Care - A Blast from the Past Courtesy of Democratic Socialists of America

While researching the proposal for Universal Health Care (AKA Obamacare) on the Internet, I came across the following...

"By now, we are all aware that the US health care system is in crisis, one that is generally defined as a crisis of financing. Despite the highest percentage of GNP spent on health care by an nation, and health care costs outpacing inflation by a factor of two, these costs continue to rise. More than thirty million Americans are uninsured; another fifty to eigthy million are underinsured, depending on the definition of underinsured.

Even for those who are insured, financial access to health care remains a major worry. The cost of health care insurance to corporations and small businesses is doubling every seven years and employers are fighting back by limiting coverage and trying to increase the direct out-of-pocket costs to workers...

(snip)

Federal health policies over the past fifteen years have been dominated by attempts at cost control. Each has failed to slow the inflationary spiral within the health care sector..."

I suppose you are wondering why I am posting a typical rationale espoused by the supporters of Obamacare as "news". I'm sure you are saying "yeah yeah yeah - same old tired rhetoric".

Well it's more "tired" that you think... The information is from an introduction to the article, "National Health Insurance: Telling the Good from the Bad". The article was written by Rashi Fein PhD. The introduction was written by Joanne E. Lukomnik, MD and Leonard Rodberg.

Okay - so what? The article was posted on the Democratic Socialists of America website in NOVEMBER 1998! The article itself was published in Dissent Magazine in the Spring of 1992. I had to use the wayback machine to find the article but thanks to archiving of Internet webpages, you can still read it.

So if the same arguments for Obamacare have been around since 1992, why is it such a crisis now? Not to mention the ICK factor of having it come from the Democratic Socialists of America. Some comfort to know that our President and his comrades are relying on arguments from 1992 Socialists in order to "transform" our country.

The next time someone starts in with the rhetoric about why we are in a health care crisis, tell them you heard it back in 1992. Then ask what the rush is. Of course you must throw in a zinger about repeating the DSA party line also. It just wouldn't be right to forget to point that out.