Obama’s Run
Anyone remember Logan’s Run? In the fictional world, people reported for execution, euphemistically reported to a “sleepshop”, when they reached a certain age. In the novel, the age was 21; in the movie, the age was 30.
In the slippery slope of a national health care plan which emphasizes reducing medical costs, how long before such an extreme situation could become reality? And, even if not to the extreme of being made law, how long before the aged would simply be viewed as burdens that should “hurry up and die” in order to free up resources for the younger set?
In a paper co-authored by Obama’s advisor, “Dr.” Ezekiel Emanuel, the point was made that health spending on the elderly should be reduced and the focus should be on those between the ages of 15 and 40. Apparently, even young children are considered low value.
In Oregon, which Obama praises as a good example, medical rationing for the elderly already occurs. A woman redeveloped lung cancer and her Oregon Health Plan denied treatment, instead offering to pay for assisted suicide.
It’s important to keep in mind that the national health care plan is not about expanding health care coverage for all Americans, as it is supposed, but reducing health care costs. Since the sick and elderly incur the most costs in health care, how else will health care costs be reduced but by reducing care?
No doubt there are bureaucrats that see no value in extending life by a mere few months or short number of years if the patient is not a “productive” member of society. But, for friends and family members, every additional minute of life and time spent with that loved one is precious. There is much to be said for companionship, passing along experience, and so many intangible things that may not be considered valuable to some bureaucrat but are to families and friends.
Think of young children. They often don’t remember much from their younger years, so for their parents that want them to enjoy the experience and to share in the lives of grandparents or great-grandparents, every additional moment that can be spent increases the likelihood of the children carrying some precious memory with them for the rest of their lives so that they too can share something of distant relatives with their own children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren some day.
You cannot put a price tag on life. And that’s what you get when government bureaucrats are deciding who gets care and who is thrown to the wolves.
Our current health system, while flawed, has done much to find ways to cure and treat diseases and other medical problems, adding months and years to people’s lives. Many things which were death sentences for people in the past are no longer so. Life is precious and we have, and we should, do everything we can to secure and extend life.
When a baby is dirty, you bath him or her and you dump out the dirty bath water. What Obama and his cronies are trying to do with health care is dump the baby and keep the dirty bath water. Such a strategy will dramatically reduce costs, but you won’t have the baby anymore.
Codex Alimentarius goes hand in hand with this … right down the road to world everything