Why are Americans behaving like they’re part of a “Wild Kingdom” (Discovery Channel) episode and devouring their young? Are we in a state of “psychological stress?” At least that’s one of the explanation that experts give to explain why animals in the wild chomp down their newbies. I know this sounds kind of gory and just generally whack, but a couple of eye popping studies have just come out which have made me reflect on how this country is treating (or cannibalizing) its next generation.
Consider the newly released survey, conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that paints a dismal picture of health care among Hispanics in the United States.
According to the study, an estimated 25 percent of Hispanics in the United States don't have a regular health care provider to treat their medical needs.
Also consider the other news that came out about the same time, this from the U.S. Census Bureau. White non-Hispanics who are two-thirds of the population today, are older, dying off faster and producing fewer children than other groups to such an extent that by 2042, “minorities” will be the “majority” (hopefully by then we will no longer use those terms). Hispanic birth rates and immigration are what are fueling this growth.
Blacks, who have traditionally led in birthrate, are projected to increase by just 1 percentage point, from 14 percent this year to 15 percent (66 million) in 2050. At that point, Hispanics will outnumber blacks by 2-to-1, the report said.
So riddle me this? If (as according to the Pew study), Hispanics are more than twice as likely to lack a regular health care provider. And if in 30 years they will they will be the proverbial shoulder on which the U.S. elderly population stands (or by then slumps). How can we expect Hispanics to be healthy enough themselves to carry out the enormous burden of caring for an aging baby boomer population? The short answer: we can’t. Already burdened by a Social Security system that will have failed, a deficit that will have to be repaid and just the sheer math of fewer taxpaying folks trying to support a vastly larger elderly population – the task could prove impossible.
What do our presidential candidates propose to do? Senator Obama wants to tackle the problem head on, by making available a new national health plan to all Americans to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress (if they get it, why not everyone else . . seems logical). There will also be guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions. There will also be comprehensive benefits similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). I used to work for the government, and my health care was fine.
Senator McCain wants to use competition (that’s code for economic Darwinism) to improve the quality of health insurance with greater variety to match people's needs, lower prices, and portability. He says that he would give “tax credits” to folks who can’t afford healthcare. Hmmm . . .
Who is really “country first?”
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