Leon Kalekhman
to me
this is a letter that i'm writing to an old friend of mine who commented on my post on Facebook regarding why i thought this
healthcare bill was fucked up. she asked me to school her, respectfully :) so this is what i wrote her back:
thank you, for your trust and understanding. i don't know where to begin, actually, i hated politics too, till about 5 years ago or so. everything about their rhetoric made me sick. but recently, with last years election first and foremost, it's been effecting me and my parents as well as most former ussr residents that i've come to know, as well as my small business, and i've been feeling the crunch from everywhere.
there's so much to talk about, but i'll start where i think it's appropriate, at least for the time being, in this healthcare debate.
as you know i came here from the ukraine, and my parents and i know way too much about socialism and communism. we know how it starts, we know how it ends, we lived it back in the ussr. there's no denying it, there's no questioning it. no matter what anyone tells you. socialism does not belong here, in america. this is why we fled. we fled socialism.
in the ussr, you were not allowed to practice religion, talk about it, pray, etc... the only religious institutions that were allowed to remain, where some landmark churches, and the archbishops that were solely funded by the government.
marxists are godless, as well as socialists and communists.
because they believe that our "rights" are created by the government, they're not god given rights, as we believe here in america. don't get me wrong, i'm not some crazy religious kook, and think that if you don't believe in god you're a terrible person, not at all. you don't have to believe in god to be a good generous person at all. however, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to hate everyone that's religious, or vice versa.
now, what's important to realize, is that america has been a right leaning and religious country since the very beginning. we were conservative in our beliefs, fiscally and culturally. the american revolution was fought on those beliefs... freedom from tyranny and rule of big government. this is the whole point of the constitution. keep federal government small, so there's opportunity to grow, because the smaller the gov't is, the less regulations and control they have over you and me, and all those who fought for these beliefs.
the system of checks and balances with a democratic president, a super majority in the senate, and a majority house of representatives does not work as an institution. it's simply silly to not see that this is not the way it was intended to work. gov't has to work for the people, not the other way around. and i find now that what's happening, is that we are working for the gov't. the private sector is dying, job opportunities are in the unions and gov't. why? because the stronger the gov't gets, the less freedoms we have and more control they acquire. if they can control any part of your life, they can control your life to their benefit.
think of it this way: our slogan here in america is - work hard and you'll get places. you can make a fortune, be a millionaire, an entrepreneur. i don't care how poor you start (when we came here we were on welfare, for 9 months, that's it!!! and look at us now), but if you work your ass off, in school, you can get scholarships to go to school for free, private schools and institutions want you, because you're a hard worker. these are the people that have made it in the private sector, it's these guys that hire us and give us our weekly paychecks for our work. it's, you guessed it, the rich. they are the ones that provide opportunities for us, the middle class. yes there is corruption, but not every rich person that owns a multi-million dollar company is a crook. i promise you that, i know quite a few. they are honest, hardworking people, just like you and me. btw, a quick sidenote,
now, if you don't work hard, you'll get gov't help. and after a while, if you're not driven by the concept that you can make it and be something , and make something of your life, you'll start depending on this gov't help. it's called welfare. and now welfare has a new name, it's called social justice. you will hear these two words a lot. i promise you, because this is what the administration wants you to hear.
i know i'm slightly off on a tangent, but like i said, this stuff is rooted so far back, i can't even fathom telling you everything that i've learned just in the past 6 months.
getting back to those who are "less fortunate" (as the administration likes to call them).
since these people are suckers of the gov't funds (and there are definitely exceptions as always), and stay on welfare forever, they don't, in any way, contribute to the society and want the gov't to help them for the rest of their life. who do you think these people will vote for during elections? someone who promotes hard work, fiscal responsibility, small government with less mandates and more freedoms for you and your family, go get em type of a candidate; or someone who says, we need to make sure that we help those that are less fortunate, give them the opportunity to become wealthy, give them the opportunity to own homes (btw, this is how the economic crises started, remember, sub-prime mortgage fiasco?), and live their lives to the fullest, we the government will provide you with everything necessary to fulfill your dreams, just trust us because we know what's for you better than you do!!!!
all of which are socialist ideas. take from the rich and give to the poor, spread the wealth, a class warfare between the rich and the poor.
this healthcare bill, even though it does have some good in it, is passed in order to gain control of our health, not to give us care. about 80% of what the president said was in this bill is a lie, it's simply not true. you will not be able to keep your insurance provider if you want to, you will not be able to see your doctor if you want to, you will not be able to get any test you want to at a clinic or a hospital. all this is a scheme to get you to trust them. they've never cared about the american people, all they want are votes, so they can stay in office and fundamentally transform this country into a socialist catastrophe, in which this marxist slogan rules: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need...
in other words, you get only what you need to survive, your wants don't matter, and if you can't produce what you're supposed to produce, then you are disposable.
this is where i came from, this is how we lived. there was no advancement, there was no freedom, everyone was the same. robots, sheep, being herded by the gov't. censorship was at it's peak, no free press, nothing. no expression in music or art, you couldn't do anything that you wanted. no constitution, no amendments. zilch!! if you came to work wearing a gold chain, or an outfit that looked a little more lavish than the rest of the people, that meant that you got more money somewhere, and that meant that you did something illegal, under the table, and you were reported to the manager, who then discussed the issue with you personally, and usually meant that you were fired and prosecuted. for what? wearing a nice shirt to work?
this bill is an intrusion on your health. there's never, ever in the history of america, been a mandate to buy something. imagine if you were forced to buy canned food, or a cell phone, or anything, what the hell kind of country would this be? but now, you are forced to buy health insurance. the idea alone makes me cringe. in order to have a reform this substantial, you need serious money to back it up. once the money runs out, you still have all of these people coming for services, which will mean that the healthcare will be rationed. and this will happen, there's no chance that it won't. which means, now, if you're young and don't produce, you're not as important as someone who's older, who produces, and the same goes for if you're too old to produce. and here again is the "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". this bill is the first step to accomplishing this radical and marxist idea.
how would i fix it?
the only way to bring prices down is via competition. because competition rules in the market place. so, what i would do, is allow insurance companies to compete across state lines, this will do just that. more competition, prices go down. completely revamp medicare and medicaid and sell the to private organizations. this way, in the private sector, money doesn't come from my and your tax dollars, it comes from profits. also, fyi, the "evil" insurance companies' largest profit margin is 2.5%. look it up and you'll see.
i would allow pre-existing conditions to be covered to a degree, obviously, if you're born with an certain defect or disability you deserve to be treated, and there's definitely better ways of getting that treatment than now, but you'd be surprised at how well, even with current health care the disabled are treated. granted, there are always exceptions.
now i don't know about you, or anyone else for that matter, but if i didn't pay for my health insurance thru work, which i do, every month, about $475 per month, i'd have to leave out some things from my life which i wanted, like a flat screen TV, and all the premium channels on cable, or a brand new leased car in order to be able to afford health insurance, and believe me, there are ways to find inexpensive health insurance if you look hard enough. so most of these people, that think that their health insurance should be free, in other words payed by taxpayers, like you and me, and my business, are usually the ones with the the pirks and tv's and cars and rims, and cable tv's and bling.
and of course, there are definitely exceptions. but you get the idea.
in any case, the health care does need a reform, but it should be a reform for the people, not the government. how can you look at peloci standing there and saying that this bill is for the american people, lying thru her teeth. you think she gives a crap about any of us? she has the biggest expense account in the house of representatives, flies on her private plane, (how green) anywhere she wants and then, of course pays the alcohol bills with the gov't company credit card. how convenient. my hard earned tax dollars going for her flights here and there. how great is that?
lastly, for this segment at least, (hope you don't hate me yet), if this healthcare was so wonderful, why do you think that so many americans oppose it, over 65% of the population did not want this bill passed. if this administration is doing it for the american people, and 65% oppose it, then what am i missing here? and why, if this healthcare reform is so great, won't the democratic representatives use this new healthcare policy that they mandate us to partake of? a few things to think about.
anyway, i hope this shone a little bit of light on what's happening to our country while we passively sit here and do nothing :( and we keep telling ourselves, THAT would never happen here, in america. still think that IT won't??? i don't anymore.
i hope to hear back from you with your comments and ideas, there's very very little upon which i touched on here, this is probably 1/20 of what i'd like to tell you, and i don't want to school you, i only want to inform you. i know you have a child, and i want that child to grow up free and maybe even debt free, even though it's too late now. i'm hoping to have children of my own, and i want them to grow up in america that i've come to love. not what it's slowly turning into.
i'm in high hopes to have shined some light on the situation that we're faced with today.
have a wonderful day.
respectfully yours,
leon.
