With healthcare tossed up in the political atmosphere these days, we are all asking the same questions. Are Ottomans really human? Is Barack Obama really Jesus? When will the Federal Government cease and desist? The answers are no, no, and never. But what does this have to do with healthcare? Essentially, the real question we are asking here is, “Will the government ever stop poking its nose in my business?” and the answer still is, no, no, and never. But what does socializing healthcare have to do with Rutgers University? Several things that we are about to explore.
Rutgers essentially operates as a socialist state. Every student, or student’s parents, pays into a pool that is horded by a great chancellor. This great chancellor then determines where to send said funds so along as he and Greg Schiano get the largest piece of the pie. The remnants of the pie, usually the crumbs and maybe a slice of an apple, are sent to different departments, one of which is the health department here at Rutgers. What we begin to see is the following. Out-of-state students and daddy with a big paycheck in actuality pay for things like the Rutgers Health Centers while those coming in on free rides get to do exactly that; they free ride. And while out of state students like me, who pay almost $38,000 per year on college tuition, use the Health Centers maybe once a year to check for Chlamydia, other students get to go as much as they want to their heart’s desire to check for less important things like Herpes or an elbow scratch. And it also disheartens me to know that I need to set up appointments at any health center days in advance before I can go because there is a splendid little waiting line because Johnny with a scratched elbow is clearly more important that Chris Fernandez with Chlamydia that he caught from the girl he took advantage of last weekend. And what Rutgers does best is allow no room for creativity or competition. Not only is every Rutgers student the same, but every health center is the same. Everyone is insured by the same crappy system and everyone is treated the same crappy way.
In the United States we are headed in this direction. This new bill in the Senate that will offer a so-called “public option” is going to choke the insurance industry and give our great chancellor in the government the initial step to controlling the way I cough. If there is a public option, not only will taxes inevitably have to go up, but insurance companies can no longer compete with something that is essentially seen as “free” in the eyes of the public. If, for instance, Chris Fernandez never ends up catching Chlamydia he would still have to pay for the public option through taxes that year anyway. So instead of each of us paying for our own insurance based on our own needs, the government find is necessary to remind me that Barack Obama is the second coming of Jesus Christ and I need to pay for unnecessary things. And what happens when all the insurance companies can no longer operate because they’ve been driven out of business by the government? Are we going to have to raise taxes again and bail them out too? If government or Rutgers knows how to do something, it’s spending on things that don’t really work or aren’t really necessary. Remember Social Security? Remember the Rutgers football team?
So call up your local Congressman today and remind him that you have a brain. Let him know that you’re an individual with individual needs. And lastly, remind him that you can most certainly put a price on life. Rutgers does it all the time every time my dad needs to pay the tuition bill.
