A few days ago I was asked to write a short speech on Obama's Healthcare plan for a project called 'Obama online convention' a blog which has brought together a number of Obama supporters and non-supporters to write about the issues of this election as a small parallel to the Convention proper in Denver. I'm afraid to say that due to circumstances which I shan't bore you with I was unable to write as well as I would have wished due to time constraints. However, I would nevertheless appreciate the feedback of the dailykos community...
the blog is here: http://106obamaconvention.blogspot.com/
The speeches will be published there in the very near future,so i'll update when that happens :)
My speech is after the jump..let me know what you think. Good and Bad.
Good Morning Obama convention! This Morning I'd like to speak to you on the subject of healthcare, before I do however, allow me to introduce myself to you and to explain briefly why as a British citizen observing this historical election from outside I am so concerned with the importance of implementing Obama's healthcare plan. I first became personally aware of Obama a few weeks before the Iowa caucus, and like millions of others around the world I felt inspired by him and the hope he was instilling in people after eight long years of George W Bush. I took the time to access the campaign website, and it was his plan for healthcare which convinced me that this is the man who can see the best and the worst in America today, who can maintain those things which are working, l and change those things which are not...in Washington, in energy policy, in the economy and in the healthcare system.
So why, as a British citizen, do I care about American's getting healthcare? I was born with health insurance, I'm alright Jack, and it’s not my problem if some unemployed women in Idaho can't see a doctor when she needs to right? Well I believe that it is my problem; I know many of you are here are Christian, well didn't Jesus say love thy neighbour, and he didn't just mean the neighbour on your street, or the neighbours in your town, I believe that he meant every single human being with whom we share this earth, our common humanity does not stop at national borders, and though I myself am not Christian, still I believe in the inherent truth of that. My second reason, is one of simple self preservation, the recent scare stories in the tabloid press over the potential of avian flu to develop in to a pandemic flu, as well as the ever present scourge of contagious diseases like TB amongst the poor of industrialised nations, together with the reality of our globalised world, mean that when some person hundreds of miles away goes untreated, their disease could become a potential threat to me down the line. My third reason is personal, my oldest brother has a severe form of Autism, for those of you who also have loved one's with the condition, I'm sure you'll be interested to read Obama's plan for Autism and related spectrum disorders which you can find on his website, even with the benefits of free healthcare, my parents still struggled financially. I can not imagine the stress for care givers when the threat of bankruptcy hangs over them, when their insurance policy is suddenly found to have small print which prevents them from providing their elderly relative, or disabled child with the level of care they wish for them. No one should have to go through that kind of despair, not even Americans. My last reason for giving this speech today is my mother, she's worked for the NHS and for private companies which provide services to the NHS for decades, from being a cleaner, to being the manager of a mental health care facility, I know how difficult her work is much of the time, and how rewarding it is for her always, but the rewards of virtue are not enough for those working to provide healthcare, they deserve a decent wage and decent working conditions. It is for these reasons that I use the inclusive 'we' in this speech, because I feel a personal investment in seeing Obama's plan implemented and although I can not donate money, nevertheless I hope I can speak persuasively and in some small way help to inspire others to support Obama's healthcare plan, and his journey to the presidency.
Okay, now that you all know a bit about me and why I'm here, let me talk to you about America's healthcare as it is today and how Obama's plan will improve it beyond recognition.
The virtues of the American health system are rightly world renowned; the state of the art hospital equipment, the development of cutting edge new medicines which are continually pushing back the frontiers of disease and the professionalism and expertise of the vast majority of care providers mean that for those privileged enough to benefit from good quality comprehensive health insurance, their personal experience of the system will be an overwhelmingly positive one. Outside of the gated communities and ivory towers of privilege however, the picture is not so rosy. Forty seven million Americans are either underinsured or lack insurance entirely, 9 million of them are children. That in itself is a damning indication that all is not right with the current system; there can be no excuses for a developed nation failing so catastrophically in ensuring its population has adequate healthcare coverage.
Americans deserve healthcare, they had are hardworking, working longer hours than Europeans, thousands serve in the military with honour, whilst many more dedicate their lives to public service.
Where is justice when the woman who works all day to teach America's children fears she might loose her coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition? Where is liberty when a young person cannot go to college and escape the cycle of poverty in which they were raised because they must stay home to care for a sick sibling so that their parents may work to put food on the table and pay for medicines? Where is equality when 49 million Americans cannot access the best that the American health care system has to offer?
It is true that the Bill of Rights does not explicitly include healthcare as a self evident right, but that document was written 200 years ago, before the possibility of good quality universal health care would have seemed feasible. I do not wish to diminish the importance of the Bill of Rights or the constitution-The Bush administration has got that covered! But the founding fathers themselves recognised that American society would be perpetually seeking progression-each generation working to create a better America for the generation that would come after. That's why they allowed for amendments to the constitution. I firmly believe that in 21st century America, the right to life, liberty and happiness cannot be fulfilled unless every single American has access to good health care. If the founding fathers were to observe the fate of America's growing healthcare underclass, the legion of underinsured and uninsured, would they see a society which was fulfilling the hopeful destiny which they had envisioned for it? I think not.
Someone who recognised many of these problems many years ago, and who did her best to start to set things straight is Hillary Clinton. During her husband's presidency, Senator Clinton spearheaded a campaign to redress these wrongs and to introduce a universal healthcare plan, although she was not successful in this effort, I feel sure that working together with Obama and with the American people, this time she will help to create 21st century healthcare system which every American, rich or poor, black or white, young or old, can look upon with pride in times of good health, and trust in times of Bad health.
I believe that it is imperative that we take a moment reflect upon the ultimate failure of Clinton's healthcare proposals, so that we may take stock and learn, learn the tactics of the vested interests that oppose universal healthcare, so that they may be defeated this time.
Clinton was beset by a Republican attack machine-paid for by health insurance lobbyists and Drug monopolies which effectively painted universal health care as communist and persuaded Americans that their level of care would deteriorate, under such a scheme. Whilst Clinton's plan did not itself properly address the root causes of America's health care crisis-namely that the vested interests in the healthcare industry have been, and continue to be, closely associated with many of those writing the legislation. Obama's plans to curtail lobbying will mean that this time, they won't succeed in holding back the advancement of universal healthcare.
The scare mongering of the opposition is easily countered with facts and reasoning, provided that the message is delivered to the average voter in a way which makes sense. As Obama himself said; we now have an opportunity and an obligation to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates. However, this page can never be turned unless the American people are brought onboard, and scaremongering is directly debunked.
Michael Moore’s sicko documentary, whilst flawed in many respects in showing a one sided view of the American healthcare system, nevertheless does contain gems of unvarnished truth. Moore asks, if universal health care is considered communist then are state schools not also? What about public roads? The postal service? Moore has a point. Let no one tell you that Universal health care is the slippery slope to communism, it is not, it is the slippery slope to better and more affordable health care for everyone. That is what the vested interests truly fear! Universal healthcare is simply an integral part of any nation which situates itself somewhere on the on the line between socialism and unfettered capitalism, it is the backbone of a fit and healthy society which enables it to excel in other areas-be they entrepreneurship, science, education, sport of the arts. By providing its population with good health care a society lets them worry about other things, lets them work hard and achieve their dreams. No matter what their social and economic background.
Right now America's healthcare statistics are, quite frankly, atrocious, spending twice as much as other developed nations for worse outcomes. America's shamefully high infant mortality rate is for me the most telling indicator, a baby can not work for to buy better insurance, it is at the mercy of the system. The neocons who seek to take advantage of the genuine threat of terrorism to further their own devious political ends don't feel the need to explain how an unchecked flu pandemic or a mutant strain of TB could spread like wildfire amongst and unvaccinated underclass and cause much greater loss of life than Al Qaeda could ever aspire to.
It has been said that no man is an island, and this is the answer I give to those who are reluctant to pay taxes towards the health care of others. I personally believe contributing to a national health care service is simply the moral and noble thing to do, however, I understand that view may not sway everybody, people who work hard for their money are understandably loathe to give it away to the tax man for the benefit of strangers. However, I urge you all to look at the bigger picture, I've already talked a bit about the threat of contagious diseases, there is also the treat to the economy if people are incapacitated due to ill health of disability and so cannot work. Which would you rather, a medium sized bill to the tax payer in the short term to give a man treatment and get him back in to employment or a much larger one in the long-term for him to remain on welfare? This is I feel, the fundamental point which we must repeat again and again and again. Good Health Care will save tax dollars!
Good health care, does not just begin when a disease or disability develops, Obama's plan emphasises the importance of preventative care, management of chronic conditions and healthy living. Clean air and water in American cities, balanced meals and physical exercise in American schools, schemes to reduce smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are central planks of Obama's plan. Obama recognises the pressing need to move America's health care plan from one of simple disease management to one of disease prevention. Tax dollars will be saved by getting people back to work, by preventing disease from occurring in the first place, by reducing the cost of drugs by allowing American to buy safe drugs from overseas, by making it easier for generic drugs to enter the market, by forcing drug companies and insurance companies to make the costs to the consumer more transparent. Obama's plan will also save tax dollars through improved efficiency, how much of your insurance premium goes to line the pockets of the CEO's? How much could be saved if your records were computerised, as Obama proposes, so duplicate testing was eliminated? And, with your privacy protected with safeguards, your health care records could be found with a few clicks of a mouse should you require treatment far away from home?
At the beginning of this speech I talked a bit about the things I admire about America's healthcare, I believe that these standards can be maintained and made available to all through Obama's plan, through efficiency savings huge improvements can be delivered without increasing the costs of healthcare to the tax payer in real terms. The area of research is one where I believe, the pros of the free market have served in many ways to help progress, and I believe under Obama's plan not only will this continue to be the case, but that research will actually improve. Through helping to prevent duplication of research, through better science teaching in schools and universities and through the implementation of a national drug testing and cost effectiveness programme comparable to the National institute for clinical excellence in Britain. Obama's presidency will serve to improve research standards and bring effective drugs to market more quickly and to make them affordable once they reach the market.
I would like to conclude with a few words on McCain's health care plan, which has its good and bad sides. First the bad side, eight more years of failed Bush policies, and the good side? Four more years of failed Bush policies.
And so America, I urge you, if you care about your own health, the health of your family, and the health of all Americans, please Vote Obama!
Thank you.
Update...http://106obamaconvention.blogspot.com/ 3 of the essays are online here.