Where should we draw the line?!

During this whole national debate on health care reform, I've listened to both sides of the argument with a (fairly) open mind. It's definitely a very emotional, controversial, politically-charged topic that will affect all Americans in some way. But today, I won't get into the gory details and talking points, because I want to write about some related questions that keep bubbling to the surface in my mind. They're not so much about the bill itself, but about to what extent our leaders will take this sense of entitlement.


Something really troubles me about this bleeding-heart Democrat mantra that "Every American DESERVES free health care."  Just because they repeat it ad nauseum (hey...maybe I should see a doctor about that!), doesn't make it true.  The thing that really concerns me is that the logic of this argument is riddled with fallacy. If every American is ENTITILED to free health care from the government, why stop there?!  "Every American DESERVES..."  (YOU fill in the blank! C'mon...This could be fun.)

• Take a look at the poor and homeless in every city across America - it's a complete tragedy that people are forced to live on the streets and eat out of dumpsters! Couldn't one argue, by the same logic, that every American ENTITLED to a free home of their own, free groceries every week, and free utilities? (Hey, why not throw in free basic cable and a toaster oven?)  Who is responsible to "fix" this problem in our country? 
• Hey...I've heard enough talk about the rising unemployment rate in this country - I say, "Every American DESERVES a job!" Better yet - Why don't we just work, and our employers could contribute our entire paychecks to the General Fund, so that our honorable elected officials can decide how best to spend it for us?  Everyone would have what they need, and nobody would be burdened with too much money.  
• If everyone is entitled to an education, why quit after high school? Let’s make college free for everyone too! Problem is, when colleges are forced to accept everyone and the government pays, the value of the college-level education drastically decreases.
• A friend of mine recently posted a statistic on Facebook that wonders “how 60 million Americans struggle with obesity, while 36 million Americans struggle with hunger.”  Why isn’t the government rationing food so nobody has too much and nobody has too little?

Where else does our government feel that they need to intervene in our personal lives?  If we give them an inch, will they take a mile? What will become of the principles of capitalism and free enterprise that have distinguished our economic system as one of the greatest in the world?


My husband had a really interesting point the other day... if everyone is SO concerned about people not having health insurance, then why don't we see any non-profit charities organized to provide financial aid to the 10 million "uninsurable"  Americans - either to help them purchase health insurance, or subsidize their health care expenses directly?  We have charities for helping the hungry, and for nearly every other imaginable social problem - why not health care? For that matter, what role should Christians play in helping those who cannot help themselves?

If we lived in this imaginary utopia where there was meant to be an even distribution of wealth, the government could just print all the money and pass out the same amount to everybody, just like the "Banker" does at the beginning of a Monopoly game. Problem is, in real life - just as in the game - some loser still runs out of money in the end. You either have to keep giving them handouts or call the game over!