Because quite frankly, i’m wondering if the strict constitutionalist crowd has been “holding it” all these years.

I have some very conservative friends who like to engage in Facebook debates about politics. One guy supposed that if he or one of his family got really sick, he’d simply take out a huge loan to pay treatment and then work it off. He spoke about it like it would be some ten year long character-building experience he’d relish as a hard-working American iconoclast. And while such an experience would certainly teach him how to pinch pennies and be more mindful of his and his loved ones’ health habits – what the fuck? The guy is a 25 year-old with a good college degree and leadership qualities. He should be working 70-hour weeks, cutting his teeth at a small business, then starting his own small business that takes advantage of our surplus manufacturing capacity, manufacturing weird things that make escalators less dangerous or creating Nintendo Wii games that help injured employees rehabilitate fine motor movement more rapidly. He should not be packing away his entrepreneurial urges so that ten years from now he’s closing out his shift at Applebee’s to get to the bank early and make that last payment because his Aunt was underinsured and needed a brain operation years ago. How the hell is that good for our economy?

Let me give you a story from my teenage years. My father is a very good electrical engineer. He’s had his current job for 13 years, working on the International Space Station for government contractors. Ten years ago he interviewed at another firm for his dream job, got the gig, and had to turn it down, because the benefits sucked. A tiny firm simply couldn’t afford the benefits that his then employer could. So my very talented father couldn’t move to the company where he’d do the best work of his career because he couldn’t afford it if I or my mother or one of my siblings got sick. None of us have gotten all that sick since then, by the way. If my father were a remorseful man, he might look back on his time since then and thought, “Boy, I could have taken that job! Fuckin’ wife and kids…”

So, yeah, the healthy should be pooled with the sick. I’ve got young friends who are pissed off beyond words that they’ll have to pay a fine or else buy health insurance. To them I say – once you’ve found a lump in your armpit (Mine was an ingrown hair, but it was scary) or had an HIV scare (Two months ago I got shingles, which usually happens in the elderly or is a sign of immuno-deficinecy when the young get it), you’ll be damned thankful you have health insurance. When this insurance reform passes, you’ll still be able to move wherever you want, say whatever you want, practice whatever religion you want, start whatever business you want as long as you meet certain requirements. It’ll be the same America. Only more people will have health insurance and fewer people will go bankrupt because they get sick.