We've proven we can't handle national health care

Our president is asking the people of this country to trust him and his administration to create and run a national health care system for all citizens.

I don't want the government taking care of me, but many do. This is an argument that can't be won because I am not going to change my mind and neither are those who think the government should take care of them. Pragmatism and not ideology rules the day for me.

The city of Chicago couldn't get their hands around the complexity of parking meters. They decided that the most cost effective way to handle these tricky machines was to lease them to a private enterprise. I am not sure how parking meters are run inefficiently but leave it to a large bureaucracy to screw it up.

Similarly, the state of Illinois is looking to privatize the lottery because they can't seem to make the concept of "sell tickets/ pay winners/ keep rest" run with any efficiency. If this goes the way of parking meters, I am not sure how many people will buy a "$5 scratch off" for $10.

Social Security is the federal version of parking meters? Compared to the huge variables/ costs/decisions of health care, the money in/money out concept of Social Security is akin to the government running a garage sale and yet they have found a way to run up a multibillion dollar deficit. How big will the deficit be on health care? Start by replacing the "B" in billion with a "TR" and go from there.

Before undertaking health care, fix your other problems and do it without raising my taxes. The solution can't be that simple anymore.

Paul Hays

Geneva