THE ULTIMATE FANTASY
By
Richard Davis

GUILFORD- Dreams are an important safety valve. Without them, many of us might snap or simply give up all hope for a better life or a better world. In today’s world dreaming has become as important as breathing.
Some people dream of riches or fantasize about sex or many of life’s other pleasures. Those are healthy dreams. I waste some of my dream time on matters related to social policy and health care and I do occasionally indulge in more mundane fantasies.
One of my recurring fantasies goes something like this. I am in a room full of Washington politicians who are discussing the next step to take with health care reform legislation. For awhile there is the usual discussion that revolves around money and how to pay for what is needed without raising taxes. Then something remarkable happens.
One of the politicians loudly breaks in and says, “You are all on the wrong track. I have listened to this crap for years and it is the same old discussion. That is why we never make any progress.”
This legislator then pulls out a giant stack of paper and tells everyone that this is the new direction for health care reform. “There are two pieces of legislation here. One only deals with human need and describes in detail the changes that need to happen in order for all Americans to have access to a basic level of health care. It defines benefits and it describes in great detail how those benefits will be administered. The second piece of legislation deals with funding.”
He then goes on to say something that nearly causes the rest of those assembled to have a stroke right on the spot. He says that he plans to introduce the first piece and will not introduce the second until the first piece passes. Everyone laughs. They think it is a joke. But then they look at the man behind this plan and they see it is no joke.
Commotion and confusion follow. After everyone calms down, the legislator explains what he is up to. He tells his colleagues that the time has come for the United States to join the rest of the civilized world and recognize that health care can no longer be another commodity to be used as a vehicle for profiteering.
“We are not cars. We are not refrigerators. We are not television sets. We are human beings. Our health care must be treated as a basic human need and our government has a responsibility to assure all of our citizens that we will provide them with a basic safety net of health care that they can have without fear of bankruptcy.”
He goes on to explain. “Our country is based on the free trade, open market capitalist model and that works well for many sectors of our economy. But the time has come for all of us to realize that our economy should not apply the same rules to health care that it applies to everything else. We have recognized that our taxes should pay for education, fire and police protection and even libraries.”
He continues, “Why in God’s name are those services any more important than health care? I would contend that we have our priorities wrong for many reasons. We must right the historical wrongs this country has lived through. The time has come for America’s politicians to finally do the right thing. We will tell the American people that we will assure access to health care for all because it is the right thing to do. We will guarantee access to health care for all Americans first and find the money to pay for it as a second step. The time when the life and death of our citizens is solely determined by budgets and taxes must end.”