I stubbed my toe last night.Actually, I didn't just stub my toe, I really whacked it. I bashed it (oh, this is so embarrassing) against my exercise bicycle. It's all swollen today, with a big bruise covering about one-fourth of my foot. I'm all right when I'm sitting down (now, for instance). But walking is an adventure in pain.
I'm not looking for sympathy. Well, actually I am, but that's not the point. The point is that I am, in a somewhat macabre sense, lucky. If I need to see a doctor, I can afford it. For over 40 million Americans who have no medical insurance and can't afford it, however, a stubbed toe can mean a lot of pain long after the initial physical shock subsides.
Suppose I worked as a clerk in a retail store. I'd have to be on my feet all day, and I just couldn't manage that. If my job was in a small, mom-and-pop store, or a large, low-wage chain without union representation, I could be out of luck. No paycheck, because I can't work. No insurance to cover doctor's fees, not to mention tests to determine just what, if any, serious damage may have been done. Then there's treatment, medication, physical therapy -- the bills would add up, and I wouldn't have any way to pay them.
And this is something that could happen to anyone. I'm in reasonably good shape. I've run the NYC Marathon every year since 1987. I'm agile, nimble, not accident-prone at all. If it happened to me, it can happen to anyone.
I'm not talking about stopping drug pushers -- excuse me, pharmaceutical companies -- from making Americans subsidize their research and development. I'm not talking about making extraordinary -- and extraordinarily expensive -- procedures available to anyone. I'm not talking about anything really radical. I'm talking about making basic medical care universally available.
If the Democrats were in charge, we would have avoided the reckless tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that have led to the current record deficits. We would still have a balanced budget, possibly even large surpluses. And we could talk about making this care available.
Instead, the party of oil magnates, war suppliers and drug pushers -- I'm sorry, pharmaceutical companies -- is in charge. So we have record deficits, and adding even minor programs is unthinkable unless drastic action is taken to rescue our government from the quicksand into which we have sunk.
In the meantime, watch where you walk.
Copyright 2004, Dan Jacoby
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