Health care: a right or privilege?

If Rep. Zach Wamp is any indication of Republican sentiment, said Steve Benen in The Washington Monthly, President Obama “probably shouldn’t look for too much bipartisan cooperation” as he tries to get more people the health care they deserve. Wamp called Obama’s health reform plan, the topic of a White House summit Thursday, “the next major step towards socialism,” and says health care is a “privilege” that half the 45 million U.S. uninsured “choose” to reject. His fix? “Tax cuts.” (Watch Wamp’s argument)

Well, Wamp is right, said Stephen Spruiell in National Review Online, both that "health care is not a right” and that tax policy—cutting the “distortion” that favors employer-sponsored plans—is the best solution. Your “rights” are to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Everything else is up to you, no matter what the “blue-blog zombies” say.

According to a new CNN poll, 72 percent of Americans think the federal government should do more to amend the current system, said Jay McDonough in Examiner.com, so it looks like Obama has the wind at his back as he tries to broker a plan. But whatever emerges, it seems like we mostly agree something needs to give. Right or privilege, for the “staggering” costs we pay, our health care is “lousy.”

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up