July 10, 2007

Press Statement on Universal Health Care

to Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)

by David Newby, President

Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

To the Editor:

Let's think about universal health care this way: Early in the life of this
country we did not have universal fire protection. There were no municipal
fire departments with services available to all. We had competing private
fire companies (thus, the reason our public fire departments are often
referred to as "fire companies" today). If you had the money, and your
house caught fire, you employed a private company to put out your fire. If
you couldn't afford to pay, your house burned down.

In the mid-nineteenth century, our society came to realize that fire
protection should be a social good, available to all. Fire protection
should be provided by local government, and funded by all the people (along
with police protection, water and sewer services, food safety inspection, and
other services in support of the public good) through municipal taxation.

So consider health care: Individuals now employ private health companies,
which ration health services to our citizenry based on the ability to pay.
But most people now regard health care as a social good, one which should
be provided to all and paid for through fees levied on us all. We now need
our political leaders to institute universal health care in the interest of
all our people.
 

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Contact:  David Newby (414-581-0942)