HiSTORY HAS BEEN MADE!!!!

Wasn't really on topic then, was it? :f6:

While it's true you don't need insurance on your shoelaces, affordable health care for everyone is a must for a truly fair and equal society.
This is just a really crappy first step at achieving it by trying to bend a completely unworkable current system into something closer to right.

Though I completely agree with you and hate to say it, this "really crappy first step" was an absolutely necessary first step. After eight years of conservative politics Americans have forgotton what it's like to change their lives for the betterment of society, and so something that bends the current system on the right path in order to help people see what good sweeping change will do is an appropriate first step. In a land where we're allowed to have our own opinions and thus disagree on every little thing, it's wonderful to see something like this pass in the first place. Thus, again, what we can hope for is that people come to see the real benefits of this legislation and follow it with pushes for more and more reform.

It's a hard battle, of course. One issue I'd like to bring up is that of the perspective of the medical professionals. A friend of mine earlier today quoted a recent poll that claimed 45% of doctors said they would consider quitting their practices if this reform is passed. While the background and execution of the poll are a bit sketchy, and weren't addressed by my friend, she, a Biochem major (previously) interested in a profession in the medical field, stated that there's no "incentive" to work in the medical field now if her salary is decreased yet her college and medical school bills are still high. Though a legitimate point, there are two comments I wish to make (and I'd like to hear what others have to say): (1) if your "incentive" to work in the medical field revolves around money, you shouldn't be working in the field, and (2) it's important to note that health care reform should NOT be the receiver of blame, but the severely flawed education system in the United States. Obama, in his State of the Union, said he will work to place a 10 year cap on student loans, in an effort to reduce the stranglehold they place on college and professional school graduates. In the end, if you want the money to pay for your bills (or in my friend's case, future bills), work on reforming the burden the bills create in the first place rather than deny 32 million people the right to life.