Now, my biggest complaint with yourpost and others is to paint anyone who is opposed to this bill, as some kind of heartless cold person.....you sound exactly like one of the party folks who want to make the guy who doesnt agree with you as a bad guy...I had enough of that during the campaign when every other post either said or intimated I was a racist. You can have your opinion but dont you dare even hint that I dont care about folks...you have no idea what we (those opposed) have contributed in time and moneyto those less fortunate ![/QUOTE]

I have a great deal of respect for some of the people (yourself included), who object to the health reform bill using intelligent arguments and raising good questions. You and I will probably never know how much the final proposal has been revised BECAUSE of good questions and arguments. However, I have no respect for comments which paint 30 million people with the same nasty, false stereotype, or those summarized by some silly global axiom like 'it's wrong to take anything I earned and use it to benefit someone else'.

All of my political posts have been been in one of two themes; either to challenge sweeping generalizations and stereotypical characterizations or to suggest why it is right and beneficial for the future of our nation to assist disadvantaged citizens. I keep asking why it isn't beneficial to share the wealth when the sharing process does not materially affect the lifestyle of those who pay higher amounts. We all dislike taxes, but I'd bet we would agree that taxes have a greater impact on our lifestyle than they do on anyone we know who has regularly earned 250k or more per year. And still with that impact, middle class Americans have generally continued to live well. How many more boomers will be able to sustain that pretty good life in retirement because of medicare and social security.

I am not a lover of big government, but unfortunately there are two glaring areas of need for national regulation: health care and investment finance. Effectively managing these problem areas, along with avoiding armed conflicts, will provide a direct path toward eliminating the deficit. So, I believe the opposite of some, that health care reform will bankrupt us. As implied above, the only lives changed by health care reform will be those who will be able to finally obtain and keep that protection.