Submitted by Cheryl Emmons, Jul 15, 2007 17:58

Not for profit, single payer health insurance is the only thing that will work. The insurance industry is like a cancer that must be removed. Bandages will not work. We need a candidate with the courage and integrity to take on the insurance industry. I am disappointed in Obama. Unless Kucinich gets more media coverage so that he has a chance, or unless Al Gore jumps into the race, the situation seems hopeless. Why do we keep supporting people who care more about the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry than they care about the people?

People are at their most vulnerable when they are sick. It is a mark of a cruel nation when we don't care, and leave them for the wolves to devour.

One thing often missing from the public debate is how health insurance impacts so many other areas of our lives. This is only one example, but many employers are forcing their employees to work long, excessive overtime hours because that is cheaper than hiring more people and paying for more benefits. A single-payer system, based on total payroll, not the number of employees, would make it disadvantageous to take that approach. Forced overtime is destroying families because it results in situations where they don't have any time for each other. It is also destroying other families that suffer from unemployment and underemployment as a result. For every 2 workers putting in 12 hour days, there is one potential worker unemployed. In addition, we are all at risk of accidents because exhausted drivers are on the road (often after 16 hour days).

No more bandages -- they only disquise the problem. Fix it right the first time.

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