A Middle Class View on Health Care Reform

I'm a 44 year old American wife, mother, taxpayer and free thinker. My personal view on the much debated issue of health care reform doesn't seem to be very mainstream. Or is it?! I've watched many videos on Youtube and read many comments on them. What I see is a nation split in two. The haves living in a state of fear of giving away any of what they have. And the have-nots, so overburdened with the cost of simple daily life that they're actually living in fear.

Put simply my views are these. I cannot for the life of me see how it could be a bad investment to make the nation healthy. For those that would worry about the cost and the possible taxation I would say think outside the box. I personally see a great way to mend two or even three severe injustices in this world at the same time.

How is it possible to do all this you ask?! Simple - we release all non violent first offenders that are in prison for nothing more than possession and end the war on drugs * aka * the war on American children. We could also decriminalize marijuana and tax it. America has more of it's own citizens in prison per capita than any other country on the entire planet! Are we really that bad?!

Ending privatized prisons and doing away with mandatory sentencing laws would also be a step in the right direction. The cost of this insane war on drugs - war on Americans - goes on and on and deeper than the Nile.
We put otherwise law abiding , tax paying , decent people into jail for no more than possession. We claim to be the greatest most advanced in the world yet our laws are archaic.

For the record , I don't do drugs and I don't smoke pot or even drink. I just see this as one gross injustice that should be considered as a possible fix to fix some portion of the cost of health care reform.

Another absolutely huge injustice is the price we're all paying for senseless war. The war on terror is nothing but a joke. It's a never ending war with never ending made up Bogey men to scare us. Put half of what we're spending on national defense and war into health care reform and start caring about people and this whole problem could be solved as simply as that.

Do we all deserve to be healthy ? Do we all deserve to afford care for our sick children or elderly parents or even ourselves?! Or is it more important to keep the hippies in jail and the bogeymen at bay? I say end the senseless war on terror and war on drugs and invest in the health and welfare of all Americans!