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Friday, September 24,1993
The Battalion
Page 7
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PRO
CON
Will Clinton's health care
plan cure America's ills?
Sam'5
NIGHTMARE
t;
he health care
plan pro
posed by the
Clinton administra
tion has one goal
- to provide
health security to
everyone in the
United States. If
Congress approves
this proposal need,
rather than ability
to pay, will deter
mine who obtains
care..
Universal health
coverage couldn't
come at a better
time. 37 million Americans don't have
health insurance. That's one out of every
seven people. Millions more don't have
adequate coverage. Families without
money for insurance plans surely can't af-
1 the far greater costs of hospitaliza-
ELIOT
WILLIAMS
Columnist
ver, like
t of Rick-
;ain his
seventh
r and his
ering 300
; a salute
a accom-
r illustri-
; are de-
s; dreams
at could
Ul- B<uiKeunhrb*
Americans spend nearly a trillion dol
lars on health care eacbyear. More treat
ment options, expensive malpractice in
surance and non-competitive health-care
prices contribute to the ever-increasing
costs.
The uninsured have few choices. No
mother would let her premature baby die
because she wasn't insured for intensive
care. The baby would get treatment, and
the mother would spend years paying for
its medical expenses. On the other hand, a
man might ignore a constant cough or
headache in order to save the money he
would spend on doctors and medicine.
Under Clinton's plan, those people
would have far fewer worries. All neces
sary medical treatment, from prenatal care
to stroke therapy, is covered by standard
insurance policies. Services are made
available through a variety of processes
ranging from traditional doctor's appoint
ment to large health management clinics.
The availability of treatments is an un
deniable blessing. Illnesses common in
the past can now be cured or prevented
by drugs, surgeries and sanitation. Only a
tiny percentage of cases lie beyond the ca
pabilities of modern medicine to help or
heal. The tradeoff for these medical bene
fits is the enormous price tag.
The Clinton plan outlines a means of
financing nationwide insurance. The first
steps will bring price inflation under con-
. Regulations will limit legal malprac
tice fees and encourage price competition
between health-care providers. Funding
There's no excuse for
Americans to lack medical
care because they lack
money. The plan's "radical"
e of health care is ba
sically a thorough improve
ment and restructuring of
the current system.
Ml be raised by savings from programs
like Medicare and Medicaid. About one-
fourth of funds will come from sin taxes
on items like cigarettes.
All employers and workers will buy the
actual coverage. Companies will pay 80
Percent of the cost, employees 20 percent.
Similar methods are already used to pay
for many coverage plans. Self-employed
Workers will pay for their whole premi
ums, but that cost will be completely tax-
deductible. Other federal programs will
pay for coverage of the unemployed poor.
The administration's health care plan
Wakes sense. There's no excuse for Amer
icans to lack medical care because they
lack money. The plan's "radical" change
of health care is basically a thorough im
provement and restructuring of the cur-
r ent system. The result will be efficiency
and availability. The general welfare is
ensured when everyone is provided with
health care.
ULUIICJ
Chang-
P resident Clin
ton has gone
too far. It was
appalling to see his
handlers taking ad
vantage of Clin
ton's visit to the
Children's Nation
al Medical Center
last Friday to
smooth over the
burdens that his
new health care
plan will impose.
In one picture,
Clinton is seen
talking eye to eye
with Tim Hale, a
13-year-old boy who was at the hospital
for tests on a medical condition doctors
have been unable to diagnose. Clinton, in
the most vile, political manner, crouches
down to the boy who sits in a wheel chair
feeding off the intravenous machine that
furnishes him his life nutrients and smiles
— a perfect photo opportunity.
This is exactly what the White House
needed to divert the public's attention
from the horrific, destructive plan that
Mr. Clinton hopes to pass off to the public
as brilliant reform.
Clinton has promised to remove the
"craziness" that burdens the current
health care system while keeping the
In addition, a national
health care board will be
established to put limits on
how much can be spent on
health care based on the
Consumer Price Index. Still
think the quality of care
will be the same?
quality the same. I wonder how President
Clinton would have responded if Hale
had asked how easily it would be for him
to get the same quality treatment and ad
vanced tests that he was getting at the
Children's hospital under the new plan.
The truth is that the tests Hale was under
going would probably not have been of
fered at all if Clinton's plan had been
passed a year ago.
With Clinton's new plan, every man
woman and child in the United States
would be forced to join a state run cooper
ative with collective bargaining powers
that will attempt to lower your insurance
costs. If it doesn't sound like unionized
socialism yet, just wait; it gets better.
In addition, a national health care
board will be established to put limits on
how much can be spent on health care
based on the Consumer Price Index, Still
think the quality of care will be the same?
Clearly, health care quality will be di
minished. Whether you call it sacrifices,
triage or just plain rationing, the results
will be the same — providers and patients
will have to make harder decisions about
who gets certain types of care.
As Alan Jenks, editor and publisher of
the Jenks Healthcare Business Report said
of Clinton's plan: "The umbrella [of
health care] will cover more of the total
population, but it may not be as high or
secure as it once was."
Clinton's plan will do much more than
just destroy the quality of health care. It
will force hospitals to slow down re
search. The high quality of health care in
America today is directly attributable to
the tremendous amount of ground break
ing research done in medicine. Clinton
will destroy all incentives to continue this
tradition.
Hopefully, my predictions will prove
to be wrong, but it certainly is difficult to
refute the facts. Clinton's plan will cost
more, diminish quality and put govern
ment directly in the middle of yet another
industry — never a winning combination.
Eliot Williams is a sophomore electrical
engineering major
Frat members should
share in traditions
This letter is in written in response to
Jimmy Stathato's letter, which appeared
in the Battalion on Friday, Sept. 17.
Jimmy, I appreciate the criticism, but
I would like to clarify a few of my state
ments in my original letter.
First, I had tried to avoid stereotyp
ing Greeks by writing, "This animosity
originates from many (not all) Greek's
choices to participate in Aggie tradi
tions only when it serves their goals."
Mistake me if I am wrong, but there
is a NOT ALL printed in that statement.
Second, I do not hate frats; I disapprove
of those members who choose to partici
pate when it suits them.
You also mentioned that I had made
an uniformed judgment, which I had
preached against in my letter. One, I
knew that kegs were not allowed at frat
parties from speaking with my friends
who are in fraternities.
Perhaps, I should have written large
parties with large numbers of people
and alcohol instead of the word "keg."
However, the word "keg" is much
shorter, and when you must limit your
letter to 300 words, one uses a large
number of analogies. I am sorry if this
appeared stereotypical. In the future I
will write large parties with large num
bers of people and alcohol.
Two, I went to all but two cuts, all
but three stack shifts and centerpole my
freshman year. Further, last year I was
a Crew Chief, which means I attended
every cut, stack shift, load and unload,
and centerpole activity.
Of all the work which goes into
building Bonfire, one percent or less is
made by frat members (this is a rough
estimate). This estimate includes frats
who come out as groups or with their
dorms. So, I believe I was practicing
what I preach and am more qualified to
talk about Bonfire than yourself.
This letter is not intended to offend
frats, because some of their members are
very tradition oriented, and I respect
these members. Instead, I hope that it en
courages those frat members who are not
involved to show their Aggie spirit by
saying Howdy and to go to Bonfire and
work together with C.T.s and non-regs.
Let's show that Aggie spirit and
build the hell outta Bonfire, Ags (all
Ags).
Tom Arrigo
Class of‘95
Greeks: If you don't
like them, don't join
I am writing in response to Tom Ar-
rigo's letter in the Sept. 14 issue. In his
letter, he accused Greeks of participat
ing "in Aggie traditions only when it
serves their goals." He also said that
Greeks do "nothing to see that the bon
fire is built to their satisfaction."
I am a freshman and have recently
pledged a sorority, and I find his along
with many other "Aggie's" comments
uncalled for. Although I have only been
in my sorority for a short time, I have
noticed that my "Greek" friends are just
as, if not more, Aggie-spirited than
many of my "non-Greek" friends.
I may not actually "build" the bon
fire, but through my sorority, I have
taken a Bonfire Buddy. My sorority,
along with many others, supports indi
vidual Bonfire builders. This may not
be much, but it does show support for
the tradition of Bonfire.
A Greek is no different from any oth
er Aggie involved in an organization. I
decided to join a sorority to enhance my
college years. I do not plan to party my
college years away. I am here at Texas
A&M, just like the rest of the Aggies, to
receive an education. The Greek system
will encourage me to do so by honoring
high grades. In my sorority, I will make
life-long friends. These friends are not
"rented." I know that these friends will
be there for me long after I graduate from
Texas A&M. Greeks learn leadership
skills and participate in all kinds of phil
anthropic activities.
I am sick and tired of seeing the
Greek system cut down. If, for whatever
reason, you don't care for the Greek sys
tem, then all I have to say is don't criti
cize it, and don't join.
Heather Scott
Class of'97
Hypocritical to judge
anti-Clinton T-shirts
This letter is in response to the Sept.
10 Mail Call letter entitled "Shirts show
lack of respect for President" written by
Anand Patel (Class of '95).
For those of you fortunate enough to
have missed this article, I will briefly
summarize its contents. In this article,
Ms. Patel refers to several shirts she has
seen around campus which she claims,
"...shows a lack of respect for the Presi
dent." She continues on this letter by
blaming campus organizations *like The
College Republicans and/or The Young
Conservatives of Texas.
Ms. Patel also chose to quote the
Bible saying that, "Whether one has
committed adultery or lied to anyone, it
is a sin and all sins are equal in the eyes
of God." She continued on by saying
that, "Jesus Christ himself said let that
man who has committed no sin cast the
first stone."
I ask you, Ms. Patel, don't you think
that you are being a little hypocritical in
your Letter? On one hand your saying
don't judge the President by what he
has done, and on the other hand you are
casting judgment on the College Repub
licans for a few shirts that you find of
fensive? Give me a break.
After reading the article, it was obvi
ous who Ms. Patel voted for in '92. In
stead of just stating her real opinion
about the issue, Ms. Patel elected to
make comparisons between the College
Republicans and the K.K.K.
I think you would be extremely wise,
Ms. Patel, to follow your own advice.
You bleeding heart liberals are all the
same. You cry for your rights and free
doms until it no longer suits you, then
you cry for justice. What ever hap
pened to the freedom of speech clause
that conservatives like to point out
about the President? If they do it in a
shirt, then so be it. I have only one final
statement to make. How do I get a hold
of one of these shirts?
Joel Dunn
Class of'95
Spirit, not football,
makes A&M great
Mr. Yeates has taken it upon himself
in his Sept. 16 letter to try and degrade
the one thing that keeps Aggie's above
all others: our spirit. Along with "sham
ing" the football team, he has made us
seem like lepers . His statement that we
have no friends other than ourselves is
entirely untrue.
As a military brat and daughter of a
former cadet (Class of '71), I decided to
not go with all my friends and made my
way back to "God's country." When I
did, I received the acknowledgements
of my choice by classmates, elders and
even two generals from the Air Force
Academy (for anybody curious, that is a
major event).
Everyone of them commended me on
my choice and wished me the best of
luck. Aggies are not "hated" through
out the world; we are renowned and re
spected.
Mr. Yeates' opinions of the football
team are something I wish he had left to
himself. Aggies are not proud of our
teams because they win; we are proud
of them because they play with honor
and have fun while on the field.
When Coach Slocum suspended the
players before the Cotton Bowl, he
showed the nation that we will not play
unfairly. We play sports to show our
spirit, to have fun, to go on road trips;
not to "destroy, defeat" and "make
them bleed."
Some people have become spoiled by
our last few seasons and are grumbling
because we have lost one game. Who
cares? Above and beyond everything
else, we are Aggies, true to each other
and full of spirit. If we go to the Cotton
Bowl, I will be ecstatic. I won't drop out
of school or be embarrassed if we don't.
I am proud of our team, not our team's
accomplishments.
I am not going to end by asking the
football team to win the National Cham
pionship. I just want them to play hard
and never give up, no matter who is
ready to come and tear down our spirits.
Amy Matthews
Class of '96
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