"Higher Taxes" is a Red Herring.

Our country is a Democracy in name only. Our leaders do not follow the public’s wishes or opinions. One prime example is our health care. Virtually every poll taken, asking if people think their government should provide health care, shows that at the least 60% believe that it should. It seems self-evident that it is the job of our government to protect our citizens from harm but many powerful interests would prefer that not to be the case. So they attempt to frighten people with talk of higher taxes. It is true that taxes would have to increase but in the end you wouldn’t notice the difference on your paycheck because your insurance premiums would disappear.
On pay day I open my check to see that the amount of money I am paid is different then the amount I receive. Damn those evil taxes, which go to fix potholes, educate our youth and launch cluster bombs, have been removed but wait that isn’t all I’m missing. Nearly 30% of my money is gone. Of that, 23% went to my government and almost 7% went to an insurance agency. So would it be correct to say I’m taxed at a rate of 23%, or is it 30%? All I am concerned about is that 30% of my money is being taken.
The insurance industry, the Pharma industry and the Doctor industry have used their proxies for years to convince the people of the fact that their taxes would increase if a national health care system was implemented. Factually correct their statement is but it is also deceiving. So for instance, continuing to use me as the example, it is true that my tax rate of 23% would increase. Whether it would reach 30% is doubtful.
This is a world of pluses and minuses but not blacks and whites. The perceived negative part of the equation is that your taxes may increase, though it is doubtful your paycheck will decrease. The truly positive aspect is living in a society that takes care of its most vulnerable especially its children. It should be shameful for all Americans, and a negative, that 30 million children have been punished with a lack of health care because of their parents, and it would be a positive for that to change.
In order for our country to do what is right and protect its citizens, especially the ones in the most dire straits, we need a national health care system. To achieve the health care system this country deserves our taxes will invariably increase, yes. Will your paycheck be affected, no. Removing the outrageous health care premiums and moving that money into the Medicare tax makes it a wash. As a result we, as Americans, can have one less aspect, of our great country, to be ashamed of.