The issue I’m passionate about is a politically charged topic and quite personal to many U.S. citizens: universal health care provided by our government.

I do not agree with President Barack Obama’s view and opinion on this. I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not against President Obama himself. I do understand that he is trying to help the country, but I disagree with his intentions and many of his actions. I really wonder if President Obama fully understands what national healthcare involves.

I am particularly concerned about the universal health care issue as proposed by the bills currently before Congress. Of course, the concept of taking care of the people who cannot afford health insurance is not wrong.

I object to the concept of only a portion of the citizens in the country, taxpayers, funding this goal and having the government tell us what to do.

I don’t believe this is the answer to pursue. There are people immigrating to our country who left their nation’s universal health care program to find better doctors, a better system, and, most of all, a government not telling them what to do for their health.

I hope the people up in Washington D.C. will do their research and really decide that people need to be in control of their own lives, including health care options.

I am especially concerned for our elderly, our grandparents! There seems to be an emphasis in the current bills on providing for younger people before treating the elderly.

That means even President Obama’s grandparents will have to wait on the younger generation to get their medicine before them.

Our elders, who have raised our parents and worked so hard all their lives to teach them the right things to do, are going to pass away even earlier than they would have because they may not have access to treatment when needed.

If a universal health care system is in effect when we are elderly ourselves, it is likely that we will be at the end of a list so long we would probably be dead by the time we could get the help we needed.

Regardless of any emotional arguments, there is simply the astronomical cost associated with each health care bill to consider. The U.S. economy is already running a $1.6 trillion debt; a healthcare bill of $1.3 trillion will almost double our debt overnight. If the cost is more accurately $3 trillion, as some report, our debt will triple overnight.

If we can’t pay our current debt, how will we pay these new debts?

– Ansley Bittle, Jemison