We are, for better or worse, an amalgamation of our family and friends.
A melting pot of hereditary traits and those who we surround ourselves with, all mashed together into seemingly unique individuals.
I like to say that I got the best parts of both my parents.
My mom has always had a strong sense of community and loves people. She volunteers her time to help others and has a great big heart.
My father is smart and curious and has taught me to never take things at face value. While he too has a big heart, his brain has always been his organ of choice.
I often find myself somewhere in between.
I want good things for everyone and believe in the power of community. I also want to know who foots the bill when it comes due.
Over the past few years, I’ve become more and more convinced that we need to fix healthcare in our country. The current system is broken and the fix isn’t giving more power to a few private companies.
While bureaucracy and big government is not the solution to every problem, it’s certainly how we solve the big ones.
Everyone gets sick. Death is universal despite your party affiliation. Shouldn’t we all be able to agree that life shouldn’t depend on how much you make?
I believe a Medicare for all type system is the right move. Will it cost a lot of money? Yep. Will it actually be cheaper in the longterm than our current system? The data says yes.
Say you’re paying $2,000 a month for a family health plan. That’s $24,000 a year for a family of four.
A Single-Payer Model could replace private health insurance with a single government-administered program funded through taxes. While no one wants higher taxes, I promise it’ll be less than the $24k you’re paying right now.
According to a recent Yale University study, a single payer model could drop U.S. healthcare spending from $5.28 trillion to $4.24 trillion annually. That’s a trillion dollars in potential savings each year.
Before you tell me it’s not possible, remember that there are 50 or so billionaires in this country that made their fortune in the healthcare industry. The money is there, it’s just currently going to a few people at the top.
Will there be a lot of work to unravel the private industry and pivot to single payer? Of course. It would likely take years. But instead of focusing on the difficulty of that process, I think of the people who suffer day in and day out, all while a few guys rake in profits while denying care.
Every other modern industrialized nation has come to this conclusion. How are we the last ones who refuse to accept it?
Sure, there are plenty of anecdotes from countries like Canada where people say you wait for months to even be seen. I agree that’s not ideal. But how does it compare to never being financially able to go in the first place?
The current administration and those who came before love to tout our dominance on the world stage. Certainly we could figure out a way to make it work. After all, this is America. We saw the moon and said “we’re going” then figured out how to do it.
We see poverty and war in countries we can hardly pronounce and immediately dive in head first, but somehow taking care of our own people is “too hard” or “too costly” to even explore.
Before you decry socialism, remember the countless subsides we already give to prop up the current system on top of the premiums we individuals pay out monthly.
There simply has to be a better way.
Our country has become increasingly shortsighted when it comes to investing in the future. It feels like we can only look a year or two ahead while other countries are making investments they know will take decades to come to fruition.
We spend billions on foreign wars and vanity projects, all while everyday Americans are left struggling to stay alive.
We’re better than this. I know this because every administration has told me so.
It’s time we step up and prove it.
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On a separate note, you’ll notice some pages have shifted this week to account for some lengthy legal notices.
As election season enters the final push, there will likely be more of this over the coming weeks to accommodate extra ads, letters to the editor and more election-time stuff.
I hate change as much as the next person, so just bear with us and I promise things will return to normal eventually... probably.
As my wife and I take over more of the day to day operations, we are looking at ways to expand coverage of local news while staying true to the format our readers have come to expect.
My mom will continue her One-on-One series and my dad will continue to write columns and his "Thumbs up/Thumbs Down" when surgeries and time allows for it.
He will also continue doing our Law & Order section as it’s a ton of work that I have little desire to add to my growing pile just yet.
I’m currently exploring some ideas that should add some additional content to our pages over the next few months. In that same vein, I’m always open to ideas from our readers as to what they’d like to see.
If you’re involved with a local organization that could use a little spotlight, drop me an e-mail at dholdraker@waynetimes.com.
I’m actively reaching out to our area school districts to ensure we’re getting more athletic and scholastic coverage and encourage you as residents and readers to do the same. Tell your coaches, athletic directors and school administrators to share what’s happening in your district with us so that we can highlight the good things happening here in Wayne County.
My family takes pride in being one of the last independent media outlets in the area and our commitment to continuing that tradition is alive and well for as long as you keep reading.
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