I read an interesting opinion by Stuart Butler titled, BUTLER: Healthcare Cure Seen In Tax Code in the Washington Times on Thursday, May 21, 2009 (http:www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/21/health-care-cure-seen-in-tax-code).
In this edition of the Washington Times, Mr. Butler opines that the Brewster's tax code leaves millions without healthcare coverage. I could not agree with him more!
Brewster's Tax Code is named for the movie, Brewster's Millions. Do you remember that movie starring Richard Pryor? Briefly, Richard Pryor stood to inherit $300 million from a dear family member. The inheritance had a catch, too. In order for Richard Pryor to receive the full inheritance, he had to spend $30 million within a month, but have NOTHING to show for it! Needless to say, Richard Pror found out quickly that spending $30 million was not an easy thing to do and NOT have anything to show for it.
Fast forward, Brewster's Tax Code is quite similar to Pryor's delimma. The American tax system that is currently created to spend $200 billion yealry is very wasteful and leaves millions without coverage. Simply put, America spends money on healthcare and has NOTHING to show for it. The NOTHING in this case is the uncovered Americans with an untreated mental illness who cannot afford any health insurance. That is also the poor and those who are the working poor and those who earn just above the poverty line, but cannot afford healthcare insurance.
Did you know that nearly 4 million people with some type of mental illness (Chronic Depression, Bipolar, Schizophrenic, Anxiety Disorders, Obssessive Compulsive Disorders, Post Trauma Stress Disorder, etc.) do not have health insurance? They have nothing to help them with maintenance medications, therapies, and in-patient care so they may wonder around helpless and untreated. We pass them by in our cars in a lot of cases as they push carts of bags, disgards, or stand on corners begging. We avoid visiting family and friends who are "crazy."
Now, I'm over the hill says my mother, so I cannot remember how Brewster's Millions ended. I also cannot imagine how this nightmare Healthcare Crisis will end either if Healthcare Reform does not happen! We know what the affect is, but how will it all end if we do NOT stop wasting millions of dollars and leave millions of people with no healthcare to show for it?
Agnes B. Levine is the Author of the book: "Cooling Well Water: A Collection of Work By An African-American Bipolar Woman" (ISBN 13 978-0-9754612-0-4) and available NOW on Amazon at
www.amazon.com Join Healthcare For America Now at
www.healthcareforamericanow.org Stay on your Congresspersons at (Senate)
www.senate.gov or (House)
www.house.gov
Posted By: agnes levine
Thursday, May 28th 2009 at 9:12PM
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