I really don’t understand why as a supposedly evolved society we don’t consider healthcare a fundamental right. Our current system works for everyone but the provider (the doctor) and the consumer (you). It benefits middlemen, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, your employer, and businesses with whom you might compete on your own if you didn’t have to worry about healthcare, but it doesn’t benefit the two most active participants, yourself and your doctor.

We’re about the only first-world country left that hasn’t socialized healthcare costs, and don’t tell me about the rise in taxes — we’re paying much more in healthcare out of pocket for premiums, deductibles, and co-pays than any tax would be. Similarly, don’t tell me about the “long waits” you’d have for specialist care when my very well-insured kid can’t get specialist appointments for five and six months.

Healthcare and housing should be fundamental rights of living in a wealthy, just society.