Milford chronicle., 1946-01-18
FRIDAY. JANUARY Is. 1916
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE OBSERVES

FhlI)A JAM All Ia, ~
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE OBSERVES
that to call the Presidents proposed cOmpul-
soly health program insurance" is d mis-
nomed. . The fundamental principle of
insurance" says the Tribune "is that the
rate or premium is proportionatc to the risk
involved, and that all policyhodcrs who offer
the same risk pay the same rate.
"The so-called health insurance program
onbOdies neither of these principles. common
to all Insurance. The man with Il record of
good health gets no rating advantage over
the man who has a record of chronic i'll
health. Furthermore, payments are not fix
ed according to the probably cost of prOvid-
ing medical care to the individual, but accord
ing to his income. President Truman pro
poses that the tax. or q combined tax and Il
Federal SubVentlOn equal to / per cent of all
incomes up to $500 a year. be used to fl
nance the system. If the costs were placed
solely on the benetciaries, this income tax
would cost a man earning $500 month $1li
year. The man earning 500 a month would
get exactly the same protection for SIS Il
year. That's not insurance.
at may be a legitimate public purpose to
tax people in order to provide medical care
for their less healthy, less prosperous, or less
capable fellow citizens That, in fact. is al
ready done through unsupported hospitals
and clinics. But such project is not inSur-
ance. It's 4 new form of taxation aud very
heavy one, and its proponents ought to ;,c-
knowledge that fact in the beginning"
ONLY A SHORT DECADE AGO, the
political and economic problems of the citi-
zenS of every state were primarily local in
stead of national. Today the problems most
deeply affecting every citizen are national
Op.l Of b,
tonal problems IN which every family is IN
terCsted, is OW future military progYan
Just as we have allowed centralized GOV
ernment TO absorb many of the functions of
local government. so are we asked to favor
one central authority for our Army, Navy
and Air Forces, thus eliminating the indi-
vlduallty of each and the inspiration of com
petition.
Germany was the greatest exponent Of a
centrallzed military organization. Italy was
an advocate OF the same idea. France, at diff
terent times, followed similar policies
This war demonstrated that the United
States can have a unified command of the
various branches 0t It's armed services i'm =
national emergency, without having Il mill
tary dictator IN times of peace There is need
tor haste IN perfecting our military machine
but granting peacetlme centralized military
control over the three branches of our armed
- iNN'H 'IuNl lldNt tHt lUleSJ consideration.
Assistant Secretary Of the Navy II. St1rlvr
lienSel said, in the New York Times of No.
Nember -, 1913, National security is
100 large to be cnCOmpaSSed i'm any SINGLE
organization. Even It's military aSpcctS are
too diverse and too huge to be rolled into orc
great mass or to be effectively controlled bv
some Super~holdng companv.'
II we retain our place as a nation of demo-
cratic ideals under the flag of republic, we
heed Tess, not more centralized government.
ana we must maintain military prcparod
ness within the framework of our idoaIs "r
Freedom
THE PRESIDENT has asked for what
the headlines call. "A law to force insurino
OF the nations health" In the debate which
Is sure to enSue over this proposal, prono.
nentS and opponents will be listed catcgori
cally aS either liberals or reactionaries- if
YOU are Tor 1t YOU are liberal; if Won arc
against parts OF 1t. YOU are rcactionary.
Tens OF thousands of hard working doctors
VINO are dong their utmost TO carry forward
Americas high medical and health Standards
but who oppose certain parts of the PROF.
dent 5 program VIII be termed roactlon
And yet Is 1t reaCtiOnary to point ont that
"heh the state cOmpclS every individual tn
contribute part Of his earnings toward gun-
port OF public undertaking, that under
taxing must inevitably become the proDnrtv
OF the state? When the Federal government
forces peiSon to subscribe to prepaid med
zeal system sponsored by the government
is there any other name for if but "yt.t,
medlcine|' Likewise, is it reactionarv f.
point out the obvious contradiction in tbc
statement that patients will have = frec
choice OF doctors, but doctors will not he
compelled to JOIN the program? Suppose the
doctor YOU want Is not d member of the state
medical system? indications are that many
doctors Will not permit themselves to be put
ON the government payroll unless forced to
do So In other words, in order to have vour
tree choice YOU may have to pay YOUR modi-
Cal bill tWlce-once to the government for =
doctor you don't want and again to the doc
tor of your actual choice
These are some of the questions the re
actlonarles' are concerned about.