Lister McMillson asked:


How we plan to heal health care seems to be mostly about headlines, town hall meetings, special interest groups, death panels. Yes, the emotions are raging, but in truth, it’s the wrong thing to be fighting over. Here’s why:

-Health care is a growing cost, but even putting it under control (if we ever get there) will not do much to add any new income to an economy that is at it’s lowest point in memory

-Health system reform is emotional, but not very visionary. In fact the most inspiring thing that looks to come out of it is simply if we could agree on anything.

-Universal health coverage is an issue for the old, not the young. And the young people are going to pay for this system for the old, and to do it they need higher paying, stable jobs

So what area of pursuit would justify ditching the whole health care reform issue at this time? Alternative Energy. We not only need it to keep the planet clean for the future, we need it now to create jobs and growth in a moribund economy. Case in point: The only political and economic brightspot for the failing auto industry has been the “cash for clunkers program.” Its accomplishments include:

1. Putting laid off General Motors auto workers back on the job to rebuild inventories for the program

2. Being so popular, it ran out of money twice and had to be refunded

3. The only program that seemed to be popular with just about everyone, or at least one that we could all live with

4. Taking vehicles off the road that averaged only 16 miles per gallon and replacing them those that averaged 26 with millions of barrels of less foreign oil purchased and tons less pollution into the air

And all these effects were immediate.

But beyond being a relatively quick payback, programs to promote conservation and creation of new, cleaner energy forms are visionary, unlike the current health care mire. And it’s the only topic on the boards now likely to engage our youth, who have very little to gain in the current health care system improvement quest. (After all, they are young and healthy, yet we are asking them to pay for the program by putting into the health care pool years before they are likely to take much out.) But the challenge of revamping almost our whole way of life through new forms of energy is something the youth of today can get into.

The new industries that will be created will need their vision. The development and management of new services based on vast energy stores will require a whole new set of social, financial, technical and managerial skills. Which, if education gets the message, will also help our schools by focusing them on what we need to train our youth to be.

It’s a real program with real promise and one that we can all agree upon to help our world be a better one. Let’s start by focusing on it now, and leaving health care on it’s own to get better for now.