It's simple...health care for all who need it.

45,000 Americans are dying annually, due to lack of health insurance. Imagine that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world we let 45,000 people to die because they cannot afford health care.

The CBS Report tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent.

Full report here

George Bush managed to get a blank check for an unnecessary war which wound up costing hundreds of billions. Why shouldn't we allow the same financial freedom for saving 45,000 of our family, friends and neighbors every years.

I want the public option. It's the only thing that can keep the profit motivated insurance companies under control. They cannot be trusted to put people before profit. It's against the basic goal of a business in our capitialistic system.

I don't think private insurance companies can ever truely serve the public good. Any real health care reform by its very nature will mean lower profits for insurance companies. Their goal is to keep expenses low and revenue high. The primary expense of insurance companies is paying benefits. Do the math.

This is not a financial or budget issue. This is a morel issue.