By John Galt
November 20, 2007
As Karen looked at her husband Mike in utter panic, the realization that the Medical Services Administration was not going to help their child had sunk in. Their son was in his third day of running a fever and still having a problem retaining liquids. After the nightmare trip to the emergency room after he cut his foot open outside, they were hitting the wall and so frustrated as well as worried. The intern who treated their son basically told them to clean the wound and give him some children’s aspirin for the fever, but don’t worry about stitches or such would not be needed. Karen remembers that visit as she had to restrain Mike from punching the intern from Mexico as he kept screaming at the staff that he wanted an American doctor to see his child immediately. The security guards ended up escorting us out and Mike got a very stern warning that this visit to the hospital was using up one of his two permitted emergency room visits per year for his family and not to lose the privileges for the last visit by making a scene. This rationing routine had just gone too far she thought. And now their child’s life was endangered because of it.
Karen, having worked at a Doctor’s office before the depression had started, knew what she had to do. This nightmare assigned her family to a doctor across the other side of the county, which would have been fine except to get there would have cost them precious gasoline which was also being rationed now. The cards they were issued for their family had incorrect information as Mike and Karen spent months fixing it as an illegal alien had stolen their information and gotten a MSA card for his family in their name. She knew that the card wasn’t going to help as the mandatory annual visit was already used up, and with one of two emergency room visits used up she didn’t dare take a chance and waste it unless someone in the family was dying. . She picked the phone up and called her old boss at home and asked if she could see him. Doctor Williams had retired just weeks before the new MSA program was established and had warned her to prepare for the worst once the new “American Universal” plan was unveiled by the President. The Doc answered the phone in his usual gruff voice “yes, bring the child here immediately” and that was not a good sign to her. As Mike and Karen arrived at Doc’s house, the paranoia set in as they looked around to make sure they were not followed or anyone was watching them. Doc opened the door and rushed them into the house. As their son was set down on the kitchen counter the Doc said “you realize we could all go to jail for this, right?” Karen looked at him and said “I know, I’ll never say a word, I swear it” and Doc nodded and started to look at the child’s foot. There was a major infection setting in and the Doc asked if the hospital had provided anti-biotics to the child. “No, they just told us to keep it cleaned out and give him aspirin for the fever” Karen said. “Typical” is all the Doc muttered as he wandered down to his basement without saying another word. Mike just stood there with a dumfounded look until the doctor emerged from the basement with a baggie full of pills. “Give the child one pill three times daily with each meal until this bag is used up” the Doc muttered. Mike, looking even more puzzled, just had to open his big mouth and ask; “where did you get these?” The Doc sneered “don’t worry about it, not all of us have gone over to the dark side and just be thankful your wife knew me. Your child probably would be dead in two weeks if you kept going to the emergency room or your assigned doctor. The government is saving all medications for the military now, and you’re family is so low on the totem pole, by the time you got approval for a prescription, they would have had to amputate the child’s leg.” Mike just nodded and asked how much the Doc wanted for his services. The Doc looked mike in the eyes and said, “let’s just call this a down payment. I know I’m going to need my car worked on one day, and you’re a mechanic. I can’t afford to use the local shops which now charge $400 per hour to see you, so let’s just say you owe me a check up in the near future.” Mike looked shocked and said “you realize that barter is a major felony Doc! We could both end up doing ten years if we’re caught, right?” Doc smiles and with a devilish grin said “then you’d best keep your mouth shut” and with that the visit was over. Karen wondered as they carried their son to the car what people who didn’t have a connection like she did just how they would get by. And Mike realized that he had best make more connections like this if their family was going to survive the times they were in. He just hoped that the idea of making connections like this was not too late…..
There I go again. But the realization that this story is not so much about just a medical issue but a survival issue should be setting in now. The American dream is going to fade quickly once the economic landscape changes and to add to the misery index is the fact that most Americans will look to the government to take care of them, as FDR had trained them to with his pavlovian whistle of socialism. The conditioning program is now quite complete with over 55% of all Americans receiving some sort of government benefit. Yet you are not one of that 55% and so this does not make a difference to you? Wrong again. The conditioning of the majority will only make those who believe in self-sufficiency or free enterprise much more difficult. And that’s where you had best make your plans now.
First, you have to set up a network of like minded folks for such emergencies. In the story it was fortunate for Karen she used to work for a doctor and was not involved with the system beyond here initial contacts with the new socialized medical program. The nightmare described above is not unreasonable as the rationing of everything will result in some people being cast aside until a bureaucrat calls your number. This means that those professionals and tradesmen will immediately start looking outside the system to avoid the bureaucracy and deliver their services for an immediate profit or just because they do not want to be a part of such a system. Making friends and contacts who can help you and vice-versa will be critical as during the Great Depression, barter was a key for the average person to survive.
Next you may want to actually start a survival library. There are numerous “must have” books on the market for each situation. The Boy Scout’s manual, army survival manuals, Where there is No Doctor, etc. are just some of the numerous books in my collection and having a survival library might just save your life one day. All of us are guilty of buying one of these books and just shelving it, but at least once per year, read it and get familiar with how to deal with situations you may encounter in the near future. You never know when the crash will take place and you don’t want to learn on the fly.
Lastly, and most importantly, do not count on the current supply chain, other people or the government for your family’s survival once the situation deteriorates. There are going to be labor strikes, shortages, and financial system interruptions which will cause problems that the average American has never seen nor would understand. Unless you have been to some third world nations and seen what doing without means, it’s hard to explain. While we take going to the doctor for granted, it’s going to become a problem once universal health care is announced. The hints as to how to force you into the system have already been displayed with the socialist zeal endorsed by Massachusetts former Governor Romney’s program which fines you for not signing up. This dangerous precedent will be repeated in state after state once the new Federal system is enacted, which it will be regardless of who win’s the election in 2008.
Your freedoms, especially the freedom to choose what and who supplies everything to your family, will be removed without a shot being fired. The powers that be have figured out that by destroying the economy, increasing dependency and removing the cost efficiency of the freedom of movement they can force you into a box and into programs dictated by their bureaucratic minions. This dangerous reintroduction of the communist model seems so far fetched on our shores, yet we are moving full speed ahead into such a system now that we have seen the success of the Chinese model. Please take the time and energy to prepare yourself and your family now. Because if we are going to destroy our system and follow the Chinese model, the term “cradle to grave” takes on a new meaning. And that meaning might be one which eliminates not just your family’s freedoms, but their lives.
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