Cynicism and Hope

Senator Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) says that we need to help each other rather than relying on government, even when it comes to health care:

I agree with Senator Coburn that government is not the answer to all our problems and that we need to be far more generous to our neighbors.

But let’s think logistics here.

The woman in this video probably needs a lot of hands-on assistance from neighbors to care well for her husband and herself. She also needs financial assistance for the medical care that will allow him to eat and drink—and that his health insurance won’t pay for.

Let’s imagine that she has fantastically generous neighbors who organize a round-the-clock schedule of caregivers and begin raising funds so her husband can get the medical help he needs.

How long will he live without food and water while they wait for sufficient funds to come in to hire a private-duty nurse and buy the necessary medical equipment?

And what if those neighbors are simultaneously caring for many other people in their community who have traumatic injuries and life-threatening illnesses?