The Great Healthcare Debate: The Personal Mandate v Broccoli

For those of you who haven’t read my original post on health care reform written a little over two years ago, please read it now. It’s the second most popular post on my site and currently generates the most traffic.

The current debate in the Supreme Court centers around the mandate in the Affordable Care Act requiring individuals to buy health insurance. There are compelling arguments for and against that will be argued before the chief justices make their decision sometime this summer – when the campaigns for the next president will be in high gear.

I debated this today on Facebook with a pretty weak premise: the requirement to buy health insurance was similar to states requiring us to buy auto insurance. It was pointed out that not all states require auto insurance – mirroring the attitude to health care reform pretty well. Some states are for it, some are against it. But the debate continued with good opinions. This got me thinking of a better premise that better fits my argument.

Breaking Through The Ice

It’s been over a month since I wrote my last words. What’s happened?

I had a flurry of inspiration while in India. I wrote some of my worst stuff: A Homecoming Long Overdue, Return to India and some of my best stuff: The Buzz of Food, The Feel of the Beach, The Desire to Overcome. There was even some mediocre pieces: Friendship from Strangers. But since I’ve come back, nada.

What Happened

There are contributing factors to my dry spell. After taking six weeks off of work and coming home to a cheering office, work took me by storm. A project consumed me with long hours consuming my thoughts and took priority over everything. When I came home, my computer tried a new experience staying mostly in my bag. I couldn’t look at it, I gave at the office. All the inspiration, spiritual experiences, travel and swimming – all went into a box not to be opened until spring. To sum up: I felt wrung out.

There was also a bit of culture shock.