Look, Ma, no teeth . . . no future!!

A close friend of the family recently got some bad news. She was told that gum disease and bone loss had caused her five molars to be infected. The only recourse was to have them all pulled out. Even gum surgery would not help at this point.

She remembered that a few years ago, from her visit to the hygienist, she learned that the condition of her gums, coupled with bone loss, was not good. Yet, she could not afford the (outrageous) cost of around $7,000 to have the work done. So, like many in her financial position, she did the best she could by using the Waterpik with hydrogen peroxide and regular flossing etc. If she had decent dental insurance, at a reasonable cost, perhaps she would not be in her current situation.

This writer can sympathize with the fact that my friend already has had three teeth pulled. I myself have four such spaces where a tooth used to be. Why? Well, the cost of having a tooth pulled ($150 to $250) is not the same as $1,000+ for a root canal and $1,000+ for a crown. Or, how about $2,500 for an implant? How many more of us out there are walking around with similar dental situations? Yet, so few of us will demand to have government do what governments were actually set up to accomplish: be our safety net when troubles arise.

As far as medical care goes, Obamacare only helps those not earning much at all . . . and even that is very limited. Obama and his party could have ‘gone for the gusto ‘and used the bully pulpit to rally public support for an extension of Medicare for any American who wished to buy in. At the same time they could have insisted on including dental care in the mix. The actual cost to the consumer would be much lower and with much better coverage than under any private insurance plan . . . except of course a Cadillac plan that only the very few can afford. Alas, our corporate empire which controls this two-party system would never allow such an idea to flower and grow.

Mr. Obama, in 2008, when he ran for president, received almost three times more in donations than McCain received from the health care industry. Does anyone then wonder why Obama turned away from a single payer plan as quickly as he did? The real sin of it all is the subject of deductibles. Yes, perhaps the charge for a doctor visit is nonexistent or with a very low copay, but what happens if you need hospitalization or surgery? How much money must come out of your pocket before the insurance kicks in? If your deductible is less than $2,000 then you have a better plan than the majority of Americans. One would surmise that your deductible is most likely well over $2,000. Check it out.

We have a situation in America whereupon our local towns, cities and states are out of funding for basic services. New York City, once the beacon of progressive services, does not even keep the libraries open seven days a week, with more cuts on the way. You see, once upon a time Uncle Sam was able to send more of our federal taxes collected right back to each state (Federal Revenue Sharing) to help subsidize our libraries, schools , infrastructure and first responders like police, firefighters, EVACS, etc. Oh, and yes, maybe even some funding could have been set aside to jump start a Medicare for all who want in option, with, of course, the needed addition of dental care as well. The truth of it all is that such a plan would still entail that those who ‘want in ‘ contribute via their FICA payments, so the false argument of ‘free rides ‘is hogwash!

Those great changes will never occur so long as we continue to use over 50% of our federal taxes on military spending, whereupon the cost of keeping one soldier in Afghanistan for one year is $1.2 million dollars, and the soldier gets perhaps $30,000 of that. The rest goes down the toilet of crony contracts and overkill militarism. How much longer can our fellow Americans simply ‘take it,’ as Bob Dylan sang, “It’s all right, Ma, I’m only bleeding!”

Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist (found on Truthout.org, TheSleuthJournal.com, Worldnewstrust.com, The Intrepid Report ,Nation of Change, The Peoples Voice, Information Clearing house, Dandelion Salad, Activist Post, Dissident Voice and many other sites worldwide). Philip works as an environmental products sales rep and has been an activist leader since 2000. In 2010 he became a local spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at PAF1222@bellsouth.net.