It would seem that health and education have little to do with local economic development, but in reality, and for a lot of reasons, they are critical, and we are in a state of crisis.

For my diehard Republican friends, yes, universal health care is indeed “socialism,” but guess what, so are fire departments, police departments, armed forces, public works, libraries, public education and all levels of government. Government exists for one purpose, and one purpose only, to protect its citizens from within and from without. Personal education and personal health are the basics for being knowledgeable and able enough to defend ourselves and prevail. In particular to health care and education, when the public sector competes directly with the private sector, and at the expense of the private sector, we become divided, and our sense of altruistic moral and democratic values has been unconscionably lost, most likely due to avarice.

Similar to medieval times there are three tiers in American society: the haves, the haves-not and the want-to-be-haves.

How much is really enough for the haves when the haves-not do not have comparable opportunity to health care and education, and are subjugated to what the haves want them to have?  (I wonder if that can be turned into a limerick for lasting posterity?)  Democracy has been lost to feudalism, and the majority of us are peons, people held in compulsory servitude to a master for the working out of an indebtedness.

The haves send their children to private school so as to avoid sending them to a public education which is under duress.  The haves of course also don’t have health care issues, as they have either the money, or adequate health care insurance, to more than cover their needs, like Botox.

The want-to-be-haves are those either blessed with talent to become court jesters, or happen to be in the right place, at the right time, and doing the right thing and become one of the nouveau riche, that is, one of the haves.  Or, they form unions to extract whatever they can from the haves.  Or, they become a bureaucrat.  Or, they run for election.  Or, they somehow are able to get an education to become a tradesman or professional needed by the haves, like a therapist or lawyer.

So, a couple of things: if you don’t get out and vote yes to the school bond, despite the added cost to you and your family, and if you don’t get involved with the town hall meetings with respect to Valley Medical Center competing with the private sector, both nonprofits and profits, the self indulgent bullies within the castle walls are once again going to prevail in keeping you suppressed and deprived.

Larry Baumgart

King County