I stand by my assertion about the public option not being an “option.” If this bill passes, I would prefer to go without healthcare out of principle. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to afford to do that.

As for taxes, we are not currently “directly” taxed for our behaviors. Sin taxes are indirect taxes on goods before we even see them on the shelf. A direct tax on sin behaviors would involve taxing individuals engaging in those behaviors.

America may “need” health care, but we haven't earned it. All rights come with responsibilities. We haven't taken responsibility for our health and thus we do not have the right to demand that others take care of us.

As for improving the current system, I see things a bit differently. Instead of pointing fingers and blaming shadowy figures, we need to wake up and acknowledge that this “crisis” is simply economics 101 in action. The supply and demand curves of healthcare are both relatively inelastic. The proposed plan is ineffective because it does not consider the ramifications of this inelasticity.

As far as spending $1 trillion when we aren't fully supplying the programs we have currently, I understand completely how you feel. But this is a promise he made in his campaign, and unlike many of the presidents who campaigned before him, I believe Obama will do well to keep his promises.

The public option is an option, and your statement that people will be forced into paying for insurance because they can't afford to pay a 2% fine is a bit absurd. And we are already directly fined for many of the things you've listed there, it's called a vice tax.

Preventative health maintenance should definitely be the cornerstone of medicine, but I don't agree that America does not need health care. I can't say I'm a 100% supporter of the current plan, but there is definitely room for improvement among healthcare professionals as well as insurers.

Another important point: The “public option” isn't really an “option” at all. If one cannot afford to pay for one's own health insurance, how likely is it that one can afford to pay a fine for not doing so? The only legitimate choice is to fall in line. What ever happened to personal responsibility? What happened to the right to make poor decisions against one's own interest? Do we not have the right to choose? This is a slippery slope. How long will it be before we are (directly) fined for smoking, drinking, eating at McDonald's, being obese, not exercising, etc.? (although frankly I find these ideas much less offensive).

America does not need health care. We don't need doctors to stuff us with pills and give us insulin shots. We need to get off the couch and take the initiative to preventatively care of ourselves. We need a change in culture, not a change in policy. Most importantly, we need a leader with the balls to stand up and say it like it is. I've had it with this politically correct pandering. America is not sick, we are FAT!