Getting sick from Covid has changed my view on health care and work culture in the U.S.A.
TLDR Having Covid has made me reconsider my libertarian view on health care.
Background: I’m an early 30s white male in construction. I have worked both in a union and non union and am currently non union. Before this week I would have considered myself on the libertarian side of most issues. Pro lgbt rights, anti taxes and very much a “pull yourself up from your boot straps” person.
I’m also fully vaccinated (Moderna x2) and booster (Pfizer in January)
So when I got sick from Covid on Sunday I was pretty sure i would be back at it in no time and may even get some stuff done around my house this week!
Was I ever wrong! Not only did Covid kick my ass it’s still left me incredibly tired. For someone who makes his living by doing physical labor this has shook my world. I’m going back to work Monday but have no idea if I will be able to even do my job or make it through a whole day. Covid has already cost me money from missing overtime to draining my vacation hours. My wife and 2 daughters and I are supposed to visit her family in Canada in two weeks. Im stuck with weighing whether to still go, shorten the trip or just cancel all together.
That was when it hit me how bull shit it is that our health care is tied to wether or not we work. This past week I have had no energy to the point that I get exhausted folding laundry or doing the dishes. My doctor thinks that Covid has exacerbated my Crohn’s disease and that’s why I’m so tired. So now I’m forced to go back to work because a) I need to keep my health insurance and b) my family is depending on me to pay our bills.
I am not claiming I have the answers to fix healthcare. I certainly don’t know enough to advocate one system over another. What I do know is I will never again defend the American health care system.
Or it could be I have just spent too much time on Reddit this week. 🤷️