Proposals for a national health plan in America originated over a century ago, but then, as now, many conservatives were opposed to social programs, considering them a threat to our democracy. But not everyone agreed.

Consider these comments: Now it is time to move forward again in still another critical area: health care. Without adequate health care, no one can make full use of his or her talents and opportunities. It is, thus, just as important that economic, racial and social barriers not stand in the way of good health as it is to eliminate those barriers to a good education and a good job. For the average family, it is clear that without adequate insurance, even normal care can be a financial burden, while a catastrophic illness can mean catastrophic debt.

That statement was made not by a tax-and-spend Democrat, but by Republican President Richard Nixon in a speech to Congress on Feb. 6, 1974, during which he proposed a comprehensive health insurance plan. If not for the Watergate scandal, our country may have had a health care plan 40 years ago. A big majority of Democrats would have approved, and many Republicans would have felt obligated to support a proposal made by a president from their party.

Nixon was not the first (or last) president to endorse a health plan. In 1912, another Republican president, Theo-dore Roosevelt, championed national health insurance.

Todays right wingers proclaim that the sky is falling, declaring that national health insurance is a budget-busting job killer, and even worse, another communistic scheme to ensure citizens are enslaved by the government.

Those who equate programs such as Social Security, Medicare and national health insurance with Socialism and Communism are mistaken. The Readers Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionarys definition of Socialism is, Public collective ownership or control of the basic means of production, distribution and exchange, with the avowed aim of operating for use rather than for profit, and of assuring to each member of society an equitable share of goods, services and welfare benefits. Communism controlled production and distribution even tighter. Only during national emergencies has our government taken limited control of critical industries.

Reasonable restrictions are necessary. While unscrupulous individuals almost surely comprise a small minority of business leaders, they do exist. Giving private enterprises an unfettered free rein leads to corruption at the publics expense. A notorious 1860s example was the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, which involved shenanigans by greedy industrialists, assisted by bribed politicians, unjustly enriching the schemers.

More recently, some U.S. banks provided mortgages to many thousands of home buyers who clearly did not qualify and were unable to make the payments. Eventually, the house of cards collapsed and many buyers lost their homes, and a severe recession followed. To prevent total financial meltdown, our government bailed out the banks. Even so, unemployment soared, creating great financial hardship for many families.

Ridiculously high doctor and hospital bills have cost many people everything they have worked a lifetime to earn. Approximately 60 percent of the bankruptcies in our nation are linked to medical expenses. Our nonworking indigents receive free medical care, as they should, but it is indefensible that the working poors catastrophic medical expenses force them into bankruptcy.

The United States has been the only industrialized country in the world without universal health coverage.

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Health care: a vital right for all