Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
And fifth, I ask you tonight to fund our HOPE housing proposal and to pass
my enterprise-zone legislation, which will get businesses into the inner
city. We must empower the poor with the pride that comes from owning a
home, getting a job, becoming part of things. My plan would encourage real
estate construction by extending tax incentives for mortgage-revenue bonds
and low-income housing. And I ask tonight for record expenditures for the
program that helps children born into want move into excellence: Head
Start.
Step six: We must reform our health care system for this too, bears on
whether or not we can compete in the world. American health costs have been
exploding. This year America will spend over $800 billion on health, and
that is expected to grow to $1.6 trillion by the end of the decade. We
simply cannot afford this. The cost of health care shows up not only in
your family budget, but in the price of everything we buy and everything we
sell. When health coverage for a fellow on the assembly line costs
thousands of dollars, the cost goes into the product he makes. And you pay
the bill. Now we must make a choice.
Now some pretend we can have it both ways: they call it play or pay. But
that expensive approach is unstable. It will mean higher taxes, fewer jobs,
and eventually, a system under complete government control. Really, there
are only two options. And we can move toward a nationalized system, a
system which will restrict patient choice in picking a doctor and force the
government to ration services arbitrarily. And what we'll get is patients
in long lines, indifferent service and a huge new tax burden. Or we can
reform our own private health-care system, which still gives us, for all
its flaws, the best quality health care in the world. Well, let's build on
our strengths.
My plan provides insurance security for all Americans while preserving and
increasing the idea of choice. We make basic health insurance affordable
for all low-income people not now covered. We do it by providing a
health-insurance tax credit of up to $3750 for each low-income family. The
middle class gets help, too. And by reforming the health insurance market,
my plan assures that Americans will have access to basic health insurance
even if they change jobs or develop serious health problem We must bring
costs under control, preserve quality, preserve choice and reduce people's
nagging daily worry about health insurance. My plan, the details of which I
will announce shortly, does just that.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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