A few weeks ago I was in need of a single postage stamp as I had to get out an important letter that day.

I begrudgingly drove to the nearest post office to buy a stamp and mail the letter.

I hurried into the lobby to the stamp machine with my change ready in hand. To my surprise, the vending machine was not in its usual place. In fact, after thoroughly circling the lobby twice, I concluded that there was no vending machine of any type to be found.

I eyed the counter area and cursed quietly to myself upon seeing the long line waiting for service from one of the two postal employees at the counter. I got in line feeling rather stupid that I had to endure a five minute wait to purchase a single stamp in this day and age. After finally arriving at the counter, I handed the postal lady two quarters and asked her what happened to the stamp vending machines that used to be in the lobby. 

She explained that the stamp machine was always breaking and that they got tired of fixing it so they just did away with it. In other words, rather than strive to find a solution of convenience for their customers, the postal service decided to make their lines longer and force them to endure longer waiting times. Of course in the competitive market place this type of apathy towards the customer is rarely tolerated as customers will simply find a business that can keep the vending machines working, but for the cold and callous bureaucratic branches of the federal government, this is the norm.

Few people like going to the post office or any type of government institution in order to get something done, yet many of these same people are very anxious for the government to provide our nation’s healthcare. In countries such as Canada and England which provide government health care, apathy, callousness and the usual long government waiting times are the norm. If one reads the British newspapers on line, one can find numerous stories of health care rationing in which the elderly get the short end of the stick and are consistently rejected for expensive surgeries due to cost analysis. 

If you thought the HMO’s were brutal, wait until the insensitive government takes over.

There is something you can do however: save! Just as any responsible American today has a retirement fund and maybe a college fund for their children, anyone who wants to ensure that they get the health care they require needs to start up a health savings plan. I myself think that a target of $100,000 is necessary in order to ensure that you can fly to wherever you need to go in the world to obtain the surgeries or procedures you will need in a timely manner.

You will be in good company. All of the Hollywood and news media celebs who are constantly pleading for government health care for everyone are not going to stoop to that level of health care for themselves. Yes, you will be flying into world class health care facilities in foreign countries alongside the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Brian Williams and Michael Moore.   

Maybe you’ll even get an autograph in exchange for promising not to inform the National Enquirer that they are usurping government healthcare after pining for it all these years.

So next time you are waiting in the apathetic line at a government office that doesn’t know the definition of convenience, think of your future health care and remind yourself to eat at the ninety-nine cent menu for lunch to save your money for your future heart transplant vacation to Bermuda.

Let’s hope the medical equipment is more dependable than the stamp vending machines.

Brad Rudisail is syndicated political columnist. He is a graduate of the Coverdell Leadership Institute and a resident of Oconee County.

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