Opinion on Health Care

Frank Newport writes at Gallup that most Americans do not believe that the federal government has the responsibility to make sure people have health coverage.  

He notes developments of the past few years:  President Obama's election, the Great Recession, and the Affordable Care Act.  Moreover the issue of government as the nation's most important problem ranks just behind economic concerns.

This gives rise to consideration of two fundamental concerns that are almost certainly behind Americans' answers to this question about the role of government in creating universal healthcare.

First, Americans have broad philosophic concerns about the appropriate role of government, which transcend or provide context for any specific instance of the use of government to attempt to address or remedy a social problem. Second, regardless of their philosophic position, Americans have concerns about the practical ability of the government to be able execute efficiently both current and new missions it takes on, a seemingly fundamental concern when the government contemplates taking on responsibility for additional social issues and problems in a massive way.