Health Care Thought

There’s a Democratic Congressman named Jim Himes in Connecticut who voted for Obama’s health reform plan.  As a result, for months now, my Google Alerts have been sending me angry blog posts and web pages by spelling-impaired “real patriots” reacting to Himes’ endorsement of this socialist plot.

I haven’t written much about the health care debate, and I’m not planning to do a full-blown rant here.  However, for those of you who are my fans and readers, here are a few projects you might have seen if the U.S. had decent universal health care:

  • A fourth Jig the goblin book (tentatively titled Goblin Lord)
  • A YA book or series, following the adventures of Danielle’s son Jakob and the daughter of the fairy queen from Fairytown
  • An alternate-universe short story about Snow and Talia
  • More short fiction

These are all ideas I’ve thought about trying to do, but after looking at the demands on my time — specifically, the need to work the full-time day job so that I and my family have health coverage — there’s no way I can make them happen.

Would all of these projects have materialized if we had universal health care?  I can’t say for certain.  There’s still a lot to be said for a stable income, which writing doesn’t provide.  But given what I make now, if I was able to write full time and produce an extra book a year … especially that fourth goblin book, considering how well they’ve done in Germany … well, let’s just say the odds of seeing those projects would be much better.

I’m not complaining.  I’m thankful to be employed, and happy to be able to do one book each year.  But I’d also love to have the option of doing more.