The Vietnam Effect

I call it the “Vietnam Effect”. Every baby-boomer knows someone who was killed in Vietnam. Maybe a relative, a classmate, a neighbor or the barber’s son. If you didn’t know them directly you know someone who had a relative or friend who was killed and they told you about it. There were approximately 50,000 troops killed in Vietnam.
Why is it when the government tells us, as Harry Reid did, that more than 350,000 people filed for bankruptcy last year as a result of a medical issue, I don’t know a single one of them? If 50,000 affected everyone in the country, why is it everyone doesn’t know 3 or 4 of these 350,000? In fact, I only know one person who filed for bankruptcy in the past year. His reason was business related not medical.
Could it be that a number was used simply to magnify a problem that may not even exist? Could it be a lie? My suggestion is simple. When someone uses a number larger than 50,000 and you personally do not know anyone in the group, ask a friend or two if they do. If they don’t, you have just been told lie.
The hundreds of thousands who have been denied insurance due to existing condition – a lie. The millions who cannot afford insurance – a lie. The millions of uninsured children – a lie.
So, tell me again what problem they are trying to solve?