Steelworker Takes The Spotlight At Debate

Gets Standing Ovation At Democratic Debate For Asking "What's Wrong With America?" On Health Care

(CBS)  Every once in a while, a moment of truth breaks through during a political campaign event.

It happened Tuesday night during the AFL-CIO debate when Steve Skvara, a 60-year-old retired steelworker from Union Township, Ind., asked a question to resounding applause:

"Every day of my life, I sit at the kitchen table across from the woman who devoted 36 years of her life to my family and I can't afford to pay for her health care. What's wrong with America, and what will you do to change it?"

Skvara spent more than 30 years working at the LTV steel plant in East Chicago, Ind.

"At the time I worked there, it was a given that you had insurance benefits for the rest of your life," he tells CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.

That was before the company went bankrupt. Suddenly, his financial future crumbled. He lost part of his pension and all of his health insurance.

Both Skvara and his wife, Sandy, suffer lingering injuries from a car accident a decade ago. Skvara also has a heart condition. While they can barely afford health insurance for him, Sandy has none at all – which prompted his rage at the debate.

"I think you're going to see everyone talking about health care," says political analyst Stuart Rothenberg. "The question is, is that how people make a decision in 2008? It's too early to know."

According to a recent CBS News/NY Times poll, after the war in Iraq, health care is the No. 1 concern for Americans.

There are now nearly 45 million Americans without health insurance.

Skvara says that he got the answer he was looking for from his favorite candidate, John Edwards.

"It was answered directly," he says. "We need a national health care plan."

Now the question remains whether a moment in a debate will be the moment that motivates reform.

[mswolfestock]

This country would have plenty of money for everybody to have health care insurance if the war in Iraq was stopped and all the troops and contractors brought home. I'd rather have billions spent on life and good health instead of our finest young people dying for no good reason. How about the rest of you? We could put all of the war veterans to work fixing our roads, bridges, infrastructure, etc - they'd still be serving their country without having to die for a paycheck.

[jwberry2]

This guy is pathetic. why is he expecting me to pay for his health care? why hasn't he provided for his wife? I will retire in about 5 years (after working for over 50) and will not have any health care unless i buy it myself. and i have saved enough over the last 50 years to do that. of course i had to do without new cars and vacations and a lot of other things to make sure i would not be a burden on my family or anyone else. So my advice to this guy is, suck it up. find something you can do from home. or check out one of the welfare programs like Medicare or Medicaid. i already pay for those. but i have no sympathy for this guy.

[tcoleman12]

You know what I would like to see? I would like to see the Democrats trot out a success story. Someone that has succeeded through all the endless programs, increased taxes, and mountains of bureaucracy designed to hold people back and stifle achievement.

However, all the Dems have are victims of one thing or another. They are not fixing anything.

[easygirl52]

I am ashamed to live in a country that allows its workers to be treated like this.

[jwberry2]

This guy is pathetic. why is he expecting me to pay for his health care? why hasn't he provided for his wife? I will retire in about 5 years (after working for over 50) and will not have any health care unless i buy it myself. and i have saved enough over the last 50 years to do that. of course i had to do without new cars and vacations and a lot of other things to make sure i would not be a burden on my family or anyone else. So my advice to this guy is, suck it up. find something you can do from home. or check out one of the welfare programs like Medicare or Medicaid. i already pay for those. but i have no sympathy for this guy.

[mswolfestock]

I am fortunate enough to have health care insurance for me and my husband through my employer. I pay $1600 per year for it on my salary of $28,000 per year. But it does not cover everything (no dental, no optical) and it does not pay 100%. I believe that every American CITIZEN should have health care, but I also believe that the government must work with employers who do not currently provide insurance to their workers, to work out a system to make it available. As a member of the working middle class, I am extremely concerned that we will once again be burdened with more taxes. The health care issue is a great reason to stop the war in Iraq - quit wasting the billions of dollars for "defense," and instead fund health care for all American CITIZENS. We'd all end up with the best health care in the world if the government would stop wasting billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. C'mon people, this is a win-win situation, what's the problem?

[mswolfestock]

I am fortunate enough to have health care insurance for me and my husband through my employer. I pay $1600 per year for it on my salary of $28,000 per year. But it does not cover everything (no dental, no optical) and it does not pay 100%. I believe that every American CITIZEN should have health care, but I also believe that the government must work with employers who do not currently provide insurance to their workers, to work out a system to make it available. As a member of the working middle class, I am extremely concerned that we will once again be burdened with more taxes. The health care issue is a great reason to stop the war in Iraq - quit wasting the billions of dollars for "defense," and instead fund health care for all American CITIZENS. We'd all end up with the best health care in the world if the government would stop wasting billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. C'mon people, this is a win-win situation, what's the problem?

[mswolfestock]

I am fortunate enough to have health care insurance for me and my husband through my employer. I pay $1600 per year for it on my salary of $28,000 per year. But it does not cover everything (no dental, no optical) and it does not pay 100%. I believe that every American CITIZEN should have health care, but I also believe that the government must work with employers who do not currently provide insurance to their workers, to work out a system to make it available. As a member of the working middle class, I am extremely concerned that we will once again be burdened with more taxes. The health care issue is a great reason to stop the war in Iraq - quit wasting the billions of dollars for "defense," and instead fund health care for all American CITIZENS. We'd all end up with the best health care in the world if the government would stop wasting billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. C'mon people, this is a win-win situation, what's the problem?

[jwberry2]

This guy is pathetic. why is he expecting me to pay for his health care? why hasn't he provided for his wife? I will retire in about 5 years (after working for over 50) and will not have any health care unless i buy it myself. and i have saved enough over the last 50 years to do that. of course i had to do without new cars and vacations and a lot of other things to make sure i would not be a burden on my family or anyone else. So my advice to this guy is, suck it up. find something you can do from home. or check out one of the welfare programs like Medicare or Medicaid. i already pay for those. but i have no sympathy for this guy.

[jwberry2]

This guy is pathetic. why is he expecting me to pay for his health care? why hasn't he provided for his wife? I will retire in about 5 years (after working for over 50) and will not have any health care unless i buy it myself. and i have saved enough over the last 50 years to do that. of course i had to do without new cars and vacations and a lot of other things to make sure i would not be a burden on my family or anyone else. So my advice to this guy is, suck it up. find something you can do from home. or check out one of the welfare programs like Medicare or Medicaid. i already pay for those. but i have no sympathy for this guy.

[jwberry2]

This guy is pathetic. why is he expecting me to pay for his health care? why hasn't he provided for his wife? I will retire in about 5 years (after working for over 50) and will not have any health care unless i buy it myself. and i have saved enough over the last 50 years to do that. of course i had to do without new cars and vacations and a lot of other things to make sure i would not be a burden on my family or anyone else. So my advice to this guy is, suck it up. find something you can do from home. or check out one of the welfare programs like Medicare or Medicaid. i already pay for those. but i have no sympathy for this guy.

[harp1963]

I grew up in the Pittsburgh area. Free trade is o.k., but the companies that we have allowed into America are ruthless. They will scour the world for slave labor and sell it cheap. Then the decent guys operating back here can't treat their employees well because they either have to follow suit and sell there products cheap or get forced out of business. I do remember the awesome days of the middle class when I was a kid, when everyone got 100% medical, full pensions, and great pay. Some of the old Steelworker neighborhoods that were built with one income, with a "stay at home wife," and putting five or six kids through college would never be affordable to some young family in America today. Oh, and this was done without credit cards, they didn't exist. It was cash as you go, except for a house mortgage.

America, the same Plantation Owner decendants whose Aristocrat families fought the Civil War because the Industrialize North couldn't compete with the slave labor of the South are taking this philosophy of employing masses of people for "peanuts" globally. They have so much demographic information about us they know where to set all the prices to keep our heads just above water. The banking industry is involved too. They'll let you have 20 credit cards if you can't resist the temptation. This makes for "happy" employees who can't stand up for better benefits because they are constantly teetering on the brink of financial collapse.

NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN AGAIN

[harp1963]

I grew up in the Pittsburgh area. Free trade is o.k., but the companies that we have allowed into America are ruthless. They will scour the world for slave labor and sell it cheap. Then the decent guys operating back here can't treat their employees well because they either have to follow suit and sell there products cheap or get forced out of business. I do remember the awesome days of the middle class when I was a kid, when everyone got 100% medical, full pensions, and great pay. Some of the old Steelworker neighborhoods that were built with one income, with a "stay at home wife," and putting five or six kids through college would never be affordable to some young family in America today. Oh, and this was done without credit cards, they didn't exist. It was cash as you go, except for a house mortgage.

America, the same Plantation Owner decendants whose Aristocrat families fought the Civil War because the Industrialize North couldn't compete with the slave labor of the South are taking this philosophy of employing masses of people for "peanuts" globally. They have so much demographic information about us they know where to set all the prices to keep our heads just above water. The banking industry is involved too. They'll let you have 20 credit cards if you can't resist the temptation. This makes for "happy" employees who can't stand up for better benefits because they are constantly teetering on the brink of financial collapse.

NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN AGAIN

[geezer62]

It was good to hear someone speak out about an issue that truly affects us all. I am 62 and have no health insurance. Can't afford it. I have a heart condition and type 2 diabetes and if it was not for the care I get from the VA there is no way I could afford medication. My teeth are falling out but the VA doesn't provide dental care so there is nothing I can do about that. Given the fact that I am able to go to the VA clinic I do get the meds that I need. But there are so many people out there who do not have that option and have no where to go for help. They say that there are 45 million uninsured and I would bet that there are almost as many who have insurance but the co-pays are outrageous. Many times the insruance companies refuse to pay for care when the person thought they were covered. I don't know what the answer is but I do know that this issue needs to be addressed. Will the next president do it? Most likely the answer is NO. Let's hope that we can turn things around because if we don't I don't think we can survive.

[twylacrat]

I'm sick of hearing our politicians tell us how hard it is to provide health care for all Americans. Every other civilized country in the world is doing it. If they can't do it, leave office and let someone else try. EVERYBODY has a hard job, work hard!!! I don't see any of our elected officials without any health insurance. Their pitiful looks and apologies just don't feed the bulldog. We need for them to do their job, just like the rest of us do!

[dugedug1962]

I feel your pain

[mswolfestock]

I am fortunate enough to have health care insurance for me and my husband through my employer. I pay $1600 per year for it on my salary of $28,000 per year. But it does not cover everything (no dental, no optical) and it does not pay 100%. I believe that every American CITIZEN should have health care, but I also believe that the government must work with employers who do not currently provide insurance to their workers, to work out a system to make it available. As a member of the working middle class, I am extremely concerned that we will once again be burdened with more taxes. The health care issue is a great reason to stop the war in Iraq - quit wasting the billions of dollars for "defense," and instead fund health care for all American CITIZENS. We'd all end up with the best health care in the world if the government would stop wasting billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. C'mon people, this is a win-win situation, what's the problem?

[mswolfestock]

I am fortunate enough to have health care insurance for me and my husband through my employer. I pay $1600 per year for it on my salary of $28,000 per year. But it does not cover everything (no dental, no optical) and it does not pay 100%. I believe that every American CITIZEN should have health care, but I also believe that the government must work with employers who do not currently provide insurance to their workers, to work out a system to make it available. As a member of the working middle class, I am extremely concerned that we will once again be burdened with more taxes. The health care issue is a great reason to stop the war in Iraq - quit wasting the billions of dollars for "defense," and instead fund health care for all American CITIZENS. We'd all end up with the best health care in the world if the government would stop wasting billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. C'mon people, this is a win-win situation, what's the problem?

[huskerarmy]

According to the GOPer social darwinist philosophy, he got just exactly what he deserved. In fact, we all do. According to my young GOPer son-in-law, if one wants better health care, one needs to work hard and get rich... just as he plans to do. What he will learn in time is as John Lennon put it, "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."

[mswolfestock]

I am fortunate enough to have health care insurance for me and my husband through my employer. I pay $1600 per year for it on my salary of $28,000 per year. But it does not cover everything (no dental, no optical) and it does not pay 100%. I believe that every American CITIZEN should have health care, but I also believe that the government must work with employers who do not currently provide insurance to their workers, to work out a system to make it available. As a member of the working middle class, I am extremely concerned that we will once again be burdened with more taxes. The health care issue is a great reason to stop the war in Iraq - quit wasting the billions of dollars for "defense," and instead fund health care for all American CITIZENS. We'd all end up with the best health care in the world if the government would stop wasting billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. C'mon people, this is a win-win situation, what's the problem?