Back in the days when vehicles still had carburetors, many of us could do our own routine maintenance. Using a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, we could change the points and condenser inside the distributor that delivered the voltage to the spark plugs. I still have the grease gun used to lubricate all those many fittings on the chassis. We understood that grease was cheaper than replacing bearings.
Those old FRAM-oil-filter TV and magazine advertisements were attention- grabbing. They featured side-byside pictures of one of their filters and a motor completely plugged with sludge. The caption said, “Pay now or pay later.” The message was clear. By spending a couple of dollars now for a filter, it could save hundreds of dollars later in repair costs.
Does that concept affect us in other ways?
Here is an example of how it applies in more areas. My wife, a Licensed Professional Counselor, once worked for a state agency in Oklahoma that provided social services for people in need of counseling and medical attention. She often talked about how difficult it was to get adequate funding. She explained that if a person’s needs are unmet early, it can be far more expensive and difficult for them, and for society, later. Funds for counseling and treatment of persons with mental illness can help prevent them from ending up in prison or other long-term facilities, thus saving money overall. It is a simple understanding; “Pay now or pay much more later.”
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., announced on August 6, 2025, that at least $500 million dollars in mRNA vaccine funding would be winding down and eliminated. He claims those vaccines are not an effective protection against upper respiratory infections like COVID and influenza (ABC News.go.com/Health/ rfk-jr-cancels-500m-mrna-vaccinefunding- implications/story, August 6, 2025).
Infectious disease experts told ABC News that mRNA technology has been highly successful in preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and deaths, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and potentially affecting our preparedness for future pandemics (ABC News).
Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told ABC News the wind-down is a blow to pandemic preparedness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA technology demonstrated its ability to scale up vaccine production quickly (ABC News).
We remember that COVID killed more than one million Americans, most of whom were unvaccinated. Countless numbers of lives were saved after the development of the vaccine. The sum could be in the millions. It also prevented extensive hospitalizations for others.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is not a doctor and has no training in the field of medicine. He was an environmental lawyer before becoming a politician. He has a long history of drug addiction, including heroin abuse (msn. com/en-in/news/world/is-rfkjr- a-doctor-know-hhs-secretary- nominees-education-qualification- and-background/ ar-AA1u6yiQ).
In my view, the expertise of experienced and highly qualified medical doctors is certainly more trustworthy than that of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is known as a vaccine skeptic and a purveyor of conspiracy theories.
Observers like myself can affirm that the expense in developing effective vaccines is minuscule when considering the costs in money and human lives that it saves.
History teaches us that when short-sighted decisions are made to reduce or eliminate funding for such social needs as education, medical research, and healthcare, the long-term costs are always greater.
“Pay now, or pay much more later,” seems to be a self-evident fact. Let us not forget this simple, but vital lesson.