Healthy


Explaining why health care should be left up to the free market
Since the Democrat presidential candidates have made health care a campaign issue, let's by all means discuss it.

Only it's not really health care we're discussing, is it? It's insurance.

Somewhere Americans have bought into the idea that we deserve health insurance as part of our compensation. Democrats have just expanded that idea.

But why should an employer pay your health insurance premiums? Usually employers don't pay car insurance or home insurance or vacation insurance. Even if they did pay car insurance, I'm pretty sure the employer would draw the line at car insurance for a 17 year old son with a history of red light running.

So for a moment, let's call it peanut butter instead of health care.

(Hey, I almost went with sex toys instead of peanut butter).

And let's not call it insurance, let's call it certification.

The idea is that you buy certificates that let you get peanut butter. Each certificate is only good for so long. Since you have no idea of how much peanut butter you need at any time, you have to keep your certificates current. The type of certificate determines the amount and quality of peanut butter you can get.

Say your employer pays half your certificate costs. Who do you think the certificate company is going to listen to, you or your employer who pays many times what you do into the system? Can you change the certificate company if you are unhappy?

Assume that your union pays much of the rest of the certificate cost. Following the money, does the certificate company have any reason to listen to you at all?

Now let's go to the peanut butter store. The store owner has a choice, he can either accept a guaranteed income and only sell peanut butter through the certificate companies or he can accept cash from the people who don't get certified peanut butter.

Because people don't want to pay for what they perceive as free, more and more go through the certificate companies. Especially since most of the work of choosing the certifier is done for them.

So now in order to stay in business, the peanut butter store has to carry ONLY the approved brands and sizes of peanut butter. That reduces the choice to three grades of peanut butter, VILE NEAR-VOMIT, ALMOST GOOD, and PRETTY GOOD BUT NOT EXCEPTIONAL. There just isn't (artificial and accepted) demand for any other grade. Sizes are pretty limited too, going from 1 level teaspoon (which isn't quite enough for a single sandwich) to the two quart jar to the five gallon can.

Most people will get stuck with the ALMOST GOOD in the two quart jar. Depending on the certificate plan, that may be replaced every week, every month, or every nine months. Remember, if you run out, you can't get any more until you get a new certificate. Extra certificates cost even more, and you may be penalized if you use too many.

Does any of this sound familiar?

But of course, we haven't gotten the government involved yet.

So a group of politicos notice that not everyone can get their peanut butter. They promise free peanut butter for all and they proceed to regulate the peanut butter store owners and the peanut butter producers.

See how complex this gets?

Meanwhile, the average person has no idea how much the peanut butter actually costs.

But I want choice. I want quality. And if the peanut butter is no good or if I am not in the mood, I want to walk away and find something else.

Almond butter maybe.

It comes down to choice.

If government acts to provide something, that makes everyone selling that something less accountable to you. That means your choices don't matter if government is involved because you aren't supplying the cash.

That's true for peanut butter.

That's true for health care.

That's true for freedom.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sun - November 4, 2007 at 01:47 PM  Tag


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