Socialist Roads and Private Health Care
One of the funnier things that comes up in the healthcare debate is the dire warning about wanting your health care managed by the same people who run the Post Office, DOT, or IRS. Some folks will even throw Katrina in for good measure. In many respects this reminds me of the Simpsons’ episode where Homer goes back to college, and he has a preconceived notion of what the dean is going to be like. It turns out the dean is a fun loving, live and let live sort of guy.
The funny thing is that America and Europe are near the polar opposite on something. Whereas America has a public highway system for the most part, Europe’s highway systems are for the most part privatised. Oddly enough, people get up in arms whenever a freeway is proposed to either by tolled for self sustainability or concession-ed (‘privatised’) to a private road company here. All of the sudden there is much bluster for solidarity and concerns about profiteering (as opposed to I guess regular profiting.) Of course the big objection is that people will have to directly pay a la carte for their driving habits and depending upon their lifestyle probably pay more.
Our health care system on the other hand in many respects is a wage subsidy for some. Places like Wal-Mart can transfer the medical burden of a significant number of their employees and families on to the public sector whereas companies like Ford have to provide for their own employees and are taxed like other companies to provide health care for Wal-Mart’s employees. The question becomes then why doesn’t Ford do the same? Ford isn’t, but there are numerous companies that are. Many companies that provided health benefits for employees making low wages have discontinued doing so. In some cases, these are small manufacturers that are reacting to wage pressures from China. In other cases, the employers are in low margin businesses like warehousing. Some will claim I’m picking on Wal-Mart here, but if you look at the Medicaid participants and parents, Wal-Mart is in the top 3 in most states.
So with a public freeway system, we end up subsidizing behavior we don’t want, people commuting from long distances without realizing the full costs, but we need to keep that to insure greater freedom. On the other hand, with limiting public healthcare to the poor we end up subsidizing low wage businesses by taxing higher wage businesses extra. Like Homer, we are desperate to hang on to preconceived notions.
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Doh!
The government offers health insurance to low wage workers. As a result, a lot of low wage workers have government health insurance. I don’t know whether that should be considered a subsidy, but it certainly shouldn’t be surprising.
One would think conservatives who are so adamantly opposed to single payer would be swayed by the fact that Big Business is being harmed by the current American healthcare “system” in its ability to compete globally with companies that don’t have to subsidize healthcare for their employees. It’s one thing for the little guy to suffer–he’s probably just lazy anyway–but Big Business? Now that’s really serious.
What is freedom when you’re too sick to enjoy it? When you can’t afford the medications that would give you a viable lifestyle, not a luxurious one but a liveable one. What’s the point? Sure you can say ‘Big government’ is not interfering with your lifestyle but what comfort is that when your sick and in pain and cannot afford the help you need?
My mother was a pensioner when it was discovered that she needed a heart operation to live she was in the hospital within the week, she wasnt left to die on a hospital floor.
I am on a pension and when I needed my gaul bladder removed I was in the operating theatre within a month of being diagnosed…I was not left moaning in pain on a hospital floor as nurses and doctors rush past me for those who are INSURED!
If that is ‘socalized medicine’ then I am FOR it.
God bless
Marie
And if it’s not?
http://www.freemarketcure.com/twowomen.php
Please give the cliff notes version Blackadder for those who can’t view it.
It’s about a woman in Canada who needs bladder surgery, but can’t get it for three years.
It seems peculiar to me that Governments find the MONEY when they go to war, but for those who cannot afford health insurance…Well its NOT the governments problem.
Just how many billions is it costing ALL goverments involved to keep the troops in Iraq and how much is being set aside to help the poor within their own countries?? Very little!
I do know that governments use the term ‘socialised medicine’ as if it were some communist plot to overthrow the comfortable. Lets face it the wealthy dont have these problems the poor do. When a sitting President says that ‘Big Government’ will not become responsible for the health decisions of those on lower incomes this is NOT a rallying cry for freedom it simply translates to this….If your sick and you cant afford health insurance then your on your OWN!..Thats really working…!
God bless
Marie PS: As for the woman in Canada I dont know their policies. But here in my own country I see a Doctor for NO charge. My prescriptions cost me $4:50 cents for each one. When I have been sick I stay in hospital for NO cost.
Marie,
Wars are awful for all sorts of reasons, including economically. But they do have the advantage of being temporary. The Iraq war has so far cost nearly a half trillion dollars. The 75 year shortfall for Medicaid is 32.4 trillion, and that doesn’t include the expanded role of government in health care proposed by some.
The war in Iraq is not going to be a ‘short one’ the repercussions which will dog the West will last for decades.
As for health care what I DO know is that communism didnt work but neither does capitalism…What is the difference between Stalin and the Gordon Gekko’s of the world? Not much!
I also know that when a country does not look after its poor then it is a country that is morally bankrupt.
Blackadder:) thankyou for the dialogue but I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on ‘socialised medicine’ :).
Peace to you:)
Marie