A "soda tax" is a "vice tax", like cigarette taxes, that gouges people for making personal choices that may have negative externalities for the economy. The upshot, of course, is that limiting human freedom is taken as beneficial to the "public good." And it's the Democrats who're always doing it.
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had a great editorial on the health care debate, "Republicans and the 'Public Option'." As it turns out, GOP Senate moderates are inclined to vote for Democratic legislation calling for the "public option" that allows individuals to opt out of private insurance for government provided health benefits. This is naturally the single-payer Trojan Horse for socialized medicine, and any Repubilican who votes for it deserves a primary challenge next year.
But I'll let Monique Stuart have the last word with her commentary on the Journal's editorial, "Health Care: A Battle Republicans Can’t Afford to Forfeit":
I hear the press keep throwing out this number of 47-50 million people being without insurance. That number means nothing to me because until about a year ago, I was one of those people. I often think about going back to being one of those people. The reason is I’m young and relatively healthy. I didn’t feel I needed insurance. Most of the time I still feel that way. Other than a case of pink eye I have barely even used my health insurance. Most people without insurance, at any given moment, are in a transitory state and will get insurance when they can, or want to, afford it. As I have said before, sometimes it’s just a matter of priorities.There's more at the link.
This “overhaul” they keep talking about is just a set up. Like the article states, any concessions made by Democrats now will be superficial and easily changeable in the future. Both sides know this. If Republicans give into the Dems on this now it’s only a matter of time before the Dems true goal of single-payer, government-run health care becomes our reality. Eventually we will all be forced onto the government rolls.
The costs will end up being way more than any projections being offered now. People who are currently reluctant to run to the doctor over every hang nail will soon be showing up at the doctor’s office in anticipation of one. Why wouldn’t they? What is there to stop them? The only thing stopping them now is the cost. Take away the cost barrier and they’ll be there for every imagined illness under the sun.
This run on resources will inevitably lead to a rationing of services. The only reason other countries can survive on “free” health care is because they have beacons of freedom like us to take care of their overflow. What do you think Canadians do when their government refuses them treatment or puts them on line for an illness that is on a different schedule than the bureaucracy and isn’t waiting to kill them? They seek treatment here.
Anyway, I thought it was the Democrats that didn’t want the government in the doctor’s office with you? Isn’t that one of their battle cries when it comes to abortion? Where do you think socializing health care places the government when it comes to medical care? They’ll be in the doctor’s office with you, in the hospital, at the local pharmacy. They (some nameless bureaucrats in Washington) will be making the decisions on which medical treatments are necessary for which diseases, when it’s appropriate to go to the hospital and when it is not, and which medications are approved for your consumption. There will be no more choice in medical decisions. You want the government paying for it all? They’ll pay for it. And you’ll pay for it, too.
Have we all forgotten the old adage that nothing in life is free? Health care will never be free. We’ll be paying for it financially through higher taxation. And, more importantly, we’ll be paying for it with our freedom. Freedom from government intervention and interference in our medical options and decisions. I refuse to believe that this is what the majority of Americans want.
Monique "HotMES" Stuart is indeed hot!
8 comments:
Yeah, I'm just gonna throw this out there, because that was one weak piece of Republican propaganda. A pity it's not more analytical. I love the "eventually they will throw everyone into the government plan" fear message. True to form, Donald.
So, here are some other side points. Debate at will.
1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public health insurance option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don't—or don't have any—you can get the public insurance plan.
2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they're not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.
3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.
4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls. The public health insurance option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.
5. And it's a key part of universal health care. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public health insurance plan will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.
Sorry, Tim, but you have bought the whole tank of government Kool-Aid.
And, by the way, this is not a "public" plan, it is a "government" one-the exact same government that has run Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Social Security, MediCare and MedicAid straight into the ground.
"If the public health insurance option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare."
Statists do not tolerate private-sector competition with nationalized anything for very long.
There were, I believe, 5 versions of Hitlarycare back in the 1990s. In all of them, there was a provision in place that should I go outside of the government and pay my doctor out of my own pocket, both me and my doc would be subject to arrest, prosecution and confiscatory fines.
"Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality..."
On what planet does this occur, because it sure as hell isn't this one?
Ever spent any time around a VA hospital? I have.
They suck.
"..because they're not just focused on short-term profits."
Actually, thanks to the already intrusive involvement of the federal government through senseless and idiotic heavy-handed regulation, most health care operations today are more concerned with short term survival than anything else
"We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less."
So government doesn't pay bonuses? What about Franklin Raines walking off with $90 mil of the taxpayer's money? What of the HUGE bonuses being paid out to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives?
This is why you libs are so ignorant of even basic economics. You think people are going to perform at a high level out of the kindness of their hearts. That's bull.
"It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls."
You mean like when the private companies pack up and head for the Bahamas, and take a hell of a lot of doctors and other health professionals with them?
As for not getting kicked off the government plan, ever heard of rationing? They are already looking into areas where the government plan can be rationed and restricted, and the damn thing hasn't even come up for a vote yet.
BTW, there is another thing you overlooked.
This country is flat f'ing broke. It does not have the money to pay for anything you have described, nor even 10% of all the rest of the BS Obama is "planning to do."
There aren't enough wealthy people on this entire planet to pay for that.
If you really want to see affordable health care return to this country, then get the federal government completely the hell out of it.
-Dave
Thanks Dave.
Bottom line: We already spend more per capita than any other country in the world on health care. And we suck, frankly. We suck if 45-50 million men, women and children are NOT covered. If that is OK with you, then that must mean you really, truly love America.
My father-in-law just had two knee replacements performed, and he's recovering from bladder cancer. All of that went remarkably well. And he had not a single complaint. Said the system worked perfectly. And it cost him nothing too!
These were all performed in the UK, by the way.
A system can work. But when people start claiming things like their freedoms are being compromised, then I truly wonder what their true values are.
We are broke, yes. But if this actually can save money, then more power say I. Like I said, I'm throwing this out there, because Donald just posted a very weak-kneed defensive position that exemplifies the "can't do, won't do" mentality of the right.
I'm all ears for solutions, and plans. I ignore the "do nothing." It's simply unintelligent.
In a connection to the health care mess, I wrote on vice taxes.
And Tim, the point is that do you want a huge gov't that gets money from 300 million people as your provider? Do you really think a market player as big as the Feds really care for you? No. They don't. When they're in the business, they play the business game, no matter what idealistic illusions you harbor.
It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors.
Whose discretion will be limited, without recourse or alternative, by government bureaucrats ... if you think that true "choice" will survive in the hands of those who deign to decide for all of us what the "greater good" is, you have more faith than I.
Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they're not just focused on short-term profits.
"Not just" is right ... for the individuals running the system will still be focused upon their own profit ... but now, their focus will expand to include political concerns, which are more impervious to timely correction when in error than the profit motive.
Look at our public-education systems for an example of this.
Greed does not require that one has "Inc." after their name ... and a government-run health care system will be rife with opportunities for greed ... from Congress on down to your local regulator.
And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.But will they get to choose the treatment YOU need?
Health care is a prime example of an area where "one size does NOT fit all" ... do we really want to submit its control to a government that, in the name of civil liberties and equality, will be compelled to provide it in that single size?
We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less.
No, instead we'll be spending the same money -- or more -- by shoveling it in a brand-new barnyard for political pork ... cost-effectiveness be damned. The Murthas of the future will be earmarking our funds for large hospitals in small communities ... with their name on them.
And do you think the burden on the system placed there by trial lawyers and malpractice suits will be going away? Methinks that in your preferred system, they would continue to bankrupt the private system through the lawsuit lottery ... while they would also be positively salivating over the ability to go after the deepest pockets of all ... ours.
Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.Problem is, the private plans don't have the power to deficit-spend for any length of time. The government does ... so the playing field is again tilted in favor of a total move to single-payer.
Tim, you accuse the Professor of spreading "fear", while you are spreading propaganda -- many of those "uninsured" you cite CHOOSE not to be insured, BTW ... and how many are illegals, who should not be here?
Our concerns are not "fear" ... they are common sense.
I find it ironic that those who screamed bloody murder over the PATRIOT Act are among the most eager to be the enablers of a far greater threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Again, that's not mere "fear" ... that is common sense, in the light of human history.
Rich: Then let's hear your solution to providing health care to everyone. Upwards of 45 million people.
I'm all ears. Like I've said, I'm open to solutions.
The one answer I'm not open to is the one that says let's not do anything.
To me, that defines nihilism.
Tim,
Just where in the Constitution does it say that people have a "right" to health care?
Also, where in that same document does it give the federal government authority to take money away from me, by force, in order to pay for said health care.
There are 20 enumerated powers that the federal government is constitutionally limited to:
1. Borrow money
2. Regulate commerce among the states
3. Regulate naturalization
4. Regulate bankruptcies
5. Coin money
6. Fix weights and standards
7. Punish counterfeiters
8. Establish post offices
9. Establish post roads
10. Record patents
11. Protect copyrights
12. Create federal courts
13. Punish pirates
14. Declare war
15. Raise an army
16. Provide a navy
17. Call up the militia
18. Organize the militia
19. Makes laws for Washington, DC
20. Make rules for the Army and Navy
Notice that providing health care for the masses is not among them.
-Dave
we are the richest country the world has ever seen their is no reason we cant give are owen people free health care PERIOD .
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