Medical care, in all its manifestations is a good in economic terms and it is not a free good. Someone has to go to school for a long time, work, invest, take chances to create medical care. So, if we are not going to physically enslave all the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and steal all the capitol equipment used for health care, someone has to pay for it.
Shall the user of the medical service pay for it or shall the government use its guns to make someone else pay for it? That is the stark reality of the situation. Which is the moral and ethical choice?
Calling it a right violates the very concept of rights. Most rights recognized by our founders and the constitution were negative rights-the right not to be interfered with. No one can interfere with your right to speech, religion, your decision to carry a gun and such. In each of these cases, no one has to supply you with anything. They just have to leave you alone.
But a right to medical care or food or a home is a positive right. It implies that someone owes you something that is not a free good. This is nothing less than armed robbery.
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Friday, January 01, 2010
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Death Panels
Some have said that the phrase DEATH PANELS was a silly attempt to scare the daylights out of the public. The real problem is that it was immediately paired with a provision in the bill for end of life counseling. That muddied the water to where no one knows what anyone is talking about. Good trick for the media.
End of life counseling is not the provision that will cause the mass death of older folks with expensive illnesses. It will actually help them deal with things when that happens. The real problem comes from a provision for a study of "comparative effectiveness". Initially this will be a data gathering panel that will publish statistics on the cost and results (in terms of additional months or years of life) offered by many possible treatments. There are a bunch of problems with this.
First is the usual issue with anything done by government. It will not be updated very frequently and will not include newly developed treatments for years after they are available.
Secondly, and far worse is that it will become the standard of care. If it is shown that a particular treatment only buys an average of 12 months of additional life at a cost of more than some standard-let's use $20K per year, then it will be declared not sufficiently effective and be made unavailable under the government paid system. This will happen without regard to individual circumstances which might make it far more effective for you.
We know this is the intention of the plan. Obama has stated so. Howard Dean has stated so and our friends in England already do this in their wonderful public health plan. So, prepare to become like poor Bessy the cow who is too old to give milk anymore. Why should the farmer spend any vet money to keep her alive. When the government runs your health care, you are reduced to a farm animal who has to justify your continued life by productivity. If you can't work, no longer pay income tax, what is the point of spending money to keep you alive. After all, it is their money now.
Only idiots who think that are going to get something for nothing will give up this control of their lives.
End of life counseling is not the provision that will cause the mass death of older folks with expensive illnesses. It will actually help them deal with things when that happens. The real problem comes from a provision for a study of "comparative effectiveness". Initially this will be a data gathering panel that will publish statistics on the cost and results (in terms of additional months or years of life) offered by many possible treatments. There are a bunch of problems with this.
First is the usual issue with anything done by government. It will not be updated very frequently and will not include newly developed treatments for years after they are available.
Secondly, and far worse is that it will become the standard of care. If it is shown that a particular treatment only buys an average of 12 months of additional life at a cost of more than some standard-let's use $20K per year, then it will be declared not sufficiently effective and be made unavailable under the government paid system. This will happen without regard to individual circumstances which might make it far more effective for you.
We know this is the intention of the plan. Obama has stated so. Howard Dean has stated so and our friends in England already do this in their wonderful public health plan. So, prepare to become like poor Bessy the cow who is too old to give milk anymore. Why should the farmer spend any vet money to keep her alive. When the government runs your health care, you are reduced to a farm animal who has to justify your continued life by productivity. If you can't work, no longer pay income tax, what is the point of spending money to keep you alive. After all, it is their money now.
Only idiots who think that are going to get something for nothing will give up this control of their lives.
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