Mr. Brooks does a nice job in this article of stepping outside of the health care debate and discussing the reasons why those of us who are opposed to it are uncomfortable with this kind of intrusion of government into our lives. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704335904574495131591949574.html
individual choice- I already lack this with my present insurer. The drug store I've gone to since I was a child was just dropped from the network. I still go there but if I have a really expensive medication I will have to go to one of the bigger chains. I don't see any way around this except to pay out of pocket. personal accountability - We discussed to some extent on another thread you started. The government will have to require people to have some sort of insurance. If the "pre-existing condition" issue is dropped you have to require people to be insured. rewards for ambition - America is the leader in medicine and health care reform isn't going to suddenly change that. There are many specialists and medical innovations in nations with socialized medicine.
A short, but outstanding article. The far left is indeed driving us to a citizenry that is nearly fully dependent on central government and stripping away basic freedoms of who and why we are. Healthcare is one of the first major experiments in this new and head on assualt for socialism. I can see the appeal for some. Mostly those who feel the need to have the wealthy and government care for their needs and means of living, but it also fosters a ruling class that will continue to deeply erode our personal freedoms and choices in life. I guess the question is, at what point do we give up our freedom & liberty for a king and his court?
Many people opposed desegregation, medicare and social security because it was "socialist" or an "encroachment on freedoms" A generation or two later and we barely think twice about these things. The idea of socialized medicine is new and scary for a lot of people but a lot of nations have had success with it. The alternative of more competition and tort reform has no precedence. Which is the bigger gamble? The path many nations have taken or an experiment in free markets?
