Friday, December 7, 2007

U.S. Healthcare

I found a fascinating article about the future of U.S. health care that resonates strongly with me. A sample:

Politicians from across the political spectrum, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, have argued that the government should guarantee “universal coverage” to all Americans, making health care a “right.” And politicians are not alone; numerous businessmen, union leaders, and insurance executives are united in saying that this will solve our problems.

It will not.

Contrary to claims that government-imposed “universal health care” would solve America’s health care problems, it would in fact destroy American medicine and countless lives along with it. The goal of “universal health care” (a euphemism for socialized medicine) is both immoral and impractical; it violates the rights of businessmen, doctors, and patients to act on their own judgment—which, in turn, throttles their ability to produce, administer, or purchase the goods and services in question. To show this, we will first examine the nature and history of government involvement in health insurance and medicine. Then we will consider attempts in other countries and various U.S. states to solve these problems through further government programs. Finally, we will show that the only viable long-term solution to the problems in question is to convert to a fully free market in health care and health insurance.

Now go read the whole thing!

The Day That Lives In Infamy...

On this day in 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his speech urging Congress to declare war on Japan, famously called this date “...a date which will live in infamy.”

Sixty-six years later, the world still remembers that attack. If you're old enough to have lived through Pearl Harbor, I'm sure you don't need any prodding to remember the Americans who were killed and injured by the Japanese. If you're younger, as am I, then take a few moments today to remember – and to ponder the relevance to our world today…

Updated to add link to this article.