Stefanie wrote:

Decius wrote:
Why is it that people insist on equating a national healthcare system with "plunging the country into socialism."

Hmm... because that's exactly what it is?

I think you are being melodramatic. "Plunging the country into socialism" implies pervasive government control of the economy and redistribution of wealth. Gray people in gray coats marching in unison into gray factories. One social program does not cause this. By this standard, there is no "capitalist" society in the world today.

In general, I agree that the state shouldn't exist to protect us from ourselves. I don't put healthcare in that category. First, people are not responsible for the illnesses that afflict them. They can be, but generally, they're not. Second, healthcare doesn't work as a market commodity.

The first rule of negotiating is being able to walk away from the table. This works in most contexts, because you don't really need most things, or you can make due with lower quality items. Cars, houses, food, furniture, all of these things develop graduated quality scales wherein people can select cheap or expensive options, or choose not to play at all. Healthcare doesn't work that way. Not the serious stuff. If you've got cancer, you need the latest, greatest treatment, and you'll pay whatever is asked. The alternative is that you'll die. You can't walk away from the table. You can't go for a bargain alternative. Your life is on the line. Generally speaking, you don't get opportunity costs larger than death. So people are in no position to negotiate. They have to buy, and the people running the system price accordingly.

RE: FIVE CONSERVATIVE MYTHS