Competition With the Government?...'R' 'N' 'R' 'N' Paulitics...(Ron Paul)
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Last Saturday many concerned Americans watched in horror as the House passed the healthcare reform bill. If this bill makes it through the Senate, it would massively overhaul the way healthcare is delivered in this country. Today, obviously, we don't have a perfect system, but this legislation takes all the mistakes we are making with healthcare and makes them worse. Most of what is wrong with healthcare stems from decades of government intervention and the resulting unintended consequences. But the government's prescription for the ills caused by intervention is always more intervention. We see this not only in healthcare policy, but also in foreign policy, in economic policy, and in monetary policy - basically, in all areas of public policy.
It was even claimed that the House bill would increase competition in healthcare, and thereby improve the private sector's business model for insurance. It is fascinating that politicians would use the language of the free market in this way to justify more corporatism. This demonstrates a couple of things. One, that politicians truly do not understand the very basic tenets of a free market. By definition, a free market is free from government intervention. But once a little intervention is accepted as legitimate, politicians will blame the problems created by their intervention on the free market and present themselves as saviors that must intervene even more. It also demonstrates that politicians know that Americans still believe the free market is a good thing. People know and understand that competition among businesses is better for the consumer than a monopoly.
However, competition between a private business and a government or government-favored entity is not real competition. In real competition, your competitor can go bankrupt if they do a bad job. Everyone knows a government program is forever, no matter how poorly it performs. In real competition, efficiency is necessary for survival. In government programs, waste is rewarded as budgets are often determined by how much money a department is able to consume in a year. In real competition, one business does not have regulatory or taxation authority over its competitors. In real competition, businesses get sued and punished for breaking contracts and defrauding people, and are kept accountable in this way. But just try to sue the government when you are unjustly harmed by it! The reason real competition is a good thing is because good businesses get bad ones out of the consumer's way. Can the government put someone out of business? Most certainly! But it will have the opposite effect: an otherwise good business will be replaced by a poorly performing government agency, or a government-favored monolithic business that behaves almost like a government agency.
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If Washington really wanted to give consumers more choices they would remove legislative and regulatory barriers to competition across state lines for health insurers. They would remove barriers for new and innovative models of healthcare and tort reform. They wouldn't have run so many church and charitable hospitals out of business. Washington is keenly interested in healthcare reform, but it is certainly not going to increase competition or to expand your options for healthcare.
-Ron Paul-
Comments (9)
............For a glimpse of what is to come under Obamacare......One need look no further than the recent blow-up over mammograms.
I think being unwilling to give everyone healthcare is unAmerican
deadmanman...: I've been a little out of touch with current events lately. I'll have to look more into that.
genderblender2: People against the heslthcare bill just don't agree with the means of which to obtain it with. Which is giving the Federal Government more conrol. There are better ways of handling this problem. Like Ron Paul said:
"If Washington really wanted to give consumers more choices they would remove legislative and regulatory barriers to competition across state lines for health insurers."
Here's another solution:
John Stossel - Sick in America
the only solution to corporatism is regulation. actually a single payer system, like they have in civilized countries, would be an antidote to this. If you think you can trust insurance companies you are deluded. health care should not be a business.
the only solution to corporatism is regulation.......
...did you really say that with a straight face? Healthcare is the MOST REGULATED industry in the USA!!! How's that been workin out?
robit: You can't put totally blame on the Health Insurance companies. Sure there are some bad one's out there, but things like fraud, frivilous lawsuits, judge's not doing there job, over regulating the medical field, Pharmaceutical lobbying groups who grease up polititions (those in the Federal Gov), plus Obama said during his campaign for the Presidency, he said he was going to end the war to pay for. So do you still want a single payer system? If there is a problem within a freemarket system, the power to fix it is in the hands of the poeple/consumer, with the Fed Gov they just tie's our hands in the end to do anything about it. They want to arrest anyone who doesn't take their insurance. Even if they changed their mind about it, doesn't it bother you that they even considered that? It should bring up red flags. Also they created they problem by over regulating, & ruin the economy, why haven't they tried to fix the deficit? That would help a lot. Plus it's not their job, why don't they do their job like protect our borders? There are crimminals coming into our country like drug lords, & gangs. They need to protect us citizens from that. Why are they giving into centralize banking like the Federal Reserve a private institution that's ruining this country by raising inflation. I could go on.
Aaah wondeful hiatus..thank you,thank you. Nirvana sounds good.
the health insurance companies have a free ride. They refuse coverage to sick people, cause people to lose everything, and deny coverage for petty conditions. How can anyone call that proper regulation. This is all in the name of profiting a few executives... get real deadman!
Cody B: Welcome back! Just picked up the 20th Anniversary CD of Bleach which includes a cool photo booklet, & some live stuff recorded during 1990 up in Oregon, & WA. Can't get enough of it!