First let me say, I desperately have been trying to find the article that inspired this post, but alas I cannot. So I apologize to that gentleman (or woman) for ripping off part of his (or her) intellectual property. I'll make amends if and when I can locate it.
But one of its important points pertained to the critical link between purchase and consumption-- this is the relationship that must be present for any market to control costs. In other words, individual consumers making decisions in their best interest, weighing the benefits of a good or service versus their associated expense, in a universe of choice, is the only force in existence than can contain inflation without triggering adverse consequences. If you are a lover of liberty and free markets, there simply is no other way to control costs-- anything else leads to rationing, diminished choice and quality, stifled innovation, and punitive taxation--all of this, and the trampling of one's civil liberties to boot. This is why conservatives and libertarians are so committed to free market principles-- they work every time, and everywhere, they're tried!
Belly Up to the Buffet
The ultimate folly in healthcare today is 3rd party payers-- be they government entities at the state or federal level, or even private insurance companies with their system of copays and coinsurance. Think about it-- those of us with insurance: We go to the doctor, we pay our copay, and then what? We stop acting like consumers and start imitating cruise ship tourists that want to get their money's worth on the 24/7 buffets. And we wonder why our premiums go up 15-20% every year?
Furthermore-- the fact that most of us aren't examining the charges in detail, the way we would were we reviewing a car repair invoice or a bank statement, means that the seller isn't being held accountable for holding down their costs. There is a lack of transparency about the entire transaction-- we don't know why an x-ray costs $250, we just handle the copay and move on. The involvement of the 3rd party payer adds the needless red tape and processing/handling charges to a transaction that should be taking place between a true buyer and seller. That isn't happening-- instead the negotiation is taking place between the insurance company or government bureaucracy and the seller, and that is a recipe for the disaster that is healthcare today.
A good rule of thumb: Anything that the government spends a lot of money on increases the cost of that item-- not just in the obvious way of driving up artificial demand, but due to the nature of government itself in that it always seeks to control the process and remove the role of the individual-- this despite the fact that only the individual can effectively control costs in a free market. The obvious irony is they end up making things more expensive and, thus, more people become dependent on them for assistance. The downward spiral is then triggered, something that is occurring in other sectors as well (e.g., college tuition).
Back to healthcare: Any program that neglects to fix the disconnect between purchasing and consumption will fail to contain costs. Not only does Obamacare ignore this, they are unconstitutionally forcing some 30 million Americans without insurance to enter the same doomed system, and their greater numbers will actually amplify the problem.
Conservatism: Results vs. Intentions
The thing about conservatism-- it looks past feelings and intentions and cares only about results. Here's what I mean: The fact is, as a society we would actually be better off swelling the ranks of the uninsured so that more and more Americans began paying their doctor bills à la carte. In the short run it would cause many good folks some pain, but in the long run the market would correct itself-- either with lower insurance premiums, or lower actual healthcare costs negating the necessity of insurance altogether, except for a household policy covering us in the event of medical catastrophe-- the kinds of policies our grandparents held. Why on earth should Americans need insurance for routine medical needs? The answer is... we shouldn't!!
If we insist on seizing the assets of some Americans to redistribute to other Americans to pay for their healthcare in a transitionary period, it makes much more economic sense to simply deposit the stolen money into individual Health Savings Accounts-- whatever the recipient doesn't spend in a year they get to bank for future medical needs. This, along with catastrophic medical coverage, is all they ought to get from the taxpayer-- the rest comes out of either their own pockets, or those of willing charitable organizations. At least in this instance, the consumer is ostensibly face to face with their consumption insofar is they have a finite medical allowance to manage (or mismanage).
The bottom line is simple-- if you give a human being access to an all-you-can-eat buffet, they're likely going to overeat once they pay their cover charge. And, of course, if government's picking up the cost of the cover charge to boot, well look the hell out-- your costs are headed for the stratosphere, and the taxpayer will be drained until he or she gives up and joins the rest of the crowd at the government trough. And then you'll have the end of America.
For those that missed it last August, Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey, wrote a great piece that I continue to reference on the issue of healthcare and what can be done within a free market framework to reduce costs. I'll reference it again here, it's a brilliant read that got him in a ton of trouble with the Maoists among his consumer base.
The Real Agenda
The idea that Barack Obama and his despicable accomplices in Congress are trying to sell to the American people is simple-- we can do it better than you. I literally want to spit up all over my computer screen as I type this, but I'll try to resist. Nevermind the fact that they're acting completely without constitutional authority in the first place, which should lead to his prompt impeachment if there were any justice in this world. Just contemplate the notion of a bunch of suits in Washington D.C., most of whom have never managed so much as a payroll in their entire lives, possessing the arrogance to think they can create efficiencies in ANYTHING at all, much less a healthcare system that accounts for a sixth of the American economy. But they go further than that-- by this legislation they are saying that they can create efficiencies superior to those of a free market, meaning us. Why? Well... only they can fight the eeeeevvvilll insurance companies conspiring to screw us, that's why.
Well here's what I say: I've met the enemy, and the enemy isn't a faceless insurance company, it is, in fact, the Left Wing radicals that control Washington D.C. at the moment. They see America and the freedoms and liberties her citizens enjoy and feel contempt. They look at history's experimentations with socialism and actually say to themselves-- "yep, let's recreate that here"... and they are in the process of doing just that-- instituting the soul-crushing, top-down government infrastructure to make it a reality. Every conservative and libertarian running for office in 2010 worth supporting must commit to repealing this monstrous legislation, and begin work at replacing it with reform predicated on free market principles.
Let me say one more thing-- they (the Left) know this legislation won't work, and that's the point. For the reasons I've identified (and more) it will not only fail to control costs, it will exasperate the problem. This will allow them to theatrically throw up their hands and institute the complete transformation to something that resembles the UK's National Health Service. This bill-- Obamacare-- is, in a sense, a patsy... a bridge not to nowhere, just nowhere that you or I want to be. This bridge must be blown to pieces by the next Congress, with the same urgency that they used to create it in the first place.
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