On Jul 17, 2009, at 8:07 PM, dsummersmi...@comcast.net wrote:
There are arguements for the free market. My Congressman wants a free
market solution, and I respect him because he doesn't pretend facts
don't
exist.
But we have free market solutions. We've had them for decades. And for
many, those solutions don't work.
The idea of insurance is that a large number of people pool their
resources together to lighten the burden of loss for a few. (This is,
in essence, socialism.) Many of us will never need intervention for
catastrophic events; some will. By putting our strengths into a pool,
we're all able to float when we need to. (This is hardly a new idea.
It originated with none other than Benjamin Franklin. It's also a very
Christian concept, for those who are of that mind. "Inasmuch as ye do
it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye do it unto me.")
That's the ideal, and in my experience, in practice, it works. Where I
work, we're self-insured, and we've got superb coverage. But I am
fortunate and definitely the exception. Many in my community aren't
able to blithely walk into a doctor's office and say they need a
checkup or are worried about such-and-such a growth or so-and-so an
internal bodily concern. Just a few months ago I went to the allergist
and had a scratch test, and the $250 or so bill cost me nothing. At
all. But most are not able to do something like that because they
genuinely cannot afford it.
They're locked *out* of healthcare because the free-marked option is
not available to them.
And how well has free-market worked in other places? Railroads dropped
Fed support decades ago. The result was rotting tracks, derailments,
and the fact that Amtrak's Sunset Limited -- the only truly
intercontinental passenger rail line we have left -- now has to wait
on sidings for hours overall while Santa Fe freight trains chug past.
Carter deregulated airlines in the 70s, and what used to be a
comfortable express in the skies turned into a shitty cattle-call that
features narrow seats, no legroom and bag lunches. Bridges went
neglected for years past their engineering tolerances and are now
either collapsing, or in imminent danger thereof.
Yeah, that free-market thing is sure improving the quality of life,
isn't it?
Those who argue for free-market, I think, have never actually
confronted the full-bore costs of healthcare in the US today. One
night in a hospital can cost you well into four figures, even for
something trivial. My stepdad just got a triple bypass. The full-on
price of his surgery would have been $80,000, or about the value of
his home. He was lucky; as a retired government officer he had
vestiture and full coverage. Very, very few retired private persons
have that opportunity.
It's worth pointing out, by the way, that your congressman has full
health coverage provided by your tax dollars. He's got better coverage
than I do, and mine is pretty damn good. And yet he seems to be saying
that "socialized" healthcare is bad. Well, if he really believes that,
let's see him drop his Federal coverage and go with a "free market"
option instead. Put his money and health and life where his fat wide
yap is.
It's ridiculous, I think, to harken to the words of someone who's
covered head-to-toe in insurance provided by the Fed when he says
there are "free market" solutions which are just as good, just as
available, and just as freely given. That obviously is not true; by
the rules of the "free market", it cannot be.
Perspective matters. Your congressman probably lacks it now, and
likely he never had it.
The Invisible Hand is smothering people in their beds.
--
Warren Ockrassa | @waxis
Blog | http://indigestible.nightwares.com/
Books | http://books.nightwares.com/
Web | http://www.nightwares.com/
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