An Intelligent Policy Idea from an Unlikely Source

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/a_fair_health_fix.html

As noted in this article by Michael Barone, President Bush proposed a solution that would accomplish much of what I wanted to address in my last post. Holy smokes, an intelligent policy proposal from a State of the Union address! Whatever will they think of next.

This will not on it's own turn off the flipping awful single payer (govt) "universal" health care proposal that's still the toast of the left. As much as I would like to, I don't have time to describe how costly, inefficient and ineffective this sort of govt directed health care would become, nor how it would increase our dependence on a growing population base (generally via importing labor since Americans no longer choose to make enough of our own. Our birth rate in the US is 2.1 or so, just barely the sustainment rate; all population growth is via immigration now).

All I can do is pray that intelligence will win out, that Americans will demand more than feel good legislation, that they will look at what these 'single payer' systems are doing to countries that have tried them already. Bottom line: there are so many emerging options for health care, many of which are nice but optional, that no system is going to be able to afford to pay for all of these choices for everyone. We can ration by individual choice - or by government rationing, as is done in Canada, UK, etc.

What is govt rationing? One example: in Canada, a man needed a knee replacement surgery. His knee was hurting quite a lot. He was put on a two year waiting list - in other words, knee replacements under the Canadian system are rationed. He decided he would like to just pay out of his own money to have the surgery done - eventually, he was allowed to do this, but only after winning a suit against the govt in the Canadian Supreme Court! He had to sue to be able to pay with his own cash for a knee replacement. This is the kind of 'care' we can expect from govt run health care.

Please, America, see through the facade of government supplied solutions, don't sell out, hold on to liberty, demand less govt intervention, demand fewer govt solutions, hold out for the excellent market based solutions out there. Don't let the socialist ________s get us down.