Mr. Sowell's point that many uninsured people can well afford to have health insurance but choose not to is very telling, in part, as to why we are in the mess we're in. How often have you heard about a family without fire insurance getting burned out of their home who were subsequently and sympathetically taken under the wings of a kind hearted public donating to the cause? The tough love, though, which was apparently lacking in their early years led them to bite off more than they could chew as adults. Rewarding their lack of responsibility perpetuates that lifestyle. And it perpetuates the burden on the responsible taxpayers among us when the power of political might makes those responsible taxpayers donate to that cause, as well.
What Marx said about those with the ability giving to those in need is morally the right thing to do. But the morality part of it is absent when one's choice of giving is taken away, and when those in need receive, excepting any responsibility beyond an open palm, there is no thankful recipient.