It's crazy for a group of mere mortals to try to design 15 percent of the U.S. economy. It's even crazier to do it by August.
Yet that is what some members of Congress presume to do. They intend, as the New York Times puts it, "to reinvent the nation's health care system" (http://tinyurl.com/mrjmon).
Let that sink in. A handful of people who probably never even ran a small business actually think they can reinvent the health care system.
Politicians and bureaucrats clearly have no idea how complicated markets are. Every day people make countless tradeoffs, in all areas of life, based on subjective value judgments and personal information as they delicately balance their interests, needs and wants. Who is in a better position than they to tailor those choices to best serve their purposes? Yet the politicians believe they can plan the medical market the way you plan a birthday party.
Leave aside how much power the state would have to exercise over us to run the medical system. Suffice it say that if government attempts to control our total medical spending, sooner or later, it will have to control us.
Also leave aside the inevitable huge cost of any such program. The administration estimates $1.5 trillion over 10 years with no increase in the deficit. But no one should take that seriously. When it comes to projecting future costs, these guys may as well be reading chicken entrails. In 1965, hospitalization coverage under Medicare was projected to cost $9 billion by 1990. The actual price tag was $66 billion (http://tinyurl.com/ltmezh).
The sober Congressional Budget Office debunked the reformers' cost projections (http://tinyurl.com/mf9p9p). Trust us, Obama says. "At the end of the day, we'll have significant cost controls," presidential adviser David Axelrod said (http://tinyurl.com/lrcyj9). Give me a break.
Now focus on the spectacle of that handful of men and women daring to think they can design the medical marketplace. They would empower an even smaller group to determine — for millions of diverse Americans — which medical treatments are worthy and at what price.
How do these arrogant, presumptuous politicians believe they can know enough to plan for the rest of us? Who do they think they are? Under cover of helping uninsured people get medical care, they live out their megalomaniacal social-engineering fantasies — putting our physical and economic health at risk in the process.
Will the American people say "Enough!"?
I fear not, based on the comments on my blog.
When I argued last week (http://tinyurl.com/mytx9s) that medical insurance makes people indifferent to costs, I got comments like: "I guess the 47 million people who don't have health care should just die, right, John?" "You will always be a shill for corporate America."
Like the politicians, most people are oblivious to F.A. Hayek's insight that the critical information needed to run an economy — or even 15 percent of one — doesn't exist in any one place where it is accessible to central planners (http://tinyurl.com/4jx93m). Instead, it is scattered piecemeal among millions of people. All those people put together are far wiser and better informed than Congress could ever be. Only markets — private property, free exchange and the price system — can put this knowledge at the disposal of entrepreneurs and consumers, ensuring the system will serve the people and not just the political class.
This is no less true for medical care than for food, clothing and shelter. It is profit-seeking entrepreneurship that gave us birth control pills, robot limbs, Lasik surgery and so many other good things that make our lives longer and more pain free.
To the extent the politicians ignore this, they are the enemy of our well-being. The belief that they can take care of us is rank superstition.
Who will save us from these despots? What Adam Smith said about the economic planner applies here, too: The politician who tries to design the medical marketplace would "assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it."
John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20" and the author of "Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity." He has a new blog at http://blogs.abcnews.com/johnstossel. To find out more about John Stossel and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2009 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS, INC.
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Mr. Stossel I couldn't agree with you more. As an 18 year old two time heart transplant recipient and recent paitient of a second back surgery I have to say something neeeds to be done about our medical care system. But the government controlling it is not the answer. The problem is what people think "Oh, free health care! I don't have to pay!" Not so. We pay, with our life. How many lives will be lost before people realize that our care is going to be rationed and even if you are dying, it won't matter; lives will be expendable. Just another number. People for the universal healthcare think it won't happen, not in the U.S.A. I'm sure that's what the people in Canada and European countries thought. Now they're trying to get out of universal health care as fast as they can. And we're trying adopt it? Shouldn't that send a strong message to the dufusses in elected office? If anyone wishes to comment on this please do so.
Michael
Comment: #1
Posted by: Michael
Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:27 AM
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Dear John Stossel, you can always tell the people who've owned a business! The politician bunch think by hiring all these people (to CYA) they're creating good things when the only thing they're creating is more debt load for the Taxpayers and loss of American stability. These people shouldn't be entitled to anything in health care or anything else that Taxpayers have had to work so hard for. The bailouts of AIG (& rest) prove this point and this is why they bailed out to protect themselves, while sending a $300.00 stimulus check to the Taxpayer making him think "we're still working for you!" Never have I seen such a bunch of criminals. Madoff doesn't hold a light to them-he just got caught! Instead of seeing all the old manufacturing buildings vacant and boarded up, isn't it about time to board up the fancy government buildings and send these people to the very foreign country they sold America to, taking all their assets to pay off the trillions of dollars, they've borrowed without Taxpayers consent! If you're a Taxpayer, you should be fed up with Obama, his administration and bragging about his healthcare! His favorite “This Healthcare isn't about me. I have great insurance and so does every member of Congress.” Wouldn't you, as a Taxpayer, wonder why politicians have better healthcare,doctors, salaries, and retirements? If American Taxpayers are smart, they'll go back to “Pay as you go” system for medical expenses, insurance, and everything else, that includes stopping politicians and insurance companies from taking your last penny! “If you don't work, have never paid social security, live off social and welfare programs, why should you receive anything that Taxpayers have worked for?” America doesn't need bigger government nor anything else controlled by a radical and socialist government, let alone National Healthcare! ‘Fair Tax', to include property taxes, and ‘pay as you go' for doctors and hospitals, would cut theft and tons of useless paperwork. Trillions would be saved! At no time have Taxpayers heard the words “We, the politicians, in order to pay off trillions we borrowed without Taxpayers consent, are going to reduce our benefits, salaries and retirements to $12,000.00 yearly!” This is one actual insurance/government billing. Check out your ‘Explanation of Benefit' regarding Medicare and your private insurance. If your doctor billed for $233.00, Medicare paid $76.20, and your private carrier said it was OK to pay $19.05, this should tell you about hidden costs? The following was sent to me and I'm sending it along! ===================================================================================== IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT! Take Social Security for instance! "I HEREWITH FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE STANDING FOR NEXT ELECTION. LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. . and GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY, CUT THEIR SALARIES AND RETIREMENTS TO $12,000.00 YEARLY. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan, but just for them spending more and more ot Taxpayers money. For all practical purposes their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments.. For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries. Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00 NADA..! ZILCH... This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK "! From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer). We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. It's time to "Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen!" Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us Then sit back.... And see how fast they would fix it. It would be changed within the day! America is now an enslaved nation with trillions of dollars in debt and all because of deceit and greed. I'm quoting John Adams - “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt.” Surely, you remember history and the Dictator that said “We'll destroy America and never lift a finger!” If this doesn't wake you up, nothing will!
Comment: #2
Posted by: Shirley deLong
Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:49 AM
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