The sin of universal health care, Part II

Nothing certain in the universe but death and taxes, goes the old saw, but like Al Gore trying to stop hurricanes in their tracks, the government, headed by President Obama and a Democratic Congress, is trying to stop the sting of death (that's already been accomplished, but they ignore that fact). Universal health care! Now, there's the ticket!

And why is this a good idea? The impassioned plea of Facebook posts everywhere reads:

"No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day...."

In my last post, I discussed that sticky problem of death (here). It's a bullet that can't be stopped. It's here because we sin (sinned). We are rebels against an Almighty God (He's provided the solution for that predicament, but that's not the topic of this post).

We take our next step in this discussion understanding that we will all die some day. Would you pay an extra million dollars to live one more day? That question raises a thousand others. Here are a couple:

1. Do I have a spare million lying around?


2. Do I have a spare fifty million lying around?


3. Would someone else be coughing up the million?


4. Would a million someone elses be coughing up $1?


5. What would be the state of that final day? Would I have the vitality I had at 22 or would I be comatose?

Let's step out of the health care arena for a moment. Let's talk about your broken-down car. And let's assume you didn't get cash for your clunker but that it's sitting out in your driveway. Pretend, too, that you are a cash-strapped camper with no credit cards. How do you get your car fixed?

The solutions are pretty old-school, but here's how I see 'em:

1. You don't get it fixed until you earn enough from your job to pay for the repair.


2. If you need to car sooner, you take another job. Unless you're riding your bike, that might compound the problem with your car.


3. You talk with the mechanic. Maybe he'll take a few bucks now and you can pay the rest over the next few months.


4. You take out a loan. Not ideal, but it might come down to that.


5. Perhaps your family can help you out, no interest, and you can pay them back. Or you plead with folks in the community to help you out, you know, neighborliness.


6. Someone foots the bill for you, a gift.


7. You could learn some basics of auto mechanics that might solve the problem.

Doesn't seem to be a morally objectionable option amongst the lot of them. Now, try this one.

8. The mayor of your town knows you really need that car and makes everyone in town cough up 50-cents to pay for its repair.

The difference between #5 and #8 is choice. When I choose to help my fellow man, it's called charity (that's old English for love). If I am coerced through legislation, it's called stealing! The government couches it in nice terms. Fredric Bastiat calls it "legal plunder." The government makes laws to give a facade of legitimacy to their crime.

Crisis care (gushing blood, severed limbs, etc.) should be covered by community taxes and townships. It's not different than the fire department or the police department. Beyond that, should you pay for the doctor to determine I have strep and should you pay for my penicillin?

Let's pretend that medicine was still affordable (that's a different issue, too). There would be procedures Bill Gates could afford that I could not. Should that surprise me? Nope. What if the docs suggest a procedure I could not afford? Well, options 1 thru 7 above seem viable, don't they?

For the government to take your money to pay for my aspirin or my apendectomy is criminal.

Here's the rub. Health is not a right, nor is medical care. I do my level best to take care of myself and understand that "man knows not his time." I may get a form of cancer that I can't afford to have eradicated. If 1 thru 7 avail nothing, I play the cards with which I'm dealt. I don't take your cards from you.

There are things worse than death. Government coercion of its citizens is one. Worse than the government stealing from me is their robbing us of the opportunity and responsibility for looking after my neighbor.

WE have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. And WE have a responsibility to look after one another...by choice. Government strong-arming is NOT the way to go about it.

I'm off my soapbox.