Why does health care cost so much here in the US? We have the world's
highest costs. Doctors in the US earn much more than do doctors
anywhere else. Our hospitals are the world's most expensive. Our
drug companies charge Americans more for drugs than what people
pay anywhere else in the world. So why does this happen? Is it the
fault of the free market? Certainly not! Take a look at the retail
marketplace. Wal Mart competes with Target, with Meijers (a midwest
chain), with other retail chains like K-Mart (now a part of Sears).
And the brick and mortar stores compete with Internet business like
Amazon, with electronics sellers like CompUSA, Tiger Direct, New egg,
Geeks.com, all the rest. So we can shop and get the lowest possible
price. And it probably won't be that long before we'll have a world
marketplace given the advances in computer technology. You will
however note that "government" pretty much stays out of the picture.
And where the power of government does intrude, the usual effect is
higher prices, less choice. What applies in retail trade also applies
elsewhere. Want the lowest prices, the best bargains? You're not
going to find them anywhere where government is in control of what
goods or services you will be allowed to purchase. Because the
licensed professionals donated (bribed) government to provide
them with Governmental Protection against the Free Market!
It will be argued that Medicare for example provides services at lower
cost than what private medical insurance can do. However, the way
Medicare does this is that due to Medicare's size, it can force down
prices below the prices that private insurance has been able to. In
the retail market Wal Mart can do the same simply because it is so
big and buys so much that suppliers are willing to cut prices due to
the volume of goods that Wal Mart purchases. Say I manufacture
a product that is sold in retail stores and over the Internet. Wal-
Mart can come to me and offer to buy everything I can make if I'm
willing to cut my prices. I'm willing to do this because I no longer
need a sales force, have a whole bunch of people doing billing,
whatever. So my "overhead" is lower and I can produce the
goods that Wal Mart wishes to buy for a much lower price.
Some people might not like this, but this is how a free market
operates. We might call this "economic efficiency". In a free
market costs are controlled by competition. If I as a supplier
cannot give Wal Mart the best price, then Wal Mart will go to
my competitors and offer them the same deal they offered me.
Wal Mart does this so they can give their customers the best
deal. The lowest price. And whatever you think of Wal Mart,
they are in the business of selling things to customers who
will either buy from them or "go across the street" to another
store who in their opinion offers the customer a better deal.
This is the Free Market. The free market makes sure that as
a customer you are the person who decides what gets made
and what the price of that item is going to be. No one has a
monopoly. Even Wal Mart has to compete every day to get
people to come to their stores instead of these same people
going elsewhere to find whatever they want at the lowest price.
Now this might upset some people, but free competition is a
Good Thing. It keeps the prices of goods and services at the
lowest possible level. It doesn't mean that everything has to
be done by "capitalists" or any other sort of "xxxxxlists" We
concern ourselves only with getting the best deal at the lowest
price. If we have an economy where "the workers own the means
of production of goods and services", fine. We only concerned
with who can produce goods and services at the lowest cost!
So far as "safety" and such, this is why we have lawyers and
courts) All we really want is "honest dealing". There are
private organizations that test things and report their findings.
(Consumer Reports for example) Some people for example
might prefer to pay less for their automobiles even if these
cars lack some of the safety equipment that is now mandated.
It's THEIR CHOICE! If I want to wear seat belts, fine. But
it should be my choice. Some will argue that those who suffer
lifetime injuries and become a "burden on society" justifies
a law requiring people to wear seat belts. However, there
is no reason why society has to accept these "burdens"...
Or should society require everyone to buy insurance. This
should be up to the individual. Some might accept the risk.
Others might purchase insurance. For those who are so
severely injured they will never recover, there should be
an option of suicide. How many of us would care to live
out the rest of our lives under such circumstances? Here
in Michigan there was a doctor who "assisted" people who
no longer wished to live to commit suicide. The government
of the State of Michigan put that doctor in prison for years.
Why? Because he was helping people end their lives and
apparently the Government (at all levels) didn't like anyone
assisting people to end their lives. You see, Government
feels that it "owns" us. That we are Government property.
That we only exist to serve Government. This is the truth
of the matter. The Baron in his castle back in the Middle
Ages "owned" the land and the people who worked the
land for him. Today we call that state of affairs serfdom
and the people who do are called "serfs". Just one step
up from slavery. People who don't own themselves, but
are in fact owned by someone else. Private slavery is
illegal here in the US and the rest of the "West", but
allowing Government to do it apparently is still O.K.
What President Obama has done isn't all that much
different than that baron in his castle back a thousand
years ago. Obama has ordered everyone to buy health
insurance. Why? Because health care here in the US
is very "expensive"? Then why is health care expensive?
Health care is expensive because there is no competition.
It is a MONOPOLY. If you want medicine, you have to go
to a doctor, pay whatever fee he wants, get a prescription
from him or her, go to a drugstore and get the medicine
which is produced by a company that enjoys monopoly
status thanks to Government. If there was a true free
market in health care (and there isn't anywhere in the
developed world) you might very well be able thanks to
the Internet and Google, to determine what is wrong
and be able to purchase the medicine you need from
the lowest cost provider. Doctors would only be get
whatever patients (note the word patient instead of
the more proper term customer) that actually did in
fact have a condition they didn't know how to deal
with. Then for those who have chronic conditions,
(a chronic condition is one that can be treated, but
not cured) why should they have to see a doctor
time and time again to get a prescription for a
condition that can be only treated, not cured?
Again the answer is obvious: Monopoly! You
see, a long time ago, doctors "organized" just
like auto workers or anyone else, and lobbied
Government to give them a Monopoly. They've
been at this since 1838. Hit the "jackpot" in 1938
with prescription laws. Same effect as if Wal Mart
was the only retail store. You can guess what the
price of things would be then! Same is true with
medicine. A government supplied and enforced
monopoly. That's one reason why people will go
borrow as much as a quarter of a million dollars
in student loans so they can become a doctor!
That MD license is a license to print money!!
Now there is concern that thanks to Obama
and his health care plan that there will be a
serious shortage of doctors. Of course we
can easily see that if doctors are in business
to write prescriptions and get healthy people
in their offices twice a year to refill prescriptions
for lifelong problems, that there is going to be
a shortage of doctors since they are already
busy with their big crop of "patients" who in
a freer society wouldn't ever be seeing them
anywhere near close as much as people have
to do now! You will also note that Obama,
unlike all the others, never had any opposition
from the Medical Monopoly. Remember when
Bill & Hillary Clinton attempted to change the
health care system? Remember all the ads
on TV, the "Harry & Louise" ads back then?
The major difference between Obama and the
Clintons is that Obama simply "sold" us all to
the American medical monopoly. Just like
one baron in the Middle Ages could "sell"
his serfs to another baron if he wanted to!
Obama has made serfs out of the American
people. We've been sold (out) to a group
that worships the dollar. A real windfall
for doctors, hospitals, drug companies,
medical device makers, and the insurance
industry. And with the laws as they are
that forbid a free market in health care,
we're really going to be treated like serfs!
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