The Government Sponge Bath

I have been relatively quiet about the gargantuan (over 2000 pages) heath care bill because, frankly, I’m not sure I have anything to contribute to the discussion except this reminder: the government’s only proper function is to protect individual rights.  Health care is NOT a right.  It is a personal value to be sought and obtained according to one’s own hierarchy of values.  Heath care insurance is not a right.  It is a service provided by businesses that operate based on their calculated risks against the purchaser’s calculated risk of his illness and should be purchased, or not, according to his values. 

There will always be people who, through no fault of their own, will be a bad risk to every insurance company.  For these existing, but relatively infrequent cases, there is charity.  For everyone else, we need the freedom to choose if we want a health plan, what we want covered, and who we’d like to have as our doctors.  We need to be able to weigh the costs and benefits of our health care decisions with the help of those health care professionals we choose.  Nothing short of our lives is at stake here.

Health care reform, which will provide the best incentives for the best diagnosis, treatment, and care options at the best prices, is needed; the health care industry needs be unleashed from the government and left to the free market. 

We must remember that the government produces nothing and has no wealth. The wealth of this country is based on its unique founding upon individual rights and the tremendous accomplishments of its people in exercising those rights. This health care bill is a 2000 page representation of the Marxist philosophy – from each according to his ability, to each according to his need – which is a violation of the very rights our government was established to protect.

Where do you draw the line on the violation of your rights?

Update: Lest the above head-exchange exudes partisanship, I herein acknowledge that the statists on the other side of the aisle just aren’t as photogenic.