Krystle at Crystal Clear Conservative asks a pertinent question: "Is health care a right or a privilege?" As we edge closer to universal health care, her reasoning is rational and, more importantly, is common sense.
David at Augusta Conservative is in the health care field and has a post about the pros and cons of universal health care. He says, "Like any other service driven industry there is a balance between cost, availability, and quality."
The debate about government-provided health care should continue.
6 comments:
David's post is a simplistic appeal to "common sense" that presupposes our health care costs are based on the quality we enjoy, but presents no evidence to support that "fact".
When one considers that the United States is the only industrialized country NOT to offer some form of universal health care, that we still spend on average about twice as much on heath care as other industrialized nations do, all while suffering from some of the lowest metrics of patient outcomes, it becomes clear that the usual assumptions about the ability of a free market to deliver high quality and low price fail to accurately model health care realities. I have theories about why that is, but I won't delve into them here.
Mr. Mason.
I am curious, do you believe that Health Care is a right that should be taxed or a service that is purchased?
I believe that our rights as citizens of the United States are whatever we collectively decide those rights should be. Is there a universal human right to health care? Of course not. But does every US citizen have the right to quality health care? The moment we all decide we do, we do.
And looking around, I think that decision has already been made by most Americans. Now it's just a matter of convincing a few holdouts (especially ones with a lot to lose), and hammering out the details.
How about you? Do you believe that health care should be your right, or a privilege you enjoy only so long as you can afford it, or you have an employer who thinks you're worth it?
Ah, yes, the woman whom has never had to work a day in her life and married up is now going to educate others on what they deserve and don't deserve....wonderful....
healthcare should be a right. maybe thats why disease spreads so much, people can't afford to go to the doctor.
I believe the proper question would be: is health care a right or a commodity? According to Webster, a privilege is a immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor due to office or station. Health care certainly is not a favor or a benefit due by virtue of station or office.
Nor is health care a right. When Americans speaks of rights, they are speaking of rights with a capital 'R.' As in "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
You notice that the rights referred to by the signers are endowed by a Creator and are unalienable. In other words, they cannot be removed from the human experience. To be human is to have these rights. These rights, which are inherent to being human, are the rights of expression, the right to assemble, the right to own property, the right to worship, to vote, and other rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
By the definition and examples provided by the Founders, health care is not a right. It is not an inalienable and it is not endowed by the Creator. It is not inherent to the human existence. It is a commodity that is possessed by some and not by others. It would not matter if the majority Americans did consider to be a right- it cannot be because it is no inalienable.
I believe all of us, conservatives and liberals alike, want to insure that all humanity has access to health care. But to do so we must realize that health care is not a right, and it certainly is not a privilege. Health care is a commodity, pure and simple.
Rusty Scalpel
freemarketphysician.blogspot.com
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