tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post5830280468377780497..comments2023-10-24T01:23:36.470-07:00Comments on Thin Places: A Tea Party Worldroyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508828835908673347noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-61426253946225374362010-09-29T08:53:59.010-07:002010-09-29T08:53:59.010-07:00OK, let's break down the discussion a little:
...OK, let's break down the discussion a little:<br /><br />"I wouldn't agree that government burdens are the cause of most of the escalations in medical costs."<br /><br />McCarran-Ferguson Act (1945) gives states the right to regulate health care plans within their state. This is government involvement creating an artificially small marketplace for health insurance.<br /><br />So in this artificially small marketplace, all premiums for a given state must cover all insured within that state. Not the best model for distributing cost across a pool of policy holders. This model keeps costs high in places where claims are high instead of allowing the free market business to distribute those costs nationally. Example: January 2006 the Commonwealth Fund reported that nearly identical policies for a 25 year old male cost (annually) $960 in KY, $5880 in NJ, $1548 in KS, $5172 in NY, $1692 in IA, $4032 in MA. <br /><br />Second, state mandated benefits have a direct impact on premiums. In California, for example, everyone must contribute to the pool of premiums to cover things like Fertility treatments, alcoholism, acupuncture. Without state mandated benefits, people could by policies that cover only catastrophic illnesses and pay everything else out of pocket.<br /><br />Third, the government required community rating also drives up costs. You cannot charge a healthy person less than a non-healthy person. Why not?? While I wouldn't necessarily eliminate community rating for everything (cancer, for example), there are situations where it encourages unhealthy habits (obesity related illnesses like diabetes).<br /><br />Government helped to create the problem, now they claim to have the solution??<br /><br />This doesn't even begin to cover the costs associated with government regulation of medicine via the FDA. If you don't think government burdens cause "most" of the escalation in health care costs, then what do you think does cause it??Todnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-7201577087830818462010-09-29T08:21:02.126-07:002010-09-29T08:21:02.126-07:00Tod, I don't necessarily trust in the competen...Tod, I don't necessarily trust in the competency of government, or at least of our current government. How in the world can we trust an institution when almost 1/2 of the people setting policy there have a belief that it should not be doing what it is doing? At the same time, I have no trust that the "free market" will meet the basic needs of everyone. Business is just not designed to do so. Go back to universal health care... there are some folk who just cost too much for any business model to accept them. And I wouldn't agree that government burdens are the cause of most of the escalation in medical costs.<br /><br />As for education, again, there is no question that the system is not what it should be, but imagine a country where we abandon that commitment. In many ways we are already lagging behind much of the world in education, if we gave up completely, we'd end up as bad as many developing nations and the social and economic problems would be enormous.<br /><br />So Tod, I am not completely trusting of government either. Indeed, we would likely agree regarding the incompetence of much of it. And we likely have similar faith, or lack thereof in the people who make up such agencies. Where we differ is that I literally see no other possibility except government to fulfill those essential pieces in our society. While you would like to experiment with those needs being met in some other way, I would argue that we work on the institution we have and make it work the way, I believe, it is supposed to work.royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00508828835908673347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-16102071789291340752010-09-29T06:54:24.712-07:002010-09-29T06:54:24.712-07:00I think it comes down to my basic distrust of the ...I think it comes down to my basic distrust of the competency of government -- I would choose a different path.<br /><br />Of course universal health care is a wonderful ideal (though I would argue that it is NOT a "right"), but what is the best way to achieve it??<br /><br />If you look at health care and health care insurance today, most of the expense is due to the extraordinary burdens placed upon the providers and insurers by, you guessed it, the government.<br /><br />A better path is to make changes that actually reduce government involvement, encourage competition among states, and produce better products.<br /><br />As for education, I've seen my taxes go up and the quality of the education provided to my children go DOWN to the point that I pulled my last child out of the public system and put her in a private system.<br /><br />Does that make sense that I'm paying more for an inferior product???Todnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-38920325610324323422010-09-28T14:15:02.622-07:002010-09-28T14:15:02.622-07:00Tod, I don't know what you mean by "every...Tod, I don't know what you mean by "everything," but I can speak to a couple of issues... yes, I would gladly see my taxes go up for universal health care. Indeed, I think that is where we will and must end up eventually. And yes, I believe health care is a basic right. I would also gladly see my taxes go up for better public education all the way through college.royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00508828835908673347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-79144427721059934592010-09-28T11:09:39.989-07:002010-09-28T11:09:39.989-07:00Roy, I agree with Donna.
The federal government h...Roy, I agree with Donna.<br /><br />The federal government has co-opted the responsibilities of the states and deemed that every state must be equal. In the true spirit of capitalism, the states should "compete" for residents.<br /><br />I'd be curious to see how many people would willingly move to a state that provided everything to everyone at the expense of the resident taxpayers. Would you live there??Todnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-49141497934017763042010-09-23T13:50:04.605-07:002010-09-23T13:50:04.605-07:00Donna,
thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I...Donna,<br /><br />thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I have never once heard any of the folk arguing against these federal programs say that responsibility for them would be picked up by the state governments. In effect, if the federal government didn't do them, they wouldn't happen.royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00508828835908673347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-45867039879940511612010-09-23T07:29:17.409-07:002010-09-23T07:29:17.409-07:00All those things you mentioned to come out of the ...All those things you mentioned to come out of the federal government in order to comply with the spirit of the Constitution AND THEN GO INTO THE STATE GOVERNMENTS.<br /><br /> Do you realize that your entire article is written from a federal-or-nothing perspective? Where are the 50 states in your imaginings? Do they just impotently wring their hands? <br /><br /> I think it is possible that if your thought processes were continued to their extremes, that we might need to change the name of our country from the "United States of America" to the "Federal Aministrative Districts of America."<br /><br /> Try rewriting your article! Change the opening sentence of your second paragraph --<br />Currently:<br />"The arguments for small government come..."<br /><br />Requested change:<br />"The arguments for moving the social programs out of the federal government and into the state governments..."Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06751717847029302192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16811369.post-54544243038513576782010-09-20T10:36:28.054-07:002010-09-20T10:36:28.054-07:00It is refreshing to see such views that push socia...It is refreshing to see such views that push social issues into light coming from someone who is Christian. There needs to be more Christian people who believe in this to come forward and be heard.Tim Holtorfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04695722373829948475noreply@blogger.com