Why socialist principles don’t work
I never grow tired of explaining why socialism, wealth redistribution - whatever you want to call it - won’t work. This is good because there is a seemingly endless supply of people in this country who don’t get it. They see the government (and some of the less shallow-minded even see the high achievers by extension) as an endless font of revenue that can and should be exploited endlessly until all our wants and needs are met.
I ran into a guy yesterday who huffed and puffed about the fact that, for now anyway, one can’t just walk into any clinic or hospital and demand treatment at no expense to the individual. No doubt this man believes that medical care is a basic human right and to allow entanglements such as the concept of directly compensating others for the service or product they provide you not only unnecessary, but ghastly. Folks like him are quick to point out that citizens of other more enlightened countries never have to pay out of pocket for treatment. Of course they fail to acknowledge the plenitude horror stories about waits for simple tests and procedures, treatments that are “too expensive,” and the other nightmares that result from rationing.
Food is a basic human necessity. What if we were to declare that a human right? No one should be denied the food that keeps them alive because they can’t perform that tired old ritual of paying for it right? Poor people should have access to the same food the filthy rich enjoy. Lets see what would happen if we did with our grocery stores and eateries what liberals want to finish doing to health care.
All the restaurants and grocery stores would become overnight an extension of the government. All you’d have to do is walk in, pick out what you need, and walk out. I doubt they’d even demand you prove your citizenship, but bring your drivers license just in case.
My first stop would be Ruth’s Chris. Bone-on ribeye for me please, and being Uncle Sam is picking up the tab, I’ll splurge and order two sides. No reason not to have desert and an espresso. On the way home I’ll stop by the supermarket and pick up some more steaks for breakfast. I can afford better than plain old bacon now. “What’s this? They’re out of steaks already!” There’s been a run on the meat department. No problem - there’s still a rib roast left, I’ll just pick that up, carve a few steaks off that, and throw away the rest so it doesn’t go bad.
That’s the story of the first day. It won’t take that long before the government sees the need to close some loops. No one is eating turkey and chicken and tuna any longer - they’re all eating steak and lobster. More steak and lobster is not in the budget - and what to do with all the poultry? To cut costs and make things fair, they’d probably take all edible animal protein and grind it all together into easily-rationable frozen pucks. Now, whether you go to the steak house or McDonalds, you’ll get the same meat product disk. Smile, at least no one else is eating better than you just because they can afford it. You wish you could return to the days of plain old bacon. Quit complaining, its not like you’re paying for it.
If you believe something like this could and would happen to food if the government made it a single payer program why wouldn’t you think the same will happen to health care once the government is done with it?
I say done with it because they already have taken way too much control of health care. The paradigm that someone else should write the check for your health care has existed far too long. Employers pick out your health care program, and you buy whatever they’re offering by agreeing to work for them with that as part of your compensation. How about taking a cut in pay and having them pick out your groceries too?
The bottom line is its all our money regardless what it pays for. We the people should control it, individual by individual, rather than the government.
