Archive for universal health care
The Supreme Court and Obamacare
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The new term of the Supreme Court has just begun. All eyes are on the court, as it is expected to hear for the first time a case against Obamacare.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more popularly known as Obamacare, passed the Senate on Christmas Eve of 2009, passed the House on March 21, 2010, and was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. It was one of the most controversial and partisan pieces of legislation in history, with no Republican in either house of Congress voting in favor of the 2407-page bill (H.R. 3590 [PDF
]).
The onerous provisions of the PPACA include an expansion of Medicaid eligibility, the prohibition of annual and lifetime coverage caps, the elimination of co-payments and deductibles for selected health-insurance benefits, guaranteed issue of insurance policies without regard to preexisting conditions, federal subsidies for the purchase of health insurance, employer mandates, more arcane insurance regulations, an increase in the Medicare tax on the “rich,” and a tax on indoor tanning services. Perhaps the most egregious part of Obamacare is the “individual mandate” that every American not covered by Medicaid, Medicare, or health insurance must purchase health insurance or pay a penalty.
Tags: economics, health, law, legislation, libertarianism, Obama, politics, Supreme Court, universal health care
The Progress of Greed
Posted by: |Capitalism has an ironic side effect after generations of progress: we forget about the minutia of production and the importance of capital risk and investment. If you are a software developer or website designer, you can appreciate the time and energy involved in a really awesome piece of software. If you are an engineer, you can appreciate the beauty and simplicity of Apple products. Many of us create things, whether big or small, and so we do have the potential to see all around us the wonders of the capitalist structure of production. Even if we don’t understand it all, we can deeply appreciate it.
One area I don’t fully understand is the medical-industrial complex. I don’t get to visit hospitals very often, but when I do, I get the same sense of awe and wonder and I just can’t help but marvel at the wonders of the marketplace. Yes, I realize that the medical industry isn’t exactly as “free market” as, say, the technology industry. But that doesn’t preclude a strong market component in the production of devices and substances in the industry. Somebody long before our visit to the hospital saw a problem that needed to be solved. They took huge risks of capital in order to help save lives or to make our lives generally less problematic.
Tags: capitalism, entrepreneurs, greed, health care, medical-industrial complex, medicine, selfishness, universal health care, wealthy
“Christians and the Common Good” Book Review
Posted by: |Review of Christians and the Common Good, by Charles Gutenson (Brazos Press, 2011). 192 pages, $19.99.
Christians and non-Christians alike have long debated the question, “What is the proper role of government?” Everyone has their own opinion, and Christians have varying interpretations of Scripture to support their viewpoints. Anarchists on the one hand say that God is the king of all, and so no human king (or state) can claim authority over another human being. Statists on the other hand defend government as specially “ordained” by God in the same way as the church or family, and thus have divine purposes for their existence. Most Christians fall somewhere in between with a nuanced position.
Charles Gutenson’s new book, Christians and the Common Good, seeks to ask perhaps a better question: “How does God intend for us to live together?” The author believes this question is broader than the narrow one about the role of government because it sets the stage for answers regarding our Christian witness, our relationships with others, and our participation in God’s intention for the world. How we answer this question has ramifications for more than just our personal beliefs about politics. It defines who we are as human beings and as a society.
Gutenson aims to clean up the sloppy biblical interpretation habits most Christians have when reading the Bible so that they can see how the Bible has much more to say about our public life than many Christians assume. The key to this understanding is to read what the Bible has to say about the character and nature of God while noticing that throughout the Scriptures God has intended for people to live out the application of God’s character.
Tags: Book Reviews, economics, ethics, government, law, social justice, social security, theology, universal health care
Progressives Against Progress
Posted by: |This article is #14 of a weekly series highlighting the former memes of Bureaucrash, an organization once headed by my friends Pete Eyre and Jason Talley of the Motorhome Diaries. The memes were originally authored by Pete Eyre and Anja Hartleb-Parson, and were intended as means of communicating ideas about liberty in catchy and succinct ways.
“Progress” is an abused word these days, especially by bureaucrats and the special interest groups that cater to them. Yet such groups, in the name of progress and social justice, support government intervention through intervention in the market, minimum or living wages, and universal healthcare. We find neither progress nor justice in government actions that advance one group at the expense of another. Don’t get us wrong: we are for progress — for economic growth, wealth creation, and the elimination of poverty — but we understand that progress grows from voluntary interactions and respect of individual rights. That which violates the rights of individuals cannot be progress.
Tags: economics, free market, interventionism, memes, public schools, universal health care
How Much Bureaucracy Did Congress Just Buy Us?
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You have to hand it to the Federal Government, they really know how to take a bad situation and make it much worse. Consider the new health care bill. Have you paused to think about the expansion of bureaucracy that it will bring? Guess what?
It’s going to be massive.
Estimates run that the one-hundred eleven new groups formed by the bill will need to employ on the order of 50,000 newbie bureaucrats. But whatever, this country is bankrupt and probably won’t be able to sustain this program for a couple of years. Start taking care of yourself better now so you don’t get smashed by statist health care later.
Read the huge list of new bureaucratic groups after the jump.
Tags: constitution, economics, Obama, universal health care
Norman Horn is the creator and primary writer for LCC. Learn a little bit about him in the 