Competition: Who Cares?

I've read quite a bit of our more liberal brethren's so-called "Affordable Health Choices Act", and you can too by clicking here. What you won't find in the bill is an explanation of why that fat/white/conservative/filthy rich/dirty phrase "free-markets" is so important to all Americans, especially the poor, and why a single-payer system is downright frightening. And we know from video that Mr. Obama supports the idea (or at least said he did at one time) of a single payer system.

Before we get practical, let's be theoretical. Theoretically, a single payer (that essentially means one insurance company instead of several) will be government run and will have the means and organization to fairly and justly meet the health needs of all Americans. That means that instead of mostly older people having to deal with fun things like Medicare A, B, C, D, D 1/2, whatever, you too will be able to enjoy the bureaucratic vagaries of filling out forms and talking to a machine on the phone. But no matter...remember, theoretically, this system will work and work very well. It will be very efficient...much like Medicare/Medicaid/and Social Security are now. It will be well-thought out like the Cash For Clunkers idea that ran out of money in something like 4 days. Theoretically, you'll go to the doc for what you need, get what you need, and pay what's fair, within a reasonable amount of time. If you buy into that, I have a slobbering dog that can predict movements in the stock market in the design of his saliva drippings. I'll sell him to ya for a mere pittance.

Now let's get practical. Free-markets preach competition is good for us. With a little time, competition drives prices down and usually drives quality up as well. This is not theory. This is what happens every time you go into a bank to negotiate a rate on your home loan, purchase insurance, go on vacation, buy something on EBay, or try to win a plasma flat screen in a donkey-tipping competition (I'm just sayin'). WalMart is one of my favorite examples of this. WalMart competes big time. Why? Not because it likes to offer you lower prices out of the goodness of its heart. It competes because other options exist. Target, Costco, etc. are nipping at its heels and trying to win over customers. And what happens because of this? Prices go down, products get better, and the poorer among us can afford more. The standard of living goes up, and it's not because of what any politician has done. What about the $4 prescriptions you can get at WalMart's pharmacy? The government cannot offer a deal like that without taxing the hell out of somebody and hurting some special needs group in the process.



So what's my point? And what about the poor? The point is this: someone almost always gets hurt or left out. Fair? No, often, it isn't. But the free-market solution is far superior to a socialization strategy or welfare from the government. As for welfare, I believe there are some folks truly in need, but you can't help wondering how many simply choose to fall off the high wire because they know there is a net below to catch them. Do some get left out? Perhaps. And I'm trying to wrap my head around the ideal solution for those that actually need the help. But I would argue that far more people get hurt because of too much government interference than if they were left alone...and I've got real life examples to prove it.

I'll give you a very practical example of this. Minimum wage. The theory behind minimum wage is that it will cause people to have a higher wage and therefore a better living situation. Simple enough. Or is it? A business, which has to stay profitable to live (don't give me that crap about profit being evil - you don't work for free, do you? - neither does the guy that took the risk to hire you, your sister, and your sorry brother in-law and put you in charge of managing rotary girder quality control). If I, the boss, have to pay you, your brother, and your sorry freakin brother-in-law more money now because minimum wage went up, well, guess what? That black kid I was about to hire to inspect cogs just got his resume chunked in the trash because I can't afford him anymore. Wait!!! [Little Timmy raises his hand] You mean the black kid doesn't get a higher wage! Um, no, little Timmy, that's correct. In fact, he gets no wage. He gets jack, you might say. As in squat. As in, maybe he stays unemployed another month and loses his apartment and has to pay extra to get his phone turned back on later. Wow, thanks liberal policy-makers. You're my best friend. Maybe you can come over and bring Nancy Pelosi and Elijah Cummings over for a Bush Bashing sleepover. I'll make cucumber facials and peanut butter and banana sandwiches!!! We can watch a scary movie...like "Wall Street" or anything with Jon Voight!

But seriously, the heath care bill that is being debated so hotly right now doesn't appear all that scary in print. In fact, I didn't even find the phrase "death panels". But when you look at it for what it is...typical bureaucratic meddling...why would you think that America's Affordable Health Choices Act would be much different than minimum wage? When you are unsatisfied with the service you receive from your banker, insurance agent, grocery store, hotel, etc., you go somewhere else that appeals to you better or competes harder to win your business. Who will you go to when government runs health care? Single payer, no options, no competition...not good ideas. Who will you complain to when your liberal saviors have hung you out to dry and they are the only ones doing laundry anymore?