The Failed Promises of Government Funded Health Care

The American Thinker ^ | July 07, 2009 | Frank S. Rosenbloom, M.D.

[Scanian]

The health care debate in this country is an old story. It began in 1934 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to include government-funded health care in his "New Deal" as part of his comprehensive Social Security legislation. President Roosevelt was very concerned that the Supreme Court might rule parts of his "New Deal" unconstitutional. He tried to induce Congress to approve increasing the total number of justices on the Supreme Court to fifteen, attempting thereby to circumvent the judiciary and the Constitution by stacking the Court in his favor.

Subsequently, government funded health care has been debated in nearly every session of Congress since 1939.

Many people assume that the establishment of Medicare in 1965 was the result solely of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society legislation. In fact, the establishment of Medicare was the culmination of decades of efforts by progressive liberals, and was seen as a stepping stone to government funded health care for all. In fact, some of the tactics the government used to pass Medicare were illegal at the time, employing taxpayer money to lobby for political programs.

Today President Obama theorizes that a government "option" will increase competition, lower costs, and provide better medical care for larger numbers of people. In any scientific endeavor the veracity of a theory is determined by whether it is supported by empirical evidence and predictive of future outcomes. Therefore, we must examine Obama's assertions in light of the available evidence.

1. A government health care option will increase competition. In order to determine whether this is the case, we must review whether government involvement has ever increased competition in the past.

[wastoute]

Think of Obamacare as "A River Runs Through It". In our country there is a river of cash that currently flows mostly outside the domain of gummint. Obamacare seeks to expand the territory of gummint so that river runs mostly through it. One hardly needs to ask why anyone would want to do that. It has nothing to do with "providing healthcare for everone" or "making healthcare more efficient". Simple commonsense informs one that neither of these goals will be met by gummint healthcare.

Μολὼν λάβε

[socialismisinsidious]

Socialized Medicine aka Universal Health Care PING LIST

FReepmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this ping list.

**This is a high volume ping list! (sign of the times)**