February 24, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

In government, money flows to those with power. In the private sector, however, dollars are much more likely to flow to those who are innovative, productive, respectful, and value adding.

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February 24, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

This “progressive” piece had me rolling in laughter. The author really believes what he is writing. Good stuff.

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February 24, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

This person writes today in the LA Times on the evils of health insurers. He lists several things wrong and how government could be used to “fix” all the problems. I particularly enjoyed this paragraph:

Not all of us, however, make this deal with insurers. About 50 million Americans are uninsured, and tens of millions more are underinsured. There’s no law that says we all must have insurance or that insurance companies must agree to cover us. Given that, it’s natural that insurers — which are, after all, for-profit companies, not government agencies or public trusts — turn their attention to making deals with the most profitable among us and avoiding deals (or finding ways to break contracts) with the least profitable.

So, governement can step in and solve all our problems? Does this person think people are not denied care under universal health care systems? It’s not money or insurance that limits our ability to treat everyone. Those things only help allocate health care. If the U.S. instituted universal health care tomorrow, we would still be constrained by reality. We would not have any more doctors, nurses, health care facilities, etc. We would, however, since everyone would be living at the expense of everyone else, see an increase in medical demand. Demand up, supply unmoved. That spells shortage.

This author might want to read how people are denied care in universal systems around the would via other rationing systems, such as waiting lines. Or read this news from England. It begins:

The London Telegraph is reporting that the doctors believe “smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations.”

Perhaps the doctors are following the lead of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the British agency that provides guidance on public health. In 2005, NICE proposed that the National Health Service use age as a measurement of a patient’s worthiness for treatment.

The reason for the hard hearts in Britain: The NHS can no longer afford to provide free treatment for everyone.

For Britons, health care rationing isn’t just a threat. It’s a reality. The Telegraph says roughly one in 10 hospitals — usually those with financial problems — now deny some surgery to smokers and the obese.

Mankiw has something to say about this too.

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February 24, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

Tennessee is number one.

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February 24, 2008 by Tom Armstrong.

We need school choice now. Sure, it probably would not be pleasant for public school teachers (like myself), but our primarly objective is to better educate students, not please teachers and school administrators.

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