Monday, July 16, 2007

Are people really this selfish or stupid?

Confirming his status as an ignoramus whose greed exceeds his understanding, Bill O'Reilly tries to make the case against the movie "Sicko". You can't have it both ways. If individual health is not a concern for government, then stop the "war on drugs" as well. Prohibition should have already provided us on an effective lesson of the costs of enforcement and incarceration versus improved public health. Nationalized health care is not about handouts, on a policy level. The handouts are already happening, in the form of emergency room visits on the part of the uninsured, and in the form of medical insurers and pharmaceuticals sucking money out of Americans, but not necessarily giving back effective medical care, because our government has given them the right to do so. You already pay more for spotty insurance. Health insurance premiums would become taxes, probably a bit less, drug costs would become a little more in line with the rest of the world. However, as much sense as nationalized health insurance would make, I have little hope of it happening, as long as the health insurance industry and the pharmaceuticals are able to invest in lobbyists. Left, right, center, money appeals to all our Congress critters.

Isn't compassion a virtue?

Another review of Sicko What struck me we more the tone of one of the comments, that leads me to ask when compassion and the desire to help others stopped being a conservative virtue. Medical insurers have a clear financial incentive to deny services, and a moral incentive to provide effective care. If the moral incentive prevailed, we wouldn't have a movie like "Sicko".

Thursday, July 05, 2007

What we do as individuals matters.

Swarm Behavior - National Geographic Magazine
Key point for me, the wisdom of the masses only applies if individuals behave responsibly.