Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper
Originally posted by: NaughtyGeek
If you want to be a socialist, move to a socialist country. Those of us who work for a living are tired of you bilking us out of what's ours in the name of "the greater good." This country wasn't founded on the principles of caring for everyone, it was founded on keeping what's rightfully yours. Make whatever stink you want about roads or whatever other program you want to try to back up your position but understand it's baseless and irrelevant. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you want a socialist utopia head on over to your favorite socialist country. We here are happy to work for what we feel we need. Thanks and merry Christmas.
Who is John Galt?
Are you certain that you want to live in a truly laissez-faire society? How would you feel about having to pay for every little thing you do, such as driving down a road? How would the nation's utility infrastructure operate if private utility companies couldn't use eminent domain to get easements to lay gas pipes and power wires across people's property? What if the layout of the nation's roads were retarded and inefficient as a result of private property owners refusing to allow easements or to sell easements at reasonable prices?
Do you really think that all forms and degrees of socialism are necessarily evil and bad? Is it possible that sometimes socialist policies might prove to be in one's rational selfish interest?
In reality, although we are individuals and although there is no such thing as a collective mind or consciousness, we don't live on islands and one man's actions can have an effect on another man's well being and the amount of resources available (land, water, air, etc.) are limited.
In the case of health care, it really isn't very amenable to perfect competition. Purchasing health care isn't like buying a widget where you can do price comparisons and take your time shopping. Also, oftentimes the care needed will be far beyond what any one individual could afford. I actually think that a rational socialized medicine would prove to be in an individual's rational selfish interest simply because of the efficiency savings. The mongrel semi-socialized semi-privatized system that we have right now certainly isn't working. Of course, as with anything else in economics, a great many other factors come into play that would affect the cost, efficiency, and efficacy of the program, such as the overall level of rationality of the nation's populace.