On Health Care

Okay, now, I'm sure you all know that as a pretty hardcore libertarian, I am against the government providing health care. My reasoning is simple. I know there are many people who are uninsured, and many more who are under-insured. I know people are suffering out there, and this health care delivery system is a mess.

However, I do not believe government will solve the problem. I believe that experience with government has shown that government solutions do help some people, but almost always at a cost greater than the problem they solve, and always have unforeseen circumstances that in retrospect often make matters worse.

There are few exceptions to this general rule.

Also, I feel that since all wealth that the government gets it gets through forced confiscation, it is by its very nature a thing of evil, and yes I mean evil in the Biblical sense, as in Powers and Principalities and as believers we should be VERY wary of its use. Government is financed by legalizing theft. That should bother every Christian.

Remember all men are evil, to a some extent, and need redemption, so it makes sense that any political unit we would come up with would be at least a little bit evil. Government, however, even if evil, at this time in human history at least is an evil that we kinda can't live without in one manner or another.

Government is a little bit of evil to protect us from worse evil. If we did not have government, people not being ready for anarchocapitalism, that would lead to chaos.
This is why I agree with the sentiment expressed by Thomas Paine,

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."

Amen.

Now that being the case, I think a fine metaphor is from the Magickal Arts, something I have had a bit of experience with. I think of it as summoning a demon that one must bind to one's bidding -- but it is NOT a good thing, not a thing that loves, but a thing you hire to use force against those who would use force against you. You must give it some power, but too much and it will begin to RULE YOU.

It's only a metaphor, I'm not saying anyone in Congress is demonic.

It's only a metaphor because thank God that our government is US -- at every level it's people.

However, it's a good one because would you let a DEMON take care of grandma? Even a bound one? Of course not. Okay I know arguing from metaphor is a crap argument -- I'm not making an argument here just providing you with how I feel and giving you a sense of my passion about the nature of government and how delicate a free society is.

I feel essentially that in that it is fed on evil, on legalized theft, and it is force -- nothing government does involves voluntary action, since these two things are true, I only want it used for those things that force is absolutely necessary.

That's not a whole lot. I end up with the basic libertarian/classical liberal few.

Police, Military, and the courts.

Maybe a few things that might be argued to be as natural monopolies, like the roads.

Not health care. Not a whole lot of other things either, and in health care, I would get the government OUT of it before I get the government more into it.

Okay, that's the beginning of my feelings about the nature and purpose of government and how it relates to health care.

To this someone may ask, well then how would you solve the problem of health care? Answer: I can't. Neither can the president. Neither can the congress. Neither can any government. It will, by its very nature, make matters worse. We haven't gotten here without government involved in health care more and more as it's gotten worse, and I see no evidence that even implies that government can alleviate any of the issues involving health care without either creating a monstrosity that will be worse than the mixed economy mess we have now, or even if it's not, it will inevitably create far worse problems in other areas.

However, this should never have BEEN a problem if we as Believers in a loving God were not falling down on the job. Why is anyone in need? What are we not doing for the people who need it?

It is time we seize this from the government and as a Church, in our synagogues, in our Mosques and around our Pagan circles, we must meet to care for people or we are liars in the eyes of Providence. To that end feel free to use me or hit my myspace page and we'll do what we can to help.

If we can't do it ourselves, we should give to organizations who will do it for us -- there are plenty of them. Their coffers should be overflowing if we are indeed a nation of God. We have been derelict in our duty and we have allowed a damned DEMON to take up the job for us. We should be ashamed of ourselves.