Comments on: No one should die, but everyone will anyway http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/ David Schrag examines his navel and the world around it Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:57:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: david http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-1659 david Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:44:32 +0000 http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/#comment-1659 Anna Sarah, if we are prepared to try with all our might to ensure that everyone has adequate everything, then the health care reform opponents are right: Obamacare is just one step toward socialism or communism. A free-enterprise society can provide a safety net, but not a safety hotel. Fortunately, when it comes to health care we should be able to provide far more value than we currently do at not much more cost. We can only do that, though, if we are willing to divert some of the money that is spent on the sickest people at the end of their lives and spend it instead on basic treatments for more people. Whether that is accomplished through incentives or mandates doesn't matter all that much to me. Anna Sarah, if we are prepared to try with all our might to ensure that everyone has adequate everything, then the health care reform opponents are right: Obamacare is just one step toward socialism or communism. A free-enterprise society can provide a safety net, but not a safety hotel. Fortunately, when it comes to health care we should be able to provide far more value than we currently do at not much more cost. We can only do that, though, if we are willing to divert some of the money that is spent on the sickest people at the end of their lives and spend it instead on basic treatments for more people. Whether that is accomplished through incentives or mandates doesn’t matter all that much to me.

]]> By: Anna Sarah http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-1658 Anna Sarah Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:29:00 +0000 http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/#comment-1658 Well, you're right: no one should die because they can't afford health care, nutritious food, clean water, adequate housing, or a safe neighborhood either. However, the fact that just because US citizenship doesn't guarantee the supply of all of those necessities does not make it right. Rather, isn't it something that we ought to protest against and attempt with all of our might to change? And yes, health care rationing, such as $500 treatments that can extend life 50 years vs. horribly expensive treatments that have a less dramatic effect, DEFINITELY needs to be part of the discussion (and no, it is not reasonable to expect someone else to subsidize that sort of extravagance!). As for the "moral hazards" of which you speak, these are interesting points and raise good questions. Yes, people need to get support for addressing and breaking their addictions, but perhaps there ought to be something like a health care rationing or cut-off point because, ultimately, we can't utterly control people and their outcomes or journeys, and some people perhaps have to hit rock bottom to come back up -- or not. And yes, perhaps we should consider establishing mandatory insurance against Ponzi schemes, email fraud, and insider trading (those are some issues that I haven't considered as much, though...). Keep on blogging, David! Well, you’re right: no one should die because they can’t afford health care, nutritious food, clean water, adequate housing, or a safe neighborhood either. However, the fact that just because US citizenship doesn’t guarantee the supply of all of those necessities does not make it right. Rather, isn’t it something that we ought to protest against and attempt with all of our might to change? And yes, health care rationing, such as $500 treatments that can extend life 50 years vs. horribly expensive treatments that have a less dramatic effect, DEFINITELY needs to be part of the discussion (and no, it is not reasonable to expect someone else to subsidize that sort of extravagance!).

As for the “moral hazards” of which you speak, these are interesting points and raise good questions. Yes, people need to get support for addressing and breaking their addictions, but perhaps there ought to be something like a health care rationing or cut-off point because, ultimately, we can’t utterly control people and their outcomes or journeys, and some people perhaps have to hit rock bottom to come back up — or not. And yes, perhaps we should consider establishing mandatory insurance against Ponzi schemes, email fraud, and insider trading (those are some issues that I haven’t considered as much, though…).

Keep on blogging, David!

]]> By: Melissa http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-1657 Melissa Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:09:23 +0000 http://davidschrag.com/schrug/2009/09/03/no-one-should-die-but-everyone-will-anyway/#comment-1657 Posting your link to my cut/paste FB message today was the BEST way to get me to discover your blog. Thank you for giving me this link and something good to read (and my boss will hate you further b/c I'm "wasting" my time online)! I'm bookmarking you now. Posting your link to my cut/paste FB message today was the BEST way to get me to discover your blog. Thank you for giving me this link and something good to read (and my boss will hate you further b/c I’m “wasting” my time online)!
I’m bookmarking you now.

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