OS Card and Socialism

Orson Scott Card writes a column for Rhinoceros Times that I generally enjoy. Before the 2004 election he was very sensible about the issues. I like his writing. He wrote Ender’s Game and other books that I really enjoy. He is democrat and I have liked learning about his ideas. Not as fired up as Senator Zell Miller, who gave a fantastic speech at the Republican convention, but I like him and appreciate his common sense and lack of fanatical partisanship. In December Card wrote an article about healthcare that I thought was annoying and terrible. It was one of the reasons I started my anti-socialist blog. He is all wrong so I’d like to counter it with good ideas and explanation of why his plan won’t work and shouldn’t work. I think socialism is designed for intentional failure. It’s goal is to make people miserable. The system cannot create, only destroy – and those that try to institute it are tyrants trying to control other people while telling them it is for their own good.

I have to plug Bastiat’s book, The Law, again since it is such a clear explanation of socialism or legal plunder as he calls it.

First off, I am not sure what Orson’s goal for healthcare is exactly. His title says he wants healthcare to be fair, excellent and affordable. Pretty generic and relative terms. That could mean about anything. Fair? What is fair? In this world nothing is fair. Excellent? We have the best health care ever. We are in an era of great and miraculous improvements. Healthcare has never been better in this country (or anywhere else). This healthcare discussion is limited to the United States since socialism on international scale is, for the present, unpalatable to Americans. If the education system doesn’t improve, I doubt that trend will continue but for now we are just talking about our country. Which country has the best healthcare in the world? Ours is the fairest, best and cheapest. If Card argues in relative terms than my answer is that we the best so I see little to complain about.

But I can do better if I look at the detail of his article. You should read it for yourself to know what I am talking about. It is on Ornery.org. His other site Hatrack.com is great too. (Yes, I am still a fan)

Card’s first question is, “How did the American health care system become so expensive?” I don’t think it is expensive so I do not accept the premise on which his question is based. I spend more money on vehicles every month. (I have been blessed with healthy children so perhaps I don’t see the full impact that others have but I think most people are closer to my position.) If the idea is to save money then why are thinking of socializing medicine instead of transportation? I would rather have the government messing with my car than my body. Of course, if they don’t keep their hands off both then it will eventually come to blows. Of course socializing cars would be insane. (A chicken in every pot and a car in every driveway) But I think socialism is crazy, and if not crazy then diabolical.

Then Card asks, “How did our health care, which used to be between us and our doctor, fall under the control of executives at huge insurance corporations whose first concern is profit, not health?”

The biggest contributor here to the problem is once again - government. The reason insurance corporations and HMOs are involved is our tax system. Income tax is not a good idea. Medical benefits have to handled by HMO or other organization so that they are not considered payment to the employee which must be taxed by the IRS. If we get rid of income tax and repeal the 16th Amendment then most of this problem will go away. Then your company can drop medical coverage, hopefully pay you a little more and you write a check to the physician when you get sick. Very simple and cost effective. The problem is government intervention. The solution is less government intervention, not more.

Card gives an story of how when he was young “"calling the doctor" meant that he'd come over to our house and stick an icy stethoscope on the chest of a sick kid while worried parents fretted in the background.”

I would bet that if and when that was true “calling the doctor” was rare because people didn’t expect to be free from all ills. Parents and their friends knew how to identify illness and deal with it. When they had to call him they likely paid the doctor in cash on the spot. Why does he propose socialized medicine (Hillarycare) if his ideal is a friendly neighborhood doctor?

Our healthcare is better now and people get treated for illnesses that likely would have been ignored previously. We both agree "that health care is astonishingly, fantastically better than it was in those days. "