"Universal Health Care"

Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises jotted down some notes back in 1940, writing that the great proponents of classical liberalism before him had overestimated the ability of the masses to form independent judgments. As I talk to people every week about "universal health care," the more I've come to realize that Mises was right. People don't understand health care, economics, the history of U.S. health care, and why it's in bad shape. Unfortunately, most of the people I talk to want Hillary's cranky plan or something like it.

Anytime a good or service is "socialized," or taken over by the government, the inevitable occurs: shortages, long lines, lower quality, higher taxes, and eventually, rationing. The ultimate socialized medical system was the former Soviet Union. Here was a system where 36% of the hospitals did not have hot running water, cats would roam the halls, gloves would fall off the surgeons during surgery because they had been used over and over again, and the doctors used to quip: "Look, they pretend they are paying us, and we pretend we are helping them."

All any American needs to do is research the subject, and it wouldn't take more than a few hours. Read some articles, a policy analysis or two, and that person would come to the same conclusion: no "universal health care" for me! Remember, markets work, central planning doesn't.