TANSTAAFL: Health care episode 82

Another day, another load of nonsense regarding single-payer health care systems. Nicholas Kristof can be counted on to regurgitate leftist canards like a drunken frat boy at a keg party.

I sent this to the Raleigh News & Observer:

Nicholas Kristof, in arguing for a single-payer health care system, explains that the current U.S. system is inefficient because 31 percent of spending goes to administrative costs. He, like many socialized health care advocates, is fixated on monetary costs.

As economist Tyler Cowen explained in a recent New York Times piece, when patients don't directly pay for health care they will demand extra services. Private insurers will spend money to monitor these services to make sure they are not allocated indiscriminately. A single-payer system would have to deal with the same pressures, and, as evidence from other countries shows, the government will require patients to wait for care or not provide it at all. So the costs still exist; they are just non-monetary and are borne by individual patients.

The "Rube Goldberg" plan

To the Raleigh News & Observer

The John Edwards plan for America's health care system consists of a single-payer initiative run by the government, and an apparent market initiative with plans provided by private companies. According to Mr. Edwards, "the idea is to determine whether Americans actually want a private insurer or whether they would rather have a government-run...single-payer plan." The details of this plan, however, make me think that this "contest" is rigged.

His plan would force everyone in America to be covered, force employers to fund employee plans in one fashion or another, and force health insurance companies to cover certain services and provide a "fair" price for those services. Calling this a market-based approach stretches the language beyond any Orwellian measure. Both supply and demand would be coerced into a "play" market within which market signals would be prevented from properly allocating scarce resources.

This plan would be better termed the "Rube Goldberg" health care plan - a complex system with the simple purpose of getting Mr. Edwards elected.

Mature and Confident

Frank Furedi at Spiked makes a great point regarding the reactions to the Virginia Tech shootings:

A mature society can accept the fact that, occasionally, human beings do very destructive things;a confident society does not have to search for special meaning in every act of human degradation. We will never really know why he did it. However, what we can do is talk to each other a little more, look out for each other, and not turn away when someone is hurting (emphasis mine).

A "confident society" does not view its members as potential psychopaths ready to go on a shooting rampage. Sadly, however, there are many who call for government action to treat law-abiding citizens as immature imps needing paternal observation. A government that treats its citizens as such is a government that citizens need protection against.

What happened at Virginia Tech was a tragedy, and we will probably never have a clear explanation as to why it occurred. But let's be confident enough not to have another PATRIOT ACT style overreaction.

Batty legislation

This is one of many reasons why health care socialism is so dangerous. If the government, in the name of public health, can legislate the type of bat baseball teams can use then absolutely nothing is off limits.

Low-fat diets and paternalism

I like John Tierney. He is a good writer with a strong libertarian bent. When he was on the NY Times op-ed page his articles were a refreshing break from the collectivist drivel that inhabits that paper. Now his science blog is daily stop on my blog surfing. I say all this because the questions he asks at the end of this blog post have me confused.

He asks "Why did the federal government ever think it could determine the best diet for everyone in America? And why should it keep on dispensing advice?" So my question to Tierney is why would he think that the federal government would do otherwise considering its paternalistic track record?

At least the dietary recommendations are just that, recommendations. The more onerous problem is that government thinks it can best determine our retirement, and taxes us for the "service."

More oil from old wells

Price signals actually work. Imagine that.

"The Two Metaverses"

[Inspired by this article]

"Today, under George W. Bush’s avatar, there are two metaverses, not one: One metaverse that does the work, another that reaps the reward. One metaverse that pays the Linden-dollar taxes, another metaverse that gets the tax breaks. One metaverse – the Residents - whose needs Linden has long forgotten, another metaverse – the Feted Inner Core - whose every wish is Linden’s command. One metaverse that is struggling to get by, another metaverse that can buy anything it wants, even Linden Labs."

"Two Americas" indeed

To the Raleigh News & Observer

According to [Chapel Hill Town Council member] Laurin Easthom, John Edwards is just another in a long line of liberal politicians who should not be criticized for their wealth. The "Two Americas," it seems, is divided not by wealth or class, but by differing ideologies. Those who believe in the heavy hand of government are allowed to partake in "conspicuous consumption." All others belong to "narrow-interest America."

When all you have is a hammer...

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. is again proposing the idea that the U.S. government institute a draft. Typical of a politician, Mr. Rangel's proposal to solve a political problem is for citizens to cede their freedom. The only way, it seems, to prevent Rangel and his cohorts from being tempted into starting unnecessary wars is for young people in this country to be treated as serfs.

There are less insidious means to prevent war. How about a constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds majority of both Houses of Congress to send troops overseas for any reason. Or we could hit them where it hurts with an amendment that would prevent any Congressman who voted to go to war from running for reelection for the duration of that war.

BTW, how is making it easier for government to mobilize a massive armed force a deterrent for war-making?

Why is it that a politician's solution to every problem is to abrogate the freedom of citizens?

Update: Here is Don Boudreaux's brilliant take on the matter.

The Curse of A-Rod

I don't believe in God, fate, or curses. I believe that everything has a logical explanation, even if that explanation may not be currently known. I scoff at praying, reliance on good luck charms, and silly rituals that are performed to bring about good luck. And it irritates me to no end when athletes thank God for success. Why even go out onto the field if God has somehow ordained you or your team to win?

Having said all that, I am beginning to believe that the New York Yankees are cursed, and that the source of this evil misfortune is their acquisition of Alex Rodriguez, arguably the best player in baseball, almost three years ago. That acquisition came only after the Boston Red Sox attempted in vain to get Rodriguez, and even hockey fans know what happened the last time the best player in baseball went from Boston to New York. I believe now that the deal to get Rodriguez was the true reversal of the Curse of the Bambino. The 2004 post-season collapse of the Yankees was the final nail in the Babe's coffin - and the first pin in the Yankees voodoo doll.

I know that the Yankees hadn't won the World Series before A-Rod joined the team, but at least in 2001 and 2003 there was some fight in the team. The 2004 series with Boston, in contrast, was disgusting to say the least, and the last two Octobers have been pitiful. I saw no fight in the team this past weekend against Detroit, no sense of urgency, no will to win. Detroit, on the other hand, looked like they were on a mission - the way the Yankees of the late '90s looked.

Getting rid of Joe Torre will not be the answer, especially if his replacement is, as is rumored, Lou Pinella - who is too much of a nut bag for my tastes. No, A-Rod must go because the team seems to be taking on his nonchalant attitude, which is not the proper mind-set for October. I know he has a no-trade clause in his contract, but someone needs to convince him that it would be best for all parties if he got out of New York.

One good thing that I saw this year was that Yankee management didn't get rid of some good young players when things were going rough early on. I look forward to watching Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera mature as players over the next several years as Derek Jeter's career winds down. And I sure hope the talk about Philip Hughes isn't just a lot of hype.

Curses aren't real (I keep repeating to myself), and the problems with the Yankees probably have more to do with team chemistry and starting pitching (or the lack thereof). But for a baseball fan and a fan of history, the Reversed Curse is a better story.

Wealth and poverty

To the Raleigh News & Observer

In her article “Rethinking welfare – again,” Felicia Kornbluh states that “[John K.] Galbraith and [Milton] Friedman knew that our economy creates wealth and poverty at the same time.” This is a seriously flawed view of the economy with which I am sure Milton Friedman would not agree.

The natural state of man is poverty, and only through production and trade does man create wealth. The “economy” creates nothing and is just an abstraction of individuals engaging in those activities. To truly fight poverty we must encourage new wealth creation, not confiscate existing wealth from its creators for redistribution.

The Master

Andres Segovia.

Signs, signs

The Town of Cary is getting a lot of flack from citizens over the new signs that are popping up all over town. There have been many letters written to the News & Observer complaining about how unsightly these signs are, and about how they are a big waste of the taxpayers' money.

One interesting theme that has appeared in more than a few letters is the complaint that the town is being hypocritical by putting up these garish signs while banning most signs for commercial purposes. Whether these letter writers understand it or not they are criticizing a fundamental aspect of the relationship between government and the governed.

Does anyone (other then libertarians) question the power of government to tax? If it is wrong for individuals to take money from others without consent, how can the government do it? Granted, with regards to the sign issue, we are not comparing apples to apples, but the point is that government has the power to do things that no individual or group is allowed to do. Why? Read the sign above and think about all that it implies.

Ostensibly, one of the functions of these signs is to warn drivers about upcoming traffic problems. If this is the case then the sign that is a block from my house is facing the wrong way! It can be viewed when traveling north on Kildaire Farm Road, but at this spot it is southbound traffic that tends to be the problem. Every evening at rush hour traffic flowing south backs up for blocks, turning the road into Kildaire Farm Cluster F*%$. Even if the sign was facing the right way, I don't see what good it would do. There aren't many alternate routes drivers could take once they are able to see the sign.

The only thing that has appeared on the sign near my house is a reminder to buckle up, and how they can make you.

Darth Earl Vader

This is just too funny!

Tarheels on ice

[N.B.: the writer of this article hates hockey.]

I HATE HOCKEY! Ok, ok, it's wonderful that the Carolina Hurricanes won Lord Stanley's Cup, but can we get over it? I mean, what is the big deal about winning the championship of a game that is played by Canadian ice skaters with bad hair cuts, and fewer teeth than a native of Appalachia? And why do we want a trophy whose name sounds like a piece of athletic equipment worn by a Member of Parliament? I say!

My ire has been stirred up because of all those damn twits with the Hurricanes' flags on their cars weeks after the finals have completed. Please don't tell me you are so hard up for a major league championship that you will accept it from a team made up of dorky-looking hosers who couldn't tell the difference between North Carolina BBQ and a Philly cheesesteak. Eh?

So why do I hate hockey so much? Because it is too much like soccer which is the athletic equivalent to John Tesh music - you're always expecting something to happen and it never does. It's extremely frustrating to watch a "sport" where the ball/puck continually changes hands/feet/stick (whatever!) for three hours until some canuk/Pele gets a lucky shot on goal. I'll bet TV viewers sleep through most of the goals scored, hoping to catch the "highlights" on SportsCenter. Any sport that has two columns for loses in a team's standings is asking to be ridiculed. I guess it's better than having four columns in the standings.

And what the hell is icing anyway? I thought this was a sport not a baking contest.

Sports pundits were claiming that fans wouldn't return to the game after last year's lockout. Ha! Sports fans are like dogs, it doesn't matter how long you are gone, when you come back they will piss all over the carpet with excitement that you have returned.

I guess this is the end result of the yankee invasion over the past decade and a half (damn carpetbaggers!). Let's just hope that this gets flushed out of our system by the time ACC basketball season starts.

New Orleans, Part Three - St. Bernard Parish

St. Bernard Parish, which lies southeast of New Orleans, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Driving through the area nine months after the fact the neighborhoods seem like ghost towns, and the occasional person you see looks defeated and tired. We stopped and talked to one lady who was outside her house getting rid of the weeds in her yard (she felt she had to do something). Her husband had died not long after the hurricane and she was not sure what she was going to do. As we were talking to her I could see the inside of her house - it was completely gutted.

Here are some pictures of the area.


I'll have more to say about the stupidity of the government trash pickup later.

My aunt lived in this area for 40 years and some of her children settled here as well. Here is a picture of her house. Luckily the X on the door had a zero in the lower quadrant.
Unlike other parts of the city there is no water line in this area, most likely because the water almost completely covered the houses. As proof here is the inside of my aunt's house


FEMA trailers are a common site throughout the city.

But there are some signs of life in the area. A common theme throughout is "We're coming back."
More to come.
Part 1 | Part 2

Environmentalism done right

Here's an article from the San Jose Mercury News about how two environmental groups are protecting the environment the right way - via the market process. The gist is that the groups are purchasing fishing permits from fisherman in an attempt to protect the seafloor off the California coast. Rod Fujita, a marine ecologist with Environmental Defense in Oakland, states is well by saying "People respond to economic incentives. The solution is not to blame or punish them but to provide incentives for stewardship, not exploitation."

HT Cantillon's Paradise

New Orleans, Part Two - The Line

I thought I would share some of the pictures I took while I was in New Orleans earlier this month. Sorry for the poor quality, but I forgot my digital camera and had to buy some disposable cameras and have the pictures burned to a CD.

Throughout the city there is dark line that marks a lot of the buildings and structures. That line, of course, is where the water stood for several days if not weeks. The picture below is looking north on Tulane Avenue outside of my uncle's restaurant (about a mile from downtown). You can see the line wrapping around the white building. You can't make it out in this picture but that line goes all the way down the street.

This next one is at the same place but turned around (facing south). My uncle's restaurant is the white building in the middle. You can definitely see the line starting on the right side of the picture go right down the street.

It is pretty incredible considering that this spot is about 4.5 miles from Lake Pontchartrain. The river is closer but, of course, the river wasn't a problem.

The next two are of a strip mall about half a mile from the lake. My wife and I used to live near here and this is where we would "make groceries" (grocery shopping to the non-New Orleanian). Here you can see the line going around the entire mall.

And finally, here are a couple of houses that are near the infamous 17th Street Canal levee breach.


More to come.
Part One

The games people played

As you can see in the side bar I am currently reading Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. It is a really good read, although a bit difficult at times because there is so much information. I thought I'd share some of the more interesting bits as I came across them. Here is something that really stood out as a bit strange:

In village games, players with hands tied behind them competed to kill a cat nailed to a post by battering it to death with their heads, at the risk of cheeks ripped open or eyes scratched out by the frantic animal's claws. Trumpets enhanced the excitement. Or a pig enclosed in a wide pen was chased by men with clubs to the laughter of spectators as he ran squealing from the blows until beaten lifeless. Accustomed in their own lives to physical hardship and injury, medieval men and women were not necessarily repelled by the spectacle of pain, but rather enjoyed it. The citizens of Mons bought a condemned criminal from a neighboring town so that they should have the pleasure of seeing him quartered. It may be that the untender medieval infancy produced adults who valued others no more than they had been valued in their own formative years.

Wow! And people think Grand Theft Auto is morally degrading!

That last part about the "untender medieval infancy" refers to something mentioned previously in the book about how children were of little concern to medieval society. I'll talk about that some other time.

Re: More wage bunkum

The News & Observer had a letter to the editor today referencing this article of mine. The writer agreed with my point about the need for increased production and used it to justify replacing the income tax with a consumption tax. His basic point being that such a tax will "enhance economic growth." While I am glad he used my argument to justify the need for economic growth, I don't agree with him that a consumption tax will accomplish that goal.

There are economic reasons why a consumption tax will end up being a tax on incomes, thereby negating some of the benefits that the letter writer claims. But the bigger problem I see with his proposal is that it is, as he claims, revenue-neutral. Why would we want it to be revenue-neutral? Why would we want the government to continue to confiscate so much from the private economy?

The issue that we should be addressing is not the type of taxation, but the level of taxation. The more the government takes out of the private economy the more economic growth is hindered, and changing to a "revenue-neutral" consumption tax would do nothing to solve this problem. The government would continue to consume economic resources that would be better left in private hands.

Calling the consumption tax the "Fair Tax" is silly because it would end up not being fair. We are still dealing with politicians who would do their level best to make sure certain products and certain constituents would be exempt from the tax. I can see the debate in Congress now over taxing two ply toilet paper higher than single ply because the rich use more plies.

If I had to choose between a progressive income tax with a small limited government and a consumption tax with the current behemoth, I would choose the former.