Socialism

http://haloscan.com/tb/kender/5026140715125883820

At the library last week a fellow told me that the market could not determine everything, unless the government controlled the market. Of course the fellow was from Canada, where they have been fed socialist propaganda for the last 20 to 30 years. Canada, the land where women give birth in toilets because the line for midwives is too long.

If you don't believe in markets, which are voluntary associations by free agents in their mutual self interest, the alternative is coercion. In California, medical corporations are coerced, if they work in emergency rooms. They are required to treat people even if the patient is unable to pay. Of course, they pass the costs on to the few people with the ability to pay who can't postpone their visit. That passes the coercion on to those unfortunates who can not resist, at a moment of weakness.

What would be the alternative? A market based system would use discriminatory pricing, to provide various grades of medical care in different qualities for different amounts of money, rather like alternative seats at a baseball game. Those who can't pay could still be treated at the basic level, but as a charity case, with the doctors/nurses/pharmacists/corporations compensated by charitable organizations. Those who pay only small amounts would get dormitory care with generic drugs, and ugly and grumpy nurses. Those who can pay full fare would be glad to pay rather more if they got up to date designer drugs, private rooms, and prettier nurses.