John Stossel's new show is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. This week he had John Mackey, the Whole Foods CEO who wrote an Op Ed on the health care debate and how they handle things in a more free market way at Whole Foods. What amazes me is how this whole debate has been framed now to the point where the obvious advantages of a free market are completely ignored and the argument is over what level of socialism we need. Mackey understands this and articulates it well. It's really shocking that he is a successful business man who employs a whole bunch of people doing his part to make life in this country better.

Here is what we seem to have in the health care debate. There are people who don't want to pay for their healthcare. Some seem to think that the government has an endless supply of money that doesn't come from the people of this country, it's just there. So they want the government to pay for things they have a hard time affording. I heard someone call into a radio program saying they have no problem paying the $20 co pay to go visit the doctor, but as soon as there are tests and things that need to be done, it costs hundreds or even over a thousand dollars. They can't afford it and don't feel they should have to pay for it. They don't seem to even realize that their company paid insurance is a part of their compensation in one way or another. They expect the entire cost of running the medical facilities, buying the supplies and equipment, paying the salaries of the nurses and doctors and all other employees to be covered with $20 co pays. There are others who understand that the money has to come from somewhere, but they feel that those who have been more fortunate should foot the bill, all of us pooling our resources to pay for health care for everyone in the country. The biggest problem with this is the structure they want to use to get this done puts government in control through regulation or actually running it and it destroys competition.

Why not have government run it or regulate it heavily? For starters, every single time government gets involved in anything there is a ton of waste and corruption. This will never change. Politicians in charge of money try to get their hands on as much of it as they can to buy political favor. I have yet to have anyone give me one example of a government run program that is not full of waste and corruption. Secondly, government thwarts competition both running up cost and reducing innovation. If I hear one more politician who has never run a business or profit center try to tell me that we need government because it provides competition I'm going to scream. Government doesn't have to play by the same rules as private sector businesses, they don't have to be profitable, they can continue to run up cost and waste money and no private business can compete with them over the long haul. Only a free market where anyone can start a business without heavy regulation and run it the way they want will provide true competition and reduced cost.

So what should happen? People who want a free market and lack of government involvement are painted as heartless and greedy these days. They just want to keep their money and don't care if people die because they can't afford healthcare. Nothing could be further from the truth. NOBODY wants people dying in the streets in this country. But socialism in any form will reduce the standard of living in this country overall and could bankrupt it. Insurance regulation should be reduced to the very bare minimum. I should not have to buy insurance that covers hair plugs and anyone should be able to start an insurance company with whatever innovative coverage and cost they want to include and sell it in any state. This will immediately drop the cost to where it belongs. Healthcare providers should be free to compete as well. Cheaper doc in a box facilities competing with higher end facilities should be free to run their businesses as they see fit and the price of healthcare will find it's level. Employer based insurance should be eliminated. It should have never been created. This is another government regulation that just created huge problems. People should own their coverage, so if they lose a job, they still have their insurance. It stays with them and we eliminate the problem of pre-existing conditions. Now what about those who cannot afford insurance or the healthcare they need? Ideally we should have a privately run and privately funded welfare system to cover those who cannot provide for their own food, shelter, and healthcare. We want everyone to have healthcare, but we also don't want them starving or homeless. Nobody should live that way in this country. To throw together a private system for welfare, basically charities raising and handling all the money would be impossible at least right away. Maybe it could be done over the long haul. So a single government welfare system that provides for things like insurance premiums, food, and shelter for those making under a certain amount of money makes sense to cover what private charities cannot. This could easily be done and tracked so as soon as they are making enough to pay these things, the government recovers some or all of their individual benefits paid out from their taxes.

If we keep letting government regulate and run things, we'll ruin all business in this country and reduce the standard of living for everyone except those politicians in the ruling class. We all want a great standard of living and for everyone to be taken care of. We are not on that path and this debate needs to be re-framed.



Todd Kmiec
Todd Kmiec & Associates
todd@toddkmiec.com