... from yours truly: A little radical thought to get to the root of the issue.
I'm bumping this post because Dave Lull has sent along a piece that bears on it: Healthcare Con.
Also from Dave, this may help those who reflexively equate libertarianism with the right: Alliance of the Libertarian Left.
See also this.
To add to your keen insights into what is going on with "health care" legislation, Frank, I would argue that "mutual aid and philanthropy"--while laudable qualities in any society--are God-given aspects of humanity, and as such ought not be imposed as requirements by governments (local, state, federal, or international). In the most recent legislative circus performance in Washington DC, "mutual aid and philanthropy" were the ideas presumably underwriting the undisclosed and complicated details of the legislation. However, as Judge Andrew Napolitano pointed out in a speech I heard him give on April 15, 2010, in Pensacola, Florida, the federal government has no constitutional authority to enact any such "mutual aid and philanthropy," even if the government attempts to characterize it as necessary and laudable, for the good of the American citizens who otherwise have no access to "health care." (That greater good argument, by the way, is a dangerous absurdity.) At any rate, the U.S. constitution ought to have been the guiding principle. Instead, it was ignored, and we now wait to see if it remains a viable, useful document and concept in American society. After all, as Napolitano argued, if the federal government can force Americans to embrace "mutual aid and philanthropy," qualities of humanity that come from God rather than government, God only knows the limits of its unconstitutional grasp. Like Judge Napolitano and many other sensible Americans who believe the U.S. constitution and the country are in grave danger (from Democrats, Republicans, and others), I fear the worst. God help us all.
ReplyDeletePostscript to my previous posting:
ReplyDeleteHere is required reading -- LIES THE GOVERNMENT TOLD YOU: MYTH, POWER, AND DECEPTION IN AMERICAN HISTORY by Judge Andrew Napolitano. Read it and become educated, outraged, and motivated.