We're Asking The Wrong Questions

To date, I've refrained from posting anything about the ongoing health care debate, largely because I felt that I had little or nothing to add.  It seems that the hundreds of thousands of gallons of ink spilled, and the billions of electrons sacrificed for the topic already have said all there is to say.

However, a thought occurred to me the other day that I've not heard anyone express on either side of the health care debate.  It occurs to me that when it comes to the American health care system, we're asking the wrong questions.

The first question we should ask is this:  "Where does the Constitution grant the Federal government authority to do *anything* about health care?"  State governments can (and generally should) do whatever they like about the topic, but with the exception of insurance portability (being able to buy health insurance across state lines,)  Federal government has no authority to be involved in health care. Of course, when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was asked that simple question, her answer was (and I quote), "Are you serious?"  (Full story, with audio, can be found here.)

This brazen violation of the enumerated powers clause should be enough to kill any health care debate on the spot.  Sadly, however, the Constitution poses no threat to our current form of government.

So, moving past the unconstitutionality of the whole thing, let's take this sentence, which everyone can agree on:

"Everyone should have affordable health care."

We can all agree on that.  (Everyone should have ponies and unicorns, too, but that's another topic entirely.)  Let's decipher that statement a bit, though.  For the Left, "everyone" really means "everyone who falls outside our definition of 'rich' " and "affordable" is a code word for "free."

I would suggest that we begin asking the right questions, then, by asking this:  who is ultimately responsible for an individual's health?  By extension, who is ultimately responsible to pay for an individual's health care?

More will follow on this topic later.  As a teaser, though, here's a little food for thought:

What is the minimum acceptable level of health care?

How much have programs like Medicaid and Medicare driven up insurance costs by removing literally millions of people from the insurance pool?


And that's life, From My Position.