Nationalized Health Care Part 2
August 21, 2009 No CommentsThe debate on obesity being a burden to our nations health care system is increasingly taking front and center on the national stage. I recently added the words obesity into my google alert’s and have since been bombarded with articles on the topic.
Dr. Clyde Yancy of the American Heart Association states, “Obesity is depleting our nation’s pocketbook and devastating the health and wellness of millions of Americans, left unaddressed, the obesity epidemic will undermine our country’s health, reduce our productivity and threaten our economic security.”
Our eating habits are becoming a HOT political issue and illustrates how this politicization causes social conflicts. Some people without a weight problem resent paying for the dietary choices of the obese and recommend the government to intervene in the habits of the gluttonous.
The desire to control the behavior of others is a byproduct of a welfare/socialist state of mind. How many times have we heard the cries for government intervention to curb the impact on society from drug abuse or smoking etc. When the state is expected to regulate the lives of others by necessity they have to become more invasive into our day to day lives to control what they determine are destructive and risky behaviors. Many people may be for this intrusion because they think otherwise they will be forced to pay for it. In doing so they will unwittingly allow government to regulate what we eat, what drugs we take and even our sexual behavior if it’s perceived as risky behavior. So I think that the same proponents will be just fine with this intrusion until it interferes their personal behaviors.
We need to be very careful what we ask for and would do well to consider the word’s of Mises;
“If one abolishes man’s freedom to determine his own consumption, one takes all freedoms away. The naive advocates of government interference with consumption delude themselves when they neglect what they disdainfully call the philosophical aspect of the problem. They unwittingly support the case of censorship, inquisition, religious intolerance, and the persecution of dissenters.”
Persecution of dissenters was on display recently when Barney Frank at a town hall meeting had a question from a democrat woman in the audience. Please play video.
I think it is significant that Barney Frank illustrated precisely the point of Persecution of a dissenter. Additionally I think it’s noteworthy that he never answered the question. Her only question was why do you support it.
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