tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post7036898116984137628..comments2024-03-13T21:26:03.011-07:00Comments on Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher: Free Market and RationingDarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-54126444582427758642009-09-05T10:34:05.138-07:002009-09-05T10:34:05.138-07:00The main problem is, though, that health care is n...The main problem is, though, that health care is not a free market. Prices are meant to act as signals; that doesn't happen here. If Joe can't afford health care, he goes to the ER, which, by law must treat him. He can't afford it, so the cost is folded into Bill's health care cost, so he's paying for Joe anyway. Then, because health care costs are inflated due to people like Joe, it makes it less likely that Joe will be able to afford it in the future.maxutilshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11294262473781967372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-40801012562966868042009-09-04T14:35:26.601-07:002009-09-04T14:35:26.601-07:00I've "grown up" in the United States...I've "grown up" in the United States, but I don't believe that makes me an "expert" on US history, democracy, free market capitalism, or a myriad of other issues. Were there fifty million other experts who grew up under a Marxist-socialist dictatorship, which is what the USSR was. Unless she grew up on hippie commune or Israeli kibbutz, she didn't grow up under communism.<br /><br />I grew up in farm country surrounded by cows, and I knew many farmers well, but I don't consider myself an expert on animal husbandry.<br /><br />I have read Atlas Shrugged, and if you know anything of me - which you don't - from my commentary over time, you'd know that I read with an open mind and teach my students to do it as well. That's the essence of reading to me.<br /><br />Clearly, your inability to discern what you read blinds you to the essence of fiction and literature.<br /><br />But thanks for trying.mmazenkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06602797515366983639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-50370365704428997482009-09-04T08:42:31.356-07:002009-09-04T08:42:31.356-07:00i completely agree with this excerpt. and to anony...i completely agree with this excerpt. and to anonymous -- no one would say that people don't deserve health care. but it is unjust to take benefits away from those who can afford better. so, to use examples from the paragraph - it would be unjust to force Bill to eat only hamburgers instead of steak just because Joe can't afford steak, also. Bill should be allowed to use his means as he chooses -- and he should be allowed to have more means than other people. or is it criminal to be richer than someone else?<br /><br />~maia-orualAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-9219584094864172582009-09-04T05:53:49.649-07:002009-09-04T05:53:49.649-07:00Um, Ayn Rand grew up in the Soviet Union, under co...Um, Ayn Rand grew up in the Soviet Union, under communism (which is just another form of socialism). She was an EXPERT on socialism, and its evils.<br /><br />Mr. mazenko, perhaps you should really try to read Atlas Shrugged (with an open mind, if that is at all possible) and see how she described our current government in perfect clarity, only she was 50 years ahead of time.<br /><br />chicopantherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-28349900638555021852009-09-02T20:43:52.492-07:002009-09-02T20:43:52.492-07:00Yea, but, Ayn Rand? A long-winded, albeit enterta...Yea, but, Ayn Rand? A long-winded, albeit entertaining, novelist? Yes. An authority on socialism, or anything really? No.mmazenkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06602797515366983639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-69001440054653237392009-09-02T20:33:41.354-07:002009-09-02T20:33:41.354-07:00Um, I have *no* stinkin' clue what is in store...Um, I have *no* stinkin' clue what is in store for my non-verbal autistic child when he grows up. None. That doesn't make it Uncle Sam's job to take care of my kid.<br /><br />I do admit to a few mixed feelings, though, as charity through a local church would in no way cover everything that my child would need help with as an adult, and I probably am not going to live forever. Then again, it may well be governmental intervention that prevents good charities from raising proper funds. People figure they already gave through their taxes and are less likely to give in a truly charitable way (if you know what I mean).Happy Elf Mom (Christine)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15047347624037697311noreply@blogger.com