Those who want government-run health care feel that the government, being so large, can provide the best
care. I have now seen a number of letters that imply that those who do not support government-run health care want some people to just do without health care at all. I can’t even imagine someone who wants anyone to be without health care, and to imply that they do shifts the debate to a nonsense-shouting match where it often ends up.
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As an analogy, let’s say someone proposes we have government-run clothing care because some private clothing shops only sell fur coats and jeweled purses. People are getting ripped off, and some people feel this is just not acceptable, so a government-run program is the way to go.
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We could say that some other people might think the government-run program would supply only the same khaki uniforms for everyone because that would be the cheapest way to keep everyone warm. These people would like to see more private options and would argue against the government-run program.
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To suggest that either group wants everyone in the same khaki uniforms or that anyone wants people to run around with no clothes at all is just adding heat—not light—to the debate. So, let’s think of some reasonable reforms with as many private options as possible—no khaki uniforms for everyone and no nudies please!
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2009.
