You hit the nail on the head. One of my issues with big government is that it sees everything as an opportunity to gain power and control, both left and right. Used to be conservatives really wanted less government interference in people's lives. Now all they want is to force their ideas down people's throats. The left has always been all about big brother knowing better than you and telling you what to do for your own good. We need to understand what the founding fathers fought for and see how we can put their ideas in to effect in today's society.
I'm not sure I agree with the drug price thing. I think the high cost of drugs is what gives incentive for research and development of great new drugs. I'm all for the free market when it comes to drugs. I don't like paying that much but it is what it is. What sucks is that Americans pay more than any other developed country as a percent of GDP for healthcare; the American government, who has this odd hybrid healthcare system pays more than any other country as a percent of GDP and we don't even have single payer. And we get way less than any other country. We don't even go to the doctor as much as other countries. But we have more tests done. Because it's a giant cash grab. It's not about making people well or healing, it's a for profit industry here in the states.
I understand your concern LaSalle. There needs to be incentive for pharmaceuticals to do the research and development that generates new drugs. Much research fails to produce a viable product and it can cost as much to fail as it does to succeed. Also only rarely are there more than one or two effective drugs for serious illnesses. There needs to be a balance in the incentive. Again I think openness will help. Why do people in foreign countries pay so much less? Is it because they are skirting their burden of development or because the US allows price gouging? I don't have a clue but it's something we need to discover and correct.
More documentation about the folly of government supplied and mandated health care.....including the single payer system. //reason.com/r/16Wz Government involvement in health care drives prices up.
Our government already pays way more than any other civilized country as a percentage of GDP and we don't have single payer and a lot of these countries that pay less have single payer. Something isn't right about that.
Agree that something isn't right. Could it be the government couldn't manage its way out of a wet paper bag? As Pride noted cost isn't everything. If you read the article you would see that the wait for basic services can be months. Why because it's rationed to manage cost. Years of experience show that fair and open competition is what truly reduces cost for service and improves a product or service.
And if you talk to those people from those countries they wouldn't trade their system for ours. It's a quagmire.
