I think I mentioned this last month, and yesterday the Club For Growth was slated to unveil its winner of the first of probably many “Comrade of the Month” awards. I haven’t seen the winner yet though.
According to their blog, they had eighty nominees but the one I nominated made the cut for the final five. I’d have to say she’s an underdog but as far as I know you can still cast your vote here. Rep. Betty McCollum is the woman who is seeking to make health care a Constitutional right.
The Club was even kind enough to reprint some of what I wrote in my nomination, which was quite nice of them.
I’m sure some people reading this are saying, “but health care should be a right, isn’t that part of the right to life?” Of course, many of them don’t mind denying the right to life to the unborn in the womb, but that’s a post for another day.
Here’s the problem with that contention. If we decide health care is a right, then who becomes the protector of that right? The second section in the proposed amendment provides the answer:
The Congress shall have power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.
In other words, what Barack Obama calls a “negative right” becomes a positive right – the government SHALL have power. If they say you should carry health insurance, they have the power to compel you to do so. If they say that certain foods or food products are unhealthy, they can ban their use. If there is rationing of care required, they get to decide who will receive care – tough tiddly-winks if you’re elderly, a smoker, or obese. In those cases, you’ve forfeited your right to life due to your bad habits or the fact you’ve lived a certain number of years.
The system we have is far from perfect; however, it’s still the best system in the world as evidenced by the number of people who come to America seeking treatment. Yes, most of them are wealthy and can afford to make the trip but Americans also open their hearts and wallets on numerous occasions to the less fortunate around the world.
It would be a mistake to adopt a system similar to that of Canada or Great Britain. Unfortunately, when health care is “free” it becomes much more costly for everyone. A better solution would be to free up the market we have presently by eliminating red tape and regulation.
