The most socialistic sectors in society, that their
services are not individual or parental or civil society responsibility but
only state responsibility, are (1) education and (2) healthcare (HC). Free
education until college, free HC until surgery and medicines. People can spend
on nice gadgets and cool appliances, cars and travels, etc but they should not
spend for their children's education and their own family's HC. Education and HC are
rights and entitlements, not personal or household responsibility. Now more
sectors are added to entitlements like housing, irrigation, etc. Lousy
socialistic thinking.
Peter Wallace wrote this last February 6:
"Government
health services must be completely free. This can be done if we continue to
increase public spending on health. The funds are available, a historic budget
of P172 billion this year, and growing from sin taxes."
I wrote to him:
Hi Peter, You have
become a health socialist, inconsistent with your advocacy for more market reforms. Health is not just
a right. It is a responsibility. Personal, household, civil society
responsibility, more than state responsibility. If people have the money to buy
alcohol, fatty food, tobacco, lots of food and be sedentary, expensive bicycles
for steep downhill rides, etc. -- why can't they also buy private health
insurance? Why should healthcare be free for all? Come on. Thank you.
Meanwhile, I like this illustration.
I think a good compromise is that public HC is universal for infectious, contagious and communicable diseases. Like malaria, polio, and now corona virus. For non-infectious, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, hypertension, stroke, etc., it should be private health insurance plus support by local governments and private charities. Then people can say that HC is mainly personal and parental responsibility, not just state responsibility and an entitlement.
------------------See also:
Cicero, welfarism and fiscal irresponsibility, August 11, 2016
Welfarism 32, On forcing restaurants to give their excess food to charities, July 27, 2016
Welfarism 33, Janitor turned lawyer, self-reliance vs welfare-dependence, May 05, 2017
Welfarism 34, Larry Reed on poverty and self-reliance, December 07, 2019
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