Rand Paul is a candidate for US Senate from Kentucky and he spoke at a fundraiser last night in New York City to a large enthusiastic crowd. He was joined by Peter Schiff (will he run for Senate too?), Adam Kokesh a candidate for Congress from New Mexico and Congressman Scott Garrett (NJ). If anyone was worried (or hoping?) that the Ron Paul Revolution was diminishing you should be thoroughly disabused of that notion.
All the speakers were inspiring but I want to talk about Rand Paul and some things he said about Health Care. I certainly won’t do justice but here is my account. Here is the video .
Rand, like his dad, is a doctor. He knows something about health care. Barak Obama and most of the politicians shaping our health future do not. He said that one reason health care costs are too high is that there is little or no price competition. That may come as a surprise to the politicians and bureaucrats. He also suggested that we need insurance that looks more like term life insurance, that is, you buy a extended multi-year policy with prices set out when you buy it so you can’t be blackmailed later because you happen to get sick. In addition there should be high deductibles to encourage sensible consumption of health services and further encourage price competition.
That’s a great idea in a sea of great ideas that have been out there all along. For example, interstate competition for health insurance and allowing individuals a tax deduction for health insurance. Linking health insurance to your job was a bad idea when government’s war wage controls created it and it’s a worse idea now because it reduces choice, reduces competition, raise costs and reduce job mobility. But the Democrats plan to make a bad idea worse by mandating employer provided health insurance. Why not go the other way and make health insurance and individual thing like car insurance that you can take with you regardless of where you work? No – that would be too much like freedom – the Dems have to force you to do it the collectivist way when there is a perfectly good free market (well free-er ) solution.
Remember when welfare was one of the biggest issues facing us? Many of you are probably too young to remember that. That problem was solved by individual states – not by the Ferderal Government. And they were successful! Not that I am a fan of state government either but at least you get a competition of ideas. You don’t get one big mistake. You see what works and what doesn’t and then choose the best. I propose that’s what should happen with health care. Let the Federal Government get out of it completely unless you want another Medicare , Medicaid, Social Security disaster program bankrupting us even faster.
So instead of passing a 1100 page bill they haven’t read why don’t they just repeal all Federal regulation of health care and then sit down with a copy of the Constitution before they come up with anything new.