Eric Imhoff's Blog

Letter to the Editor by Don Boudreaux.

Health Care and the Value of Life
17 June 2009

News Editor, WWL Radio
New Orleans, LA

Dear Sir or Madam:

A listener called in today during the one o'clock hour to assert that "health care isn't like other services" - and so it can't be supplied reliably on the market because people are willing to "incur any cost to save their lives."

First, if this assertion is true, it's unclear how matters would be improved by socializing the payment of medical expenses. Second, everyday experience shows that this assertion, in fact, is false. If people really are desperate to save their lives at all costs, then everyone would exercise regularly, eat only healthy foods, and completely avoid rock climbing, horseback riding, snow skiing, and tanning booths. No one would smoke, drink to excess, or have unsafe sex. Women would never get pregnant, as there's still some positive chance of dying while giving birth.

Unless and until people stop behaving in ways that reduce their life-expectancies, it's mistaken to believe that each of us is committed to living longer at all costs.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University

From: Kurt Bouwhuis

Here is a letter I recently sent to the Midland Daily News:

A recent editorial by the Midland Daily News contained the following statement: “[Midland] is also due for a federal grant, stimulus money, to help offset some of the costs of smaller-scale green efforts. It’s all taxpayer dollars, but not all Midland taxpayer dollars. That’s the kind of government assistance we need.” (“Greenbacks for green energy a good trade,” October 21).

Nonsense.

How would residents of Midland feel if an additional tax were levied on them in order to fund a project in Ann Arbor? Is that the sort of government assistance Ann Arbor needs?

Kurt Bouwhuis

Here is an article that I found from Dan Smith. It is about all the negative effects of minimum wage laws. It is really interesting to see how the laws hurt wages of young workers, that minimum wage laws generally hurt blacks, and increase job turnover. Those are just a few of the negatives that are listed on the site. Check it out and see why the minimum wage should be abolished.

http://www.house.gov/jec/cost-gov/regs/minimum/50years.htm

Here is an article written by a friend of mine, that shows that the public health care option (Medicare) denies a higher percentage number claims than the main private insurance companies. 

http://www.examiner.com/x-17336-Midland-County-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2009m10d8-Medicare-denies-more-claims-than-private-insurance?cid=examiner-email