Sheldon Richman
More Demagogery in the Healthcare Debate
An argument floating around–I’ve heard Barack Obama and at least one journalist use it–says that opposition to the so-called public option for medical insurance betrays a lack of confidence in private enterprise. After all, if government is so inefficient, surely private insurance companies will beat it in the marketplace.Sheer demagoguery. Does it mean nothing that the public option will be able to predatorialy price because it holds the taxpayers hostage? Is it of no consequence that private insurance will be burdened with reams of mandates that will comprise “basic coverage”? Can a fat person defeat Lance Armstrong in a bicycle race if Armstrong is weighted down sufficiently?
