Quote of the day
Les Jones on whether or not health care is a right*:
If the Constitutional right to life implies a right to free health care then the right to the pursuit of happiness implies free hookers, booze, and cable TV.
Well, load the cost up on to the Debt Star.
* No, it’s not.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:57 am
It is my understanding that a ‘Natural Right’ is a facet of our existence that we are born with and that pre-exists the entering into a contract with the Government or the forming of a Society.
‘Life’ is something we have in situations. Therefore, it is a Right. It can be mitigated by a ‘Power’ granted to a Society or Government for the purpose of maintaining that Society by that Government.
‘Health Care’ (defined as a service by another) cannot be a Right as it cannot exist if someone does not create it.
Or something like that.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:58 am
If free health care is a right, those unborn children being aborted seem to have a malpractice lawsuit for failure to provide proper care. Just saying, is all.
Unless the “health care” provided by the government will include the government’s decision to abort or euthanize (at either end of the age spectrum) in order to contain costs? Because I don’t think I want to sign up for that level of care.
March 9th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Markie Marxist sez: “It doesn’t matter if we market free health care as a right or as something else, just as long as we get it in place, so that we can use it to claim ownership of people. For example, since a gun in the home is 430 times more likely to shoot a family member than a burglar, we can ban guns in the home because of the medical costs, or put an additional charge on gun owners so large that they can’t afford it. Whoever pays your medical bills owns you, or at least owns your body, and therefore has the determining say in your life.
Guns too dangerous – prohibited; group exercise – mandatory
Cheeseburgers too dangerous – prohibited; tofu – mandatory.
Motorcycles too dangerous – prohibited; public transportation – mandatory.”
“Instead of individuals deciding what’s best for them, we Marxists will decide what’s best for them, based on what’s best for us Marxists. Ha! Ha! All your life are belong to us!”
March 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Markie Marxist sez: “And you’ll notice that while we’re politically marketing health care as a right, we’re not including any other rights. You’ll get your free health care, but from there on out, you’ll shut up and do as you’re told or else. We’ll have gulags for the uncooperative.”
March 9th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Marko had a good essay, as usual, on why health care is not a right: http://munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/what-is-a-right/
March 9th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
So, wait if the Constitutional right to life implies a right to free health care, I think the right to Keep and Bear Arms implies I have a right to a free tank!
March 9th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Health care most certainly is a right. You have the right to purchase it from a willing seller, or you have the right to provide it to a willing purchaser.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
I’m not sure what constitution you commies are living under, but in the US of A, there’s no such right as a right to life.
Anyway, rights are superstitions. There’s no such thing as a right. Never seen one, never held one in my hand. We talk about ‘rights’ to mean values that trump other values, but really that’s all a bunch of nonsense, a way of justifying our values.
The real question is what world do you want to live in, the one where people die for lack of health coverage or where people die slightly later because they can get life prolonging medical care without destroying their middle class dreams. I choose the latter, but hey I’m an optimist.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Thanks for the link. BTW, in my zeal to reply to that guy I overlooked the fact that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. So he was wrong on two counts. 🙂