Health Care - A Government Agency

While the Stimulus, TARP, bailouts and all other recent government attempts at fixing the United States economic mess have failed, the government doesn't take a step back and start to think perhaps they're going in the wrong direction. Instead, they decide to tackle health care. Yep, when you're batting zero you may as well swing for the fences and ruin more lives.

We've all heard the argument before. When sensible people think about government run health care, they think about the efficiency of the post office and the DMV and wonder "if the health of my family or myself is at risk, do I want a bureaucrat deciding if I get the right treatment?" Then of course there's the politics behind it. If lung cancer has a better lobbyist group in one election year than breast cancer, guess what cancer is getting more money?

Now let's talk about employer mandates. The administration wants to require all small businesses to carry health care for employees. As a small business owner, that makes me want to close my doors and get a government job - maybe at the DMV. I'm in business to make money, and I'll hire as many people as I need to in order to succeed. If I don't offer good compensation, health care, and/or other benefits than employment at my company is less attractive than working elsewhere. Forcing employers to pay health care puts an enormous burden on businesses, preventing them from being able to invest in their growth. When it's hard for businesses to grow, many shut down. When businesses shut down, less people are employed. When less people are employed, less taxes get paid. When less taxes get paid, more money gets printed. And the cycle continues.

When will they get it? Government is the source of all of these problems, not the solution.