Comments for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0

Comment on Production and Consumption: The Yin and Yang of an Economy by Abhishek

Abhishek — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:07:02 +0000

that the pepole get the government they deserve? And Pogo who said that we have met the enemy, and it is us?Like Rome’s decline, ours may be more cultural and psychological than structural….

Comment on Why Christians Should Oppose a Government Definition of Marriage by Gordon Anderson

Gordon Anderson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:41:44 +0000

Constitutional process, the main point of this article, is far more important than the individual issues like inheritance taxes that are governed by individual laws that are possible because of a sound legal system. Government enforces contracts and assesses taxes in other areas of human interaction besides marriage, for example a contract that is between a buyer and a seller. There is no reason one person can’t will property to another without marriage, and there is no reason the government must tax property willed by one person to another. The idea to amend the constitutional process to pass a law like this in order to get around checks and balances is a step to the disintegration of the entire system, and shows the desire to get something for an interest group even if it means bringing down the integrity of entire legal system.

Comment on Why Christians Should Oppose a Government Definition of Marriage by Jolie

Jolie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:30:30 +0000

So then you are snyaig that all property inheritance from one spouse to another will now be taxable? Because government involvement in marriage is key to making it so one spouse isn’t destroyed by taxes when they lose the other. Yeah, “write a will” is an easy answer. I’m guessing it is coming from someone who doesn’t fully understand what having a marriage that is recognized by the state does for that family. Or rather, isn’t coming from someone who can do all those contract things now, and still misses out on what married couples get thanks to governmental recognition.

Comment on Internet Conventions Bypass Party Politics by Torrey Gaines

Torrey Gaines — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:20:34 +0000

I just wanted to take a brief moment to thank you for this article. I found it well supported and very well written.

Comment on Idealism and Realism, the Yin and Yang of Society by Introduction | A letter to all idealists

Introduction | A letter to all idealists — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:31:16 +0000

[...] http://blog.ganderson.us/2010/04/idealism-and-realism-the-yin-and-yang-of-society/ [...]

Comment on A Glimpse at the Coming Death Panels in the U.S.A. by Gordon Anderson

Gordon Anderson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:27:27 +0000

What the Americans have passed has very little resemblance to the European health care Tom refers to. While European plans have some degree of rationing, they are more rational and more personal. They are more rational because they a planned by reason, not by a combination of lobby groups getting together to ensure they each get their cut with a government guarantee. They are more personal because they are at the state level. Obamacare at the Federal level is better compared having a healthcare plan for the entire EU, where the Dutch pay for the Greeks–like the Euro. Finally, since you have many European states with different plans, they can all learn from one another. In the US, we implemented a monopoly that will prevent innovation.

Comment on A Glimpse at the Coming Death Panels in the U.S.A. by tom kando

tom kando — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:25:40 +0000

Gordon’s articles are always thoughtful and incredibly intelligent. But I have hesitated to comment, because I cannot BELIEVE that Obamacare will/would have the consequences which Gordon describes (“death panels…”).

I have no facts to refute Gordon. He may be right. I just hope that he is not.

I have had dozens, perhaps hundreds, of experiences with European “socialized medicine” – in the Netherlands, in France and in many other European countries. I spent my first 25 years there, and my wife, children and I return there all the time.

I have experienced Dutch, French, Swedish, German, Swiss and other European health care – as more effective and cheaper than American health care. People in those countries don’t spend nearly 20% of their GDP on health care, and yet they are healthier and live longer than we do.

My mother is now 99. While we, her adult children, would love to have her live near us in the US, we found it prudent to re-locate her in a Dutch retirement home, where her care, her health and her well-being are much more secure than they would be in the US, and at a fraction of the cost.

Comment on A Glimpse at the Coming Death Panels in the U.S.A. by Nikki

Nikki — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:37:00 +0000

Good analysis.

Comment on A Glimpse at the Coming Death Panels in the U.S.A. by Robert Yee

Robert Yee — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:23:35 +0000

A broad new look has to be taken on the role of government regarding personal health care in the information age. The internet has made large amounts of medical information on personal health available to the public. With this information, people must assume more personal responsibility for life style choices and their long term health. Government cannot remedy all the medical misfortunes that are the result of high risk life style choices. i.e. chemical substance abuse like drugs and alcohol, excessive eating, etc. This is not to say that government does not have a significant role in a government option for low cost and effective health maintenance policies and programs. Health care monopolies should be vigorously avoided. However, there is still a government role in maintaining a national center for disease control ( CDC ). With greater education of the public on matters of personal responsibility, the role of government shifts and moves toward a subsidiary and libertarian point of view. The subsidiary principle that emphasizes communal problem solving and familial decision making can emerge and gain wide spread acceptance. Citizens have the implicit freedom to assume more responsibility for their personal lives in a social environment of greater knowledge and lower government intervention. Doctors would be allowed to market their services to consumers at fair market prices. Medical tourism is one of many options. Charity health maintenance services could be encouraged and supported by non-profit communal organizations like churches. Private health care insurance and HMO’s would still continue. Government and bureaucrat intervention in the complex end-of-life story should be kept to a minimum. It should return to the ( 4PF empowered ) subsidiary level.

Comment on A Glimpse at the Coming Death Panels in the U.S.A. by Nasreen

Nasreen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:17:17 +0000

Agreed: “If the healthcare decision were left to a king, he would subjectively decide who lives and dies based on how valuable the patient was to him. If the decision were made by a doctor, he would obey the Hippocratic Oath and do what he could for the patient to live, whatever the cost. If the power is in the hands of a rational bureaucracy, rationing is the normal outcome. If the government were to follow the principle of subsidiarity (the greatest responsibility to the lowest possible level), then the decision could be left to communities of people who had face-to-face relationships with the person–they would know him by name, not as a “unit.”
Lessen the power and re-set the criteria.