Posted by Dr. Bob on January 2, 2002, at 11:12:54
[Posted by sid on January 2, 2002, at 11:05:08
In reply to http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011222/msgs/88422.html]
> > > Health care is in part a public good and as such, it can never be provided efficiently by private firms.
> >
> > Oh yeah? Who says so? YOU? You sound like you have communist or socialist biases yourself. I prefer private medical care, thank you. I prefer using a private practice psychiatrist, rather than one of these taxpayer subsidized county or city mental health clinics. Gag...Ugh.
>
> > Sid...lets learn a basic economy lesson here.
>
> I am a PhD neoclassical economist, trained in the USA. I am giving you the econ class, like I do everyday to my grad students, for a living. I say that health care is in part a public good, like anybody who's been minimally or well trained in economics. I suggest you go back to your textbooks and verify what public goods are. It is not a perfect public good, but in part it is. Again, as such, it can never be provided efficiently by private firms. For efficiency, look for a chapter on welfare economics and constrained utility maximization.
>
> What you write has little to do with economics and a lot to do with ideology. Fine, you have opinions, you prefer this or that. That's politics, NOT economics.
>
> Anyway, now we all know why you call yourself OldSchool - your ideology.
>
> > I dont see Australia's or Canada's healthcare systems as "role models" for good healthcare BTW.
>
> I don't either, both need reforms as well. There is currently no model anywhere in the world. However, given what currently exists, I prefer, as many others do, the Canadian system to the American one.
>
> > What we need in America is a go back to the basics pattern of insurance reform and recognize and admit that health insurance is legalized consumer fraud. Reform it by legislation...and you wont need to ruin things further by going to "socialised medicine" which would only lead to higher tax rates in the USA. Regulate the health insurance industry more heavily and we wont need socialised medicine in the USA, with all the troubles it brings with government "rationed" care. What a crock of shit.
>
> Different ways can be thought of, one of them being regulation of the industry by the government. Different regulations as the current ones that is. What do you think regulation is? A form of socialization. Imagine a benevolent social planner (ooh... that sounds communist!) who regulates in order to maximize the welfare of society. Change the words and call it a government who maximizes the welfare of voters - same difference.
>
> Canadian healthcare is not rationed by the way. I had insurance in the US, and THAT was rationed.
>
> - Sid
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:16142
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020102/msgs/16142.html