Too Busy, Too Foolish

"But health insurance is complicated and scary; most people don't have the time or expertise necessary to make wise choices. They rely on their employers to make sure they're getting a good deal — and to fight for them if the insurance companies try to cheat them. And with many employers slouching away from that responsibility, the public seems ready to turn to the government for protection. "

-- Joe Klein, Time 10/9/2008

I can't imagine a better description of the welfare state's infantilization of the public. If people won't take responsibility for their own health, just exactly are they responsible for? A person who won't take care of themselves has no one to blame but themself when they are told what to do and what to think.

And I'd add that health care's unavoidable complications are compounded by regulatory requirements like the Mental Health Parity Act that Congress just added, in an afterthought, to the bailout bill.

And just what exactly is someone to do if the government doesn't make wise choices for them, or refuses to fight for them? What alternatives will they have, what resources can they bring to bear?

A healthy society raises people who take the time to take of themselves, and can develop the expertise they need to do so. We should help those few that could never manage for themselves (though it's necessary to add that our moral responsibility doesn't imply their political right). That's what conservatism ought to be about. It's failing because our "conservative" politicians are too interested in incumbency to take on a tough case.

And I'm afraid that McCain, with his proposal to write down overextended borrowers on the federal dime, is hardly more principled.