A week or so ago, I replied to a comment posted to a blog by Don Boudreaux on his site, CafeHayek (LINK to his piece here). In brief, Mr. Boudreaux made the case that the new health care law distorts markets and reduces freedom and choice, all at a cost of worse health care in general. The comment was written by a Mr. Smith who suggested that the government should inject itself into the health care business, otherwise cures for deadly diseases might go undiscovered. I wrote:
Mr. Smith:
Are you suggesting in your comment that the government has been the leading force in developing the ‘miracle’ drugs and processes that we’ve seen come out of the pharmaceutical industry in the last, say, 50 years?
My 15-year old son was born with severe club foot in both feet. Had, for example, his 48-year old father been born with the condition, he’d have never walked. Thanks to years and years of for-profit medical research that preceded his being born, my son is an accomplished wrestler, golfer and baseball player – and he stands up tall and hugs his father as often as I ask him for the favor.
No government agency did that for him. In exchange for money, the highly-trained, for-profit staff at Georgetown Medical Center did it for him. Keep your grimy hands off of that business, or move to Canada, sir.
America's CURE - by Jeff Neal 