Health-Care Reform Means No Recovery

The US government has a long list of New Year’s resolutions for 2010. Three that top this list include:
 

• Create jobs to deflate the 10% unemployment rate;
  
  
• Revive consumer spending levels to generate GDP growth;
  
  
• Reform the health-care system with universal health care.

Unfortunately, all three cannot be done in tandem. While I fully agree that our health-care system is fundamentally broken and some sort of reform is necessary, a successful universal health-care plan will hinder the chances of job creation and economic growth. And it will simply make an all-around bad situation worse.

Free Handouts... Get Your Free Handouts

Despite what many think, Obama insists that the passing of this plan is a key component to economic recovery. His remaining support group consists of the Democratic Party and Americans who either don’t want to take responsibility for their obligations or simply don’t understand the reform.

Like the TARP handouts to Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) and the rescuing of General Motors and AIG (AIG), the health-care reform is just another way of the government gaining control over private enterprises and transferring wealth to both the lower class and the government. It further conditions our society to rely on government support rather than understand the risks of living in a free market.

My father, a dentist, witnesses this firsthand. Families coming through his practice talk about their recent Disney (DIS) vacations, young girls carry Coach (COH) bags, and little boys boast about their newest Nintendo Wii consoles; all while telling my father they don’t have dental insurance and are struggling to pay for their visit.

Like the failed entities that relied on the government to bail them out after taking on enormous risk out of greed, the people who risk foregoing health insurance out of greed to have the next new technological gadget expect the government to bail them out too. How many individuals claiming they can’t afford insurance own large, flat-screen televisions? And how many subscribe to expensive digital cable on that TV?

Earlier this decade, people were led to believe they deserved the American dream of owning their own home, making it possible to purchase outside their fiscal means with low interest rates and lax lending practices. The short-lived era of “home ownership for everyone” came at a hefty expense we're still paying for.

In a similar manner, the government now has people believing that they deserve health care.