October 5, 2009
Medicare and Freedom
I used to worry that other ABC News staffers would poison poor John Stossel's cocoa. He is safely ensconced in the vast-right-wing protectorate of FOXNews now.
So my concern turns to Professor Mankiw. Read his home run of a blog post on Medicare and Freedom:
Today, over at the NY Times, Paul Krugman writes:
the modern G.O.P. considers itself the party of Ronald Reagan -- and Reagan was a fierce opponent of Medicare's creation, warning that it would destroy American freedom. (Honest.)Pretty silly of old Ronald, wasn't it?
Awesome on stilts with platform soles. But how long will the leading lights of Hahvaad let him live?
Economics and Markets Posted by John Kranz at October 5, 2009 11:26 AM
I am still being compelled, under the threat of fines and imprisonment (not to mention that my employer would be entirely shut down for "conspiracy") to pay Medicare premiums now. The hope is that when I retire, at minimum over three decades from now, I'll get at least a few cents on the dollar for what I've put in.
Silly me for not wanting to participate in a Ponzi scheme that makes musical chairs look equitable. Silly me for thinking that "freedom" means keeping what I earn and spending it on what I think is best for me.
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus at October 5, 2009 11:40 AMKrugman wouldn't know freedom if it bit him in the ass. (See, I can play on the Beck/O'Reilly field as well as Friedman/Buckley.)
Seriously, he cannot opine on freedom because he does not understand it. Today, Medicare takes freedom from you, me, Perry, and the three AMA doctors Mankiw links to. In the future it is positioned to take all economic freedom and property rights from everyone as it cannot be funded and is too popular to cut.
Silly old Ronald, indeed.
Posted by: jk at October 5, 2009 11:55 AMSpeaking of Reagan and socialized medicine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnLa1BvtaxM
Posted by: johngalt at October 5, 2009 1:41 PM | What do you think? [3]