Milton Friedman's prescient "The Economics of Medical Care" — AKA "Socialized Medicine for Dummies" — delivered to a Mayo Clinic audience in 1978, is going viral on YouTube and Twitter. A few excerpts below, and then listen to the whole thing for yourself. Beyond the wisdom and common sense of his words, his soothingly straightforward, low-key performance is a refreshing antidote to the ubiquitous POTUSs much-ballyhooed "soaring rhetoric" and frenetic use of pumping and pointing hand gestures. Obama's teleprompter was unavailable for comment.
"I believe that this trend [towards increasing government involvement in medical care], including many of the steps that have already been taken, is very much against the interests of patients, of physicians and of other health care personnel," Milton Friedman warned a Mayo Clinic audience thirty years ago. We know in our gut that socialized medicine won't work in our interests because the incentives are perversely turned upside down when government, not the patient, is client. Friedman explains:
In industry after industry, producers who protest strongly their belief in free markets have fostered and helped produce government takeover, government regulation, government control … Businessmen, leaders in various areas who are very foresighted when it comes to … the concerns within their own enterprises are very shortsighted when it comes to the area of public policy and allow themselves to be led by small advantages to foster and favor policies which ultimately redound very much to their disadvantage.In the medical case, the initial inducement is that here is a new source of money, and presumably this is why organized medicine has been schizophrenic about the trend toward government involvement …When the government is taking over any activity, there IS more money available, but what typically happens once the government has taken it over, the situation changes. There are no more votes to be gotten by taking it over some more …
In addition to the fact that the ultimate result of a government takeover is less resources, you invariably get lower quality and a lower quantity of medical care.
Unnerved by polls suggesting most Americans are happy with their medical coverage and disapprove his handling of the issue — not to mention a CBO report that his budget is on an unsustainable path — President Obama turned up the volume in promoting Obamacare, misdirecting careless listeners with his ominous assertion that "the need for reform is urgent, and it is irrefutable." Urgency and irrefutability all depend upon what you mean by "reform." The urgency is in his mind, where time is of the essence if he is to ram through misrepresented policies before his approval ratings go further south when the citizenry wakes up to their implications. As for irrefutablity, former Economic Policy Advisor to President GW Bush Keith Hennessey — who has a must-read market-based plan of his own, complete with do's and don'ts — bursts that balloon:
It is unfair to characterize those who oppose the current legislation as opposing all health care reform, or as defenders of the status quo.
Echoing Friedman's early-warning speech, the Mayo Clinic itself "calls health plan bad medicine," the Washington Times reported yesterday:
The Mayo Clinic said there are some positive elements of the bill, but overall "the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients."
"In fact, it will do the opposite," clinic officials said, because the proposals aren't patient-focused or results-oriented. "The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."
That's the problem with good intentions based upon a refusal to take human nature and the processes common to all economic systems — competition, cooperation, adaptation and feedback — into account: "It will do the opposite."
Update: "Still relevant," says Bird Dog with a link.
Your last sentence says it all for all government programs and businesses, "That's the problem with good intentions based upon a refusal to take human nature and the processes common to all economic systems — competition, cooperation, adaptation and feedback — into account: 'It will do the opposite.'" Let us hope enough of us understand this to put the fear of not being re-elected into the minds of our elected legislators.
Posted by: goomp | July 22, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Great post! Viral or not, I hadn't seen that.
Posted by: K T Cat | July 22, 2009 at 05:01 PM
RIP ... Mr. Friedman.
A brilliant American.
Another mighty fine post.
So true, thank you.
I am curious about reforms offered on the State level in Mass - The attempt to get Health Insurance for all, to stop the extreme costs to cover the uninsured, who create an unfair burden when they have a medical emergency. Many have bashed this as failing, but they never cite facts, or separate the reform to encourage Health Insurance coverage with private sector efforts, vs. the Health Care coverage that already existed.
I do know we need Health Care reform. I am curious about an objective review about Mr. Romney's efforts, seeking better policy (* not that I support the same plan on the National Stage). But know we cannot afford to pay for those who don't even try to be responsible.
Mr. Romney's comments are here:
"I'm not happy that the president wants to provide a so-called public option. There is no need for the government to become an insurance company. I'm convinced, as many before me have said, that this is a step towards a single-payer system; that it will result in billions, if not hundreds of billions, of subsidies down the road and a new entitlement, which is one of the last things America needs right now."
http://tinyurl.com/kpx363
Reforming Health Care, with sound private sector efforts, is essential. Conservatives should have been out in front, leading as the Bush Administration tried, to reform these issues with Free Market principles, to get ahead of the rush of the Democratic Partisans from Nationalizing everything.
Of course the answer to the problem is not creating a larger Governmental Monopoly to distribute-manage Health Care with the Taxpayer dime, redistributing wealth, having others pay for everyone else. The inherit flaws of socialism always grows waste-corruption, builds an elite class in government, raises the costs of living for all, ruins incentive-growth, crushes opportunity-prosperity-freedom, etc.
Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party offering is so disastrous and juvenile.
The new President's deceit last evening was simply astonishing. He sounds like Pelosi, Clinton, etc. No change here...
* I found these two receiving less focus simply glaring:
1. Mr. Obama’s cannot even accept his own personal responsibility for the Massive Deficits he created with Nancy and Harry, with their irresponsible spending. Blaming the Bush Administration for these enormous Deficits is a joke.
2. Another big whopper, Mr. Obama is no longer calling his Pork Spending Bill of some 800 Billion a “STIMULUS” effort. Last night Mr. Obama called this a “Recovery” package. Note, he recently stated the bill was not designed as ’stimulus’, which is another massive bit of fraud.
Democratic Partisans seem to enjoy to lie...
Posted by: HNAV | July 23, 2009 at 01:36 PM
Time is of the essence because given time, we will actually READ the boondoggle that is the healthcare reform proposals. And then summarily reject them! The American public may have been silly enough to allow Zero to pull the wool over their eyes temporarily, but we wise up quickly. Keep your present coverage? I don't think so. Many and various ways in which that will be wrested away from you. I especially dislike the provision that ALL senior citizens must consult every five years with their health care provider (not their attorney) about end of life decisions such as health care powers of attorney and the like. Setting us up for forced euthanasia, Mr. Obama?
Posted by: Gayle Miller | July 23, 2009 at 04:25 PM