Project for Philosophical Evaluations of the Economy |
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Good for 32 million, bad for the country
Dialog with the Alter Ego on the US Health Care Reform, first drafted on March 24, published on March 25, 2010
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Statement by Noah denkt™ (Nd): You know that, for the longest time, we have not taken a stance on the US
health care debate. After all, it appeared to us as if this were an internal matter of the American public and as if
foreigners like us couldn’t possibly know enough about the reality of the health care system in order to have a
competent opinion about it. But it becomes clear now that this week’s vote in the House of Representatives is of
historic importance and so it would be cowardly of us not to take a position in this.
Question by Alter Ego of Noah denkt™ (AE): And what is your position here?
Nd: Well, with a heavy heart and a lot of hesitation we tend to lean against the new provisions that have just been
signed into law by President Obama.
AE: And why is that?
Nd: We believe that it is against the principles of the American spirit to force people into buying a health
insurance for themselves. We believe that it damages the entrepreneurial spirit of the American society to require
all businesses in the US to pay into the health insurance of their employees. And we also believe that it is wrong
to take such a historic decision on such a slim majority margin (219 votes in favor versus 212 in contra). In fact, it
would not surprise us, if the Supreme Court of the United States will eventually find that this new law is
incompatible with the constitutional rights of the individual American citizen.
AE: So Noah denkt™ does not buy the argument that the present health care system is unjust and abusive and
that it is simply inhuman to leave so many people without affordable health insurance coverage?
Nd: Of course, there can be no doubt that there is quite a bit of unfairness in the way in which nature and the
universe have distributed the spoils of health and wealth. We doubt though that governments, politicians and
bureaucracies can do too much about that.
AE: Well, isn’t it true that European societies prove day in and day out that governments can in deed do
something about that? And isn’t it also true that Noah denkt™, in particular, has been a beneficiary of the
European health care system?
Nd: It is true that the German health care system has been very favorable to us. And we are grateful for that. We
cannot close our eyes though to the fact that the European health care system is heavily in debt, that costs are
rising constantly (because of the advances in medical science, because of the ageing population), and that
contributions to the system seem to be sinking continuously. But the most damaging in all this is not so much the
financial aspect of a mandated health care system. The most problematic in this government run scheme is the
fact that too many people take too much help for granted, that they become complacent because of that, that
they are, hence, no longer willing to accept substantial personal sacrifice on order to achieve and defend their
personal independence. In fact, even now, most European countries are looking to the US to shoulder a major
part of their own national defense needs.
AE: And yet this supposedly complacent society of yours still proves to be one of the most successful economies
in the world? How do you reconcile this with your claim that European citizens are not willing to take major risks in
order to defend their personal independence?
Nd: Well, the fact that
Dialog with the Alter Ego on the US Health Care Reform, first drafted on March 24, published on March 25, 2010
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement by Noah denkt™ (Nd): You know that, for the longest time, we have not taken a stance on the US
health care debate. After all, it appeared to us as if this were an internal matter of the American public and as if
foreigners like us couldn’t possibly know enough about the reality of the health care system in order to have a
competent opinion about it. But it becomes clear now that this week’s vote in the House of Representatives is of
historic importance and so it would be cowardly of us not to take a position in this.
Question by Alter Ego of Noah denkt™ (AE): And what is your position here?
Nd: Well, with a heavy heart and a lot of hesitation we tend to lean against the new provisions that have just been
signed into law by President Obama.
AE: And why is that?
Nd: We believe that it is against the principles of the American spirit to force people into buying a health
insurance for themselves. We believe that it damages the entrepreneurial spirit of the American society to require
all businesses in the US to pay into the health insurance of their employees. And we also believe that it is wrong
to take such a historic decision on such a slim majority margin (219 votes in favor versus 212 in contra). In fact, it
would not surprise us, if the Supreme Court of the United States will eventually find that this new law is
incompatible with the constitutional rights of the individual American citizen.
AE: So Noah denkt™ does not buy the argument that the present health care system is unjust and abusive and
that it is simply inhuman to leave so many people without affordable health insurance coverage?
Nd: Of course, there can be no doubt that there is quite a bit of unfairness in the way in which nature and the
universe have distributed the spoils of health and wealth. We doubt though that governments, politicians and
bureaucracies can do too much about that.
AE: Well, isn’t it true that European societies prove day in and day out that governments can in deed do
something about that? And isn’t it also true that Noah denkt™, in particular, has been a beneficiary of the
European health care system?
Nd: It is true that the German health care system has been very favorable to us. And we are grateful for that. We
cannot close our eyes though to the fact that the European health care system is heavily in debt, that costs are
rising constantly (because of the advances in medical science, because of the ageing population), and that
contributions to the system seem to be sinking continuously. But the most damaging in all this is not so much the
financial aspect of a mandated health care system. The most problematic in this government run scheme is the
fact that too many people take too much help for granted, that they become complacent because of that, that
they are, hence, no longer willing to accept substantial personal sacrifice on order to achieve and defend their
personal independence. In fact, even now, most European countries are looking to the US to shoulder a major
part of their own national defense needs.
AE: And yet this supposedly complacent society of yours still proves to be one of the most successful economies
in the world? How do you reconcile this with your claim that European citizens are not willing to take major risks in
order to defend their personal independence?
Nd: Well, the fact that