Thomas Sowell on socialized medicine

Here is the link.

Among the gems in this article:

Cars didn't cost nearly as much in the past, when they didn't have air-conditioning, power steering and high-tech safety features. Homes were cheaper when they were smaller, had fewer bathrooms and lacked such conveniences as built-in microwave ovens.

We would like to have all these things without the rising costs that come with them. But only with medical care is such wishful thinking taken seriously, with government regarded as a sort of fairy godmother who will give us the benefits without the costs.

Here is a good part:

The cost of developing a new pharmaceutical drug is now about a billion dollars. Neither political rhetoric nor government bureaucracies will make those costs go away.

Here is another:

Politicians may talk about "bringing down the cost of medical care," but they seldom even attempt to bring down the costs. What they bring down is the price-- which is to say, they refuse to pay the costs.

Anybody can refuse to pay any cost. But don't be surprised if you get less when you pay less.

One thing that I think he misses in all this is that I don't believe the President wants to reduce the cost of health care. I think he just wants control. Rising costs are his friend in this. Of course the President and members of congress that support this don't attempt to bring down costs because that would do away with the "need" for socialized medicine and it would solve the "crisis" that they believe only government should be able to solve.