This is sort of Part Two to "Why You Should Not Take A Village..." and it's the one that may get me in hot water. Ahhh! Perfect weather for it.
I left you on a note of bared-teeth libertarian purity. Okay; we live in a decidedly impure world. Let's say it was my kid, or one of my nephew's kids and insurance and savings didn't suffice. Let's say private charity came up dry.
Am I going to sigh and let little Timmy die 'cos It Is Right? What would you think of an adult who let a child she was responsible for die when help was available?
...Thought so. You'd do what it took, and look down on anyone who would not.
And there's the most pernicious thing about such assistance: no matter how high and grand your philosophical ideals, they're pretty much newsprint in a rainstorm when it's your family at stake. (Some have more steel than others -- I believe Marko would do just as he writes, if it came to that). (Thanks for the link, bro!)
The desperation of good men and women is how such Rob-A-Village-To-Raise-A-Child programs persist. A significant number of those who have had to rely on such assistance will become vocal supporters. Many of the beneficiaries who don't go that far will fall silent.
Why crush dissent when it will stifle itself?
Well, sure. Before you can play Prisoner's Dilemma, you need some prisoners. And do they ever recruit. From the time you pull up pregnant, the nanny-staters are on you with things you can claim, grants you can apply for, conditions you may develop. It's not reserved for the critically malformed. School boards pass levies by having a program for everything and everybody, including the (legally-defined) "gifted." Like the Black Hand, they let you know that, whether you want it or not, they have done something for you--and now require this One Favor. It's a marvel there are any independent parents left.
ReplyDeleteIt's the perfect Room 101 scenario: When the rats are charging for Tiny Tim's face, who wouldn't scream "DO IT TO JULIA!"
ReplyDelete...It's even worse than that, since it's not a single Julia getting rat-chewed; instead, hundreds of thousands of "Julias" will each feel a tiny bite. And then another. And another, and another and another.... Frog-boiling, anyone?
ReplyDelete"Frog-boiling, anyone?"
ReplyDeleteGood Stuff, Roberta!
Ok, pulling out the reality card, Universal Healthcare is still only an issue on the table. It isn't law or reality yet. Better vote to make sure it doesn't happen...
ReplyDeleteWhat was Ayn Rand's main point with the character of Eddie Willers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Characters_in_Atlas_Shrugged
#Eddie_Willers) in Atlas Shrugged?
At some point, playing by the rules and sticking to the system will just crush you since you are unknowingly playing the prisoner's dilema on the "co-op" side when everyone else is "betraying", trying to bilk the system to take more for themselves.
Make no mistake: at some point things will get so bad that voting and playing by the rules is useless. Jefferson warned us about that:
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
Roberta raises the issue that folks will willingly buy into the system that'll save their kids and play the "betray" card in the prisoner's dilema game...
In the beginning it may be like that, however, When the system starts to crumble because there is no capital to support/keep the service running or services are rationed or standard of care is crap or a myriad of other reasons it is a bad idea, they'll realize that they got the raw deal...
...Which is happening right now in the UK as dentists fed up with low and slow payment pull out of National Health. (The system gives dentists more freedom to do so than physicians are allowed). Wanna bet this is "fixed" by putting them under the same set-up as medical docs?
ReplyDeleteHell, even the Times of London had a big article just recently about how bad the British NHS system really is... with the director of NHS saying pretty much that it has severe issues!
ReplyDeleteSome bloggers have covered this thread, but here's the link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/
comment/columnists/minette_marrin/
article2753620.ece
(Had to insert spaces...)
Couple that with Canada's 2005 ruling that the single-payer system limits access to care and produces unequal treatment, and you have the statist getting their asses handed back to 'em royally.
FWIW, I don't think that detists are going to get the smack down in the UK - but honestly, I could care less what happens to the island where Britain used to be...
It takes a pillage ...
ReplyDelete