The politicians are all abuzz with their talk about universal health care reform. Well, what are the proposals? Here’s a libertarian approach. Let’s start with a little background information.
What to hear something really interesting? Take a listen to Anthem by Ayn Rand. She is a 20th century author and philosopher of objectivism. It makes you think, just what are the real healthcare reform proposals? A government run program, or a re-invigoration of the individual?
A few months ago, I heard Meme Roth of NAAO say that our Surgeon General needs to work harder to set a good example for people. Meme made a lot of sense. Obesity right now is the #1 challenge to our nation’s health. Not the insurance companies. The most important threat is the problem with obesity.
You really should read Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. It has some great ideas about how we can all improve, evolve if you will, and gain greater control over our personal habits. We control our eating. This is something that must be controlled by the individual. Not the government. Not the doctors. Not your spouse. You.
In his book about mindless eating, Wansink makes a profound statement. It goes something like this: in the 1800’s, the big advance was hygiene. In the 1900’s the big advance was antibiotics and surgery. In the 2000’s, the big advance will be in personal behavior.
Reforming our personal behavior is the greatest health care reform challenge facing the world today. The Clinton health care reform failure was justified, because it put the role of government above the individual. Yes, as a society, we are overweight. But we do it as individuals.
So let’s do something really big!
Let’s do this together. Lets become as fit as we can be, as a nation, and as a world. We all will save TONS of money. Staying healthy until you die simply costs less. Being healthy makes people more positive, and less likely to fight. You can work more when you are healthy.
We need to incentivize ourselves, and incentivize our neighbors. The government can help by putting into place bold and audacious taxes and benefits that will encourage eating right and exercise. If that’s all the government did, we would all get healthier, and save some money for our children.
If you want an employer based program, great! Have all employers pay employees their gym fees or allow them to go to the gym during work hours.
If you want a government option, great! Have the government give people tax breaks for buying vegetables. Raise junk food taxes. The politicians can have their win, and actually save instead of spend money. We know that healthy, fresh food costs more than junk food. So pay schools to buy more local, fresh food.
Let’s focus on the important and start with that. And the most important thing is prevention.
We can give our kids a clean planet, good physical health, financial responsibility, and moral clarity. We need to act responsibly by eating right, exercising, and smiling.
All of us absolutely need to demand that our government end reckless spending, entirely, immediately. Let’s leave some money for our kids, instead of leaving them with a bunch of unpaid bills.
Finally, take your vitamin C. It helps.
Tags: Finance, health, medicine, politics, universal health care