I found this video posted on one of those "conservative" websites where they poth misspelled the city where the University of California's main campus is located and also offered a rather dubious analysis of the statements made therein.First, this is the first sentence of the first paragraph, so it is unclear how he jumps from something he found on "one" web site to the plural "they", unless he is considering a video a person (as in, the video misspelled the city). It makes no sense. Then, he misspells the word "both". He then identifies EPJ (You'll see in a minute why we know it is EPJ he is referring to) as "conservative", EPJ is many things, but it is not conservative in any shape or form.
And as far as what was written at EPJ, his rebuttal is that it was "dubious". And attacks my reasoning this way (and this is where he links to EPJ):
I agree wholeheartedly with the commenters on the site and on the accompanying YouTube link who oppose [the young paying insurance for the old].But if you don't think young people should pay to support the old, then how can you take umbrage when Reich says the government can't afford to employ endless expensive technology on end-of-life care?
Where's the money going to come from? Certainly not from those oldsters themselves. If they could afford their own care, this wouldn't be an issue.
Yet note how the commenters assume the government should pick up what could be an almost infinite bill for keeping the elderly alive. Meanwhile here's an article from the same site on how the young are being screwed by being forced to pay more for health insurance.
These people are confused. They think they support a free-market system. But in a free-market system there would be no government subsidy whatsoever for end-of-life care.What the hell is Mulshine talking about? It is totally incoherent. He is arguing with some passerby commenters at EPJ and mixing it with my post as if the two have the same point of view. Nowhere will Mulshine find my ever writing that the government should ever subsidize healthcare for anybody. And the problem with government central planning of healthcare is that it will ultimately become a situation with government rationing healthcare for everyone, which means " when Reich says the government can't afford to employ endless expensive technology on end-of-life care," it is going to be a problem for anyone who is willing to pay for expensive medical care out of his/her own pocket. That's why it's a BIG problem, not because of whatever confused and naked strawman view that Mulshine has built.
Bottom Line, Mulshine's post is such a mess, I think the only thing that can be done with it is to pass emergency care treatment for it and pull the plug. I'll pick up the tab.
Who in the hell is Paul Mulshine? Seriously?
ReplyDeleteHe's a columnist for a New Jersey paper called the Star Ledger I think.
DeleteHe's actually a Ron Paul fellow traveler, so it saddens me to see him and RW in a hissy fit. I'm surprised that Mulshine would describe this as a "conservative" web site. He knows better...
He's actually a Ron Paul supporter. His columns are frequently posted on the Daily Paul, which is where I come across them.
DeleteA Paleocon/Buchananite who likes Ron Paul but is not a fan of Libertarians (not surprising). Once in awhile you'll see his articles on LewRockwell.com
DeleteIt's important to remember that paleocons make up a significant portion of the Ron Paul movement. My parents were Buchananites, and they moved under the Paul banner in 2007 pretty quickly of their own initiative. I reckon that at least half of Paul's 10-12% of the electorate falls under this category. These people are respectful of the libertarian position, but they do not fully embrace it and may never do so.
DeleteOk, thanks guys. I've heard his name, but I had no idea what or who he was (google wasn't very helpful). Of course, I like Ron Paul and credit him with turning me onto libertarianism and Austrian economics (I was a conservative and subscribed to neoclassical thought before), but I rarely ever go to websites like the 'Daily Paul' because of the great number of constitutionalists and greenbackers who are usually present. My being a "radical" libertarian often puts me at odds with those people.
DeleteI am still not clear as to how healthcare prices are currently determined. Is it true that doctors and hospitals tend to name the price to the insurance companies?
ReplyDeleteThat Moonshine doesn't know about this site speaks volumes of Mr. Moonshine.
ReplyDelete