Choice and Accountability

The problem with combining freedom and social engineering is simple. Social engineering seeks to remove the consequences of one's actions. Once the natural consequence is removed, the incentive to do what's right is destroyed. In order to fix the problem, the choices must then be controlled in order to create correct outcomes. So one must either forfeit freedom or learn to live with the consequences of one's actions. To do otherwise destroys natural law, natural rights and God's natural system of choice and accountability. If you choose your actions, you must also be choosing your consequence.

Our culture has attempted to change consequences without forcing correct choices. The result has been the complete destruction of morality.

Coming Apart By: Charles Murray

Rights vs. Responsibilites: Healthcare and the Corruption of Morality.

Growing up, my dad was a mechanic. He supported his six kids on a very small income. But whether we were rich in dollars made little difference, because my dad instilled in his children a wealth of character. It used to drive my mom nuts, but Dad was absolutely unable to see someone by the side of the road with car trouble and not stop to help. It didn't matter where he was going or what the consequences were to him; he always stopped. If I asked the general population whether these unfortunate travelers had the “right” to my dad's services, I think the consensus would be that they did not. But that did not matter to Dad because he felt he had the “responsibility” to help these strangers.

Fast-forward to yesterday. My life has changed a little bit. I'm married to an incredible man who also happens to be an emergency room physician. We have six kids, just as my parents did, but a somewhat larger income. That income is only recent, however. It came to us after twelve years of marriage in which we survived on virtually nothing and at the cost of a third of a million dollars in student loans, which we will be paying for the next thirty years. Like my dad, my incredible husband wants to help people with the skills he has so painstakingly, and expensively, acquired.

Yesterday, my husband handed me an article about how ridiculous it was that doctors make a lot of money. After the article was a spirited debate on whether healthcare was or was not an inherent human right. Those who said it was not, argued that no man has the right to the skills of another and that everyone should be able to use those things with which they have been blessed to benefit themselves and their families. Those saying it was a right gave sob-stories about people dying because they were not given their “rights.” They clearly thought they had the moral high ground.

What neither side seemed to understand was the difference between a right and a responsibility. And certainly those who argued that the sick have the right to the services of a physician seemed to misunderstand. It is they who degrade the morality of our society. Indeed, one of them argued that we should all picture a man dying of a heart attack outside of an emergency room because he could not be treated without insurance. Of course, this doesn't happen. I have, however, read about physicians and hospitals donating healthcare, individuals sending money to charities that support the research and treatment of various diseases, doctors traveling to undeserved areas to work for free, children being sent on dream vacations after and during cancer treatment, and many, many more examples of the goodness of the people of this country. These people do not give service because of another's rights, but because of their responsibility. And this responsibility does not come from the power of government, but from the Christian values with which this country abounds.

Unfortunately, these responsibilities become harder to swallow when those we would serve, demand our charity as a “right.” Let me share with you two true examples, which are only a tiny fraction of those I had to choose from. First, a man came into the emergency room with what he claimed was a broken toe. The physician said, “I can do one of two things here. I can x-ray the toe, tape it to the other one and give you something for the pain. Or I can not x-ray the toe, tape it to the other one and give you something for the pain. The prognosis will be the same either way, but the second option will save you a bunch of money.”

The response? “Doctor, I'm on medicaid. Do the x-ray.” The toe was not broken, but this man did exercise his right to spend money he had not earned.

The other example involves a young, able-bodied couple who came into the emergency room with upper respiratory infections. They, also, were on medicaid and told the doctor that they wanted to be admitted to the hospital. He examined them and determined that they were suffering from a common viral illness that required no treatment and would clear up in a couple days. Exercising their “rights” they insisted that they wanted to be admitted to the hospital for recovery. The doctor explained that there are certain conditions required for admission and that they would have to be discharged from the emergency room. The couple eventually stormed out, asking the front desk for the phone number to hospital administration and exclaiming that they were going to “get that doctor fired.” Such is the attitude of those who have been told healthcare is their unequivocal right.

You see, when healthcare becomes a right, rather than a responsibility, the perception of being entitled to another's work and services becomes the norm. The morality of giving is destroyed and hostility begins. I know a lot of healthcare professionals, being married to one. I can say that most of them feel the desire, even the need, to serve. They cannot see other people suffering without wanting to make them feel better. It is love and empathy that made them want to become doctors and nurses in the first place. They know that they have a responsibility to those who they consider to be their brothers and sisters. They know that they have been endowed by God with their abilities and that such an endowment is a stewardship.

It's ironic that the people who claim healthcare is a right think that they hold the higher ground. Indeed, these are they that honestly believe that the human race is full of evil, selfish people (themselves excepted, of course). They, therefore, think they receive some sort of moral bonus points by giving freely of what others have. All they really do is decay the moral infrastructure of our society by taking away the responsibility of healthcare providers who give out of love and transferring that as a right to those who feel entitled and demand service of others. They make charity work worthless and nothing more than what is required. Indeed, they destroy the concept of love and responsibility between God's children. I can't help but wonder, where is the morality in that?

Let's stop demonizing doctors and assuming that our desire to help others is unique. Instead of considering whether someone has the right to anything, let's start asking ourselves to examine our own responsibility to serve. It's only by changing the focus from rights to responsibilities that we can help those in need without creating an entitlement attitude devoid of the Christian morals on which our country is based.

The Words of People Much Smarter Than Me: Taxes

Tax reduction thus sets off a process that can bring gains for everyone, gains won by marshalling resources that would otherwise stand idle—workers without jobs and farm and factory capacity without markets. Yet many taxpayers seemed prepared to deny the nation the fruits of tax reduction because they question the financial soundness of reducing taxes when the federal budget is already in deficit. Let me make clear why, in today's economy, fiscal prudence and responsibility call for tax reduction even if it temporarily enlarged the federal deficit—why reducing taxes is the best way open to us to increase revenues.

—President John F. Kennedy

Miracles

I know, I've completely abandoned this blog. I've had a really rough summer since the morning sickness set it. We've also had collapsed ceilings, broken coolers, kids starting school, broken computers, and I've been really, really tired. I won't promise that posting here or on my other blogs will resume, but I couldn't miss today.

This past year has been discouraging for all Americans. We've watched a lot of political unrest. Even in you agree with the destruction of the principles of this country's founding, it's impossible not to see the rift between different thinking Americans is growing. We truly are becoming less united.

That's why I have decided to talk about something completely different of this anniversary of 9/11. The political landscape is a mess, but the people of this great country are strong. I saw this video a couple days ago and was definitely moved by it. My message to you today is simple: Sometimes free agency gives us immense pain. Because people have been given this great gift by our creator, it is often used to hurt others. But, despite his insistence on letting us remain free, the hand of God is still evident in our lives if we choose to look for it. I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES.

Happy Memorial Day

I am sorry this post is late. I did sit down with my children on Monday and discuss the reason we celebrate Memorial Day. They understand that we should honor the men and women and their families who have sacrificed everything for this amazing country. I wanted to share with you the message that those heroes live on.

Happy Memorial Day

Time for a Laugh

Sometimes journalists just make my day. Sometimes, it's the anonymous commenters who say it better than the professional writers. Today I want to share something that made me smile.

I was reading an article about President Obama's getting furious with his aides over news of the oil spill. According to The Washington Post:

"Since the oil rig exploded, the White House has tried to project a posture that is unflappable and in command.

"But to those tasked with keeping the president apprised of the disaster, Obama's clenched jaw is becoming an increasingly familiar sight. During one of those sessions in the Oval Office the first week after the spill, a president who rarely vents his frustration cut his aides short, according to one who was there.

"'Plug the damn hole,' Obama told them."

But, that's not what amused me. I was glad I had read the article just because of the first reader comment which mused, "I bet the CEO of BP just slapped himself on the forehead and said, why didn't i think of that???"

Thanks for the laugh.

The Beginning of the End

"The trend is not sustainable, says University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes. Reason: The federal government depends on private wages to generate income taxes to pay for its ever-more-expensive programs. Government-generated income is taxed at lower rates or not at all, he says. 'This is really important,' Grimes says."

This quote is from a USAToday article about how private income has shrunk to all-time lows and government handouts have reached record levels. As I pointed out in my last post, our way of life is being destroyed.

What the people who argue for these government programs don't realize is that the wealthy give money to the poor. They do it through creating jobs, either directly, or by creating demand for the work that the rest of us do. When you demonize wealth and demand that the government redistribute it, you destroy the expansion of the economy.

As Margaret Thatcher pointed out, "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

Read the article here.

Christie for President

Every time the federal government has passed a tax increase on the "wealthy" government revenue has GONE DOWN. This is because sucking the money that could have been used for investment, job creation and other expansions of the economy out of the private sector and stuffing it into the black hole of government does not help anyone. What was President Obama's response to this fact? "redistribution as a matter of fairness." In other words, these taxes are to make everyone poor, so no one is better than anyone else, regardless of how hard they work. You can read more on that here.

The question is, do they not realize that by stealing money from the private sector, they are also hurting the poor? I don't think they care.

'Millionaires tax' bills pass both houses, but are vetoed by Gov. Christie

The Great Lie of Healthcare

I've told you before that this entire premise of insuring the uninsured to lower healthcare costs is a lie. My own congressman sent me a letter telling me that the uninsured don't get primary care and then end up in the emergency room. This costs us all tons of money. Having a husband in the major emergency room, the one the congressman cited, I knew this for the lie it was. He is constantly bombarded by demanding, entitled patients who don't care what their visit costs because they are insured, usually with medicaid. But, I don't believe in using anecdotal evidence to argue in favor of universal positions. That's why I always seek to find studies and evidence. I have pointed out in the past that when Massachusetts universalized coverage, ER visits went up.

Today, I have an even more telling study. Do the uninsured go to the Emergency Room more than those of us with insurance?

No.

Check out this article.

What else did the study find? Those with government insurance are much more likely to have multiple ER visits in a year than those with private insurance. You mean that those of us responsible for ourselves don't go to the ER for non-emergencies? That's so odd. Who would have ever considered that old fashioned accountability would matter. Well, who, besides those of use still independent and responsible? Take heart! There are some of us left. (Well, actually right-but we're here)

So what's going to end up happening here? More people, the same doctors. Well, at least we have job security. This might not be so comforting to those of you that don't have a doctor in your home. We have recently been told by the CBO that this health care law will cost much more than originally stated. We know that insurance companies and businesses are going to be hit hard by the new regulation, resulting in more fees and less jobs. Now we find out that the "cost lowering" factor is a lie. Is there anything that congress told us that was true?

Vote em out!

LEAVE US ALONE

Why are we fat? Too much government!

Check out this article.