OPINION:
Big government is unable to run just about anything efficiently with any semblance of cost effectiveness (“Why Obamacare is bad for America’s health,” Commentary, Monday).
The constitutional issue with Obamacare before the Supreme Court is the Commerce Clause. The Obama administration contends that under this clause it can compel every citizen to purchase health insurance and penalize those who refuse to do so. The counter position is that government can’t impose that requirement because the Commerce Clause does not apply to an individual’s decision to purchase or not purchase health insurance.
Obamacare will create numerous bureaucracies at all levels of government that will do nothing more than increase the cost of the overall program while putting nonmedical people in charge of the quality of care delivered. Currently, there is some degree of care exercised by the private insurers because there are profit and competition motives involved: The individual has a choice in the plan and provider he chooses, or he may opt out of insurance.
Monopolies - and Obamacare will be a government monopoly - are neither efficient nor cost effective.
The problem with government is simple: Competition and no profit motive mean there is no incentive to be efficient. NASA may be the only agency that was run pretty well in recent history, and that was because it was generously funded and the bulk of the work was done by contractors.
Some contend Obamacare is a power grab by the executive branch to control a major portion of the U.S. economy and the lives of citizens. If the Supreme Court doesn’t strike down Obamacare, government will be able to dictate anything it wants. I hope the Supreme Court upholds the Constitution - and our individual freedoms.
JOHN TERINO
Fairfax
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