Liberal Thoughts from a walk in the Seattle rain
We'll never have single payer health care in the US, but a few questions I've got after watching "Sick Around the World":
Regardless of what our bumbling federal government decides, would it be possible for state governments in Washington, Oregon and California to refuse to pay drug companies more for prescription medicine than British Columbia does, make it illegal to sue doctors or hospitals except in cases of abuse or gross malpractice, make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage in our states, put a cap on doctors' salaries and (especially) administrative salaries at hospitals and insurance companies, and cover insurance costs for individuals who can't afford to pay for it? What rights do states have? Could Seattle decide to do that?
Regardless of what our bumbling federal government decides, would it be possible for state governments in Washington, Oregon and California to refuse to pay drug companies more for prescription medicine than British Columbia does, make it illegal to sue doctors or hospitals except in cases of abuse or gross malpractice, make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage in our states, put a cap on doctors' salaries and (especially) administrative salaries at hospitals and insurance companies, and cover insurance costs for individuals who can't afford to pay for it? What rights do states have? Could Seattle decide to do that?
Comments
One of the things I actually like about our system of government is the amount of power placed in the hands of state and local legislatures. As long as a law doesn't violate the Constitution state and local governments have a good amount of leeway in passing laws. I bet those chumps "the forefathers" are spinning in their graves for allowing THAT loophole to slip through.
Here's a link to that legislation I mentioned too:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.1033:
Click Here for a relevant story from the Seattle Times.
Actually in the past few years more than a few news stories have come out concerning the secession of the west coast from the rest of the U.S. Some New Englanders have also expressed a desire to self-govern. We have this strange idea that opting out of the union is some unpatriotic notion--the union must be preserved! Lincoln did so much for us all...we cant throw that away.
It makes sense, however. Why should one part of the land be subject to the views of any other part in disagreement? Democracy gives to the majority, but not to the concurrent majority.
Look that up: concurrent majority. I think you will like the concept. You may not like John C. Calhoun, but he was rather brilliant with the idea. It applies to our age fairly well.
I'm not sure I'm ready to secede, but I can easily move to Canada or NZ if I want to. Others without that choice, I can see the desire. It would be nice to move back towards a real federalism. For me there's a sort of moral problem with that (or with secession), b/c it doesn't necessarily do much to distrubute wealth more equally in our society if the rich coastal states secede and leave behind the poorer midwestern and southern states, or even drift towards a state focused federalism, but then again, let's be realistic. Equal distribution of wealth across the US is probably never going to happen, and not even really what people want.
The tyranny of the masses. No better than the tyranny of the monarch it seems.