We Have Ways of Making You Behave Responsibly

Mountain Goat Report railed against the GOP’s opposition to the health care mandate in the Health Freedom Act:

Think about this.  Right now your neighbor who doesn’t have insurance and ends up in an emergency room without any way to pay is sticking you, the taxpayer, with the bill.  And the Idaho Legislature has drafted legislation that is all but assured of being signed into law protecting your neighbor’s ability to continue sticking you with the bill…the Idaho Legislature has chosen to protect your neighbor’s right to be irresponsible and stick you with the bill.

Let’s think about this for a minute. There’s a very simple formula here:

1. Your Neighbor is being irresponsible
2. You could end up paying for it.
3. Therefore, you can use the government to force your neighbor to do the responsible thing.

How far does this extend?

Certainly, not just health insurance. Lots of irresponsible people don’t have  life insurance and when they die, their orphans and spouses end up dependent on the state. Everyone, therefore, should be required to buy sufficient life insurance or pay a fine.

Same thing goes for long term care insurance. A large number of people who end up needing long term care go through all of their assets until they have only $2000 in assets left at which point, Medicaid pays for it. Therefore, people should be required to buy long-term care insurance or pay a fine.

In addition, many elderly people who end up on government assistance are there because they didn’t put enough money aside for retirement or invested in investments that were so conservative they didn’t keep up with inflation. Therefore, people should be required to invest a portion of their income for retirement and be required to take on enough risk to realize a return, or pay a fine.

In additional, the general savings rate is low. Therefore everyone should be required to put their a portion of their money in a government run savings account where the government will decide what are appropriate covered reasons to withdraw money and what are not. And those who don’t pay a fine.

In addition, consider the cost of children born out of wedlock. It is irresponsible to have sex outside of marriage without an IUD, a condom, and taking birth control pills. Therefore, in the name of being responsible if you don’t buy and use these products, you could be subject to a fine.

In addition, have you seen poor people out eating at Golden Corral and McDonalds or buying the wrong foods at Wal-Mart. These folks are likely to have health problems that will require treatment. Paying the claims of those with insurance is going to mean increased rates for everyone. Therefore, those who don’t eat right should pay a fine.

Also, some people have already complained about large families burdening school district by having too many children. One women even suggested to the Governor that large families be required to pay a surtax for extra children.

That’s the ticket.

If we implemented these regulations,  we would be a much tidier society. People would have health insurance, long term care insurance, retirement, savings, and they would eat right. Or else.

The only thing it wouldn’t be is a free society.  Now Democrats may dispute this list as extreme and improbable. But I think all the things listed can be argued to be irresponsible behaviors. And all of them can be seen to cost taxpayers money.

Why must government stop with forcing us to buy health insurance when there are so many ways they can force us to be “responsible”? The right of government to force you to be responsible runs contrary to the right of people to be free. Instead, it is just the nanny state that tells you to behave like a dutiful child.