The Results of Government-Run Medicine

Cal Thomas | Syndicated Columnist | Published: Sep 30, 2013

The Results of Government-Run Medicine

It's Obamacare day and possibly government shutdown day. What a mess.

The results of government-run medicine are plain to see -- in Cuba, in the UK -- the quality declines, while the cost rises. As I argue in my syndicated column today, big government programs don't work, but they have a life of their own and we pay for them long after evidence of their failure is obvious.

Will it be that way with Obamacare? It depends on the next two elections. If conservatives -- not just Republicans, but conservatives -- make their case about the failures of Obamacare and can sell a market-based replacement to ignorant voters, then maybe. But overcoming ignorance is a formidable task.

As for a government shutdown, this is another phony ploy by the left to extract more money from taxpayers. It is blackmail. It is extortion. The answer to record spending and debt is not more spending and more debt. It is cutting spending and returning government to its constitutional boundaries. There, I've solved the problem.

I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.

Publication date: September 30, 2013

The Results of Government-Run Medicine