employer health insurance tax exemption

Does anyone else see anything wrong with this (concerning health care)?

Here is an excerpt from a news article on yahoo concerning the propsed health care legislation.

There are no free lunches. I like your reference to “hidden taxes”. Central government intervention often hides or distorts the costs though it can not eliminate them. Indeed, making them less transparent hinders individuals from addressing and reducing them.

On a related topic, I am willing to grant that nations with government health programs manage to provide care more broadly. Few people go without health care in those nations than do in the United States. At the same time, those nations suffer from enormous tax rates and experience greater levels of unemployment than does the United States. Meanwhile, they generally enjoy lower standards of living.

I agree with your analysis that this measure would result in greater unemployment, similar to how unemployment has risen in nations with these government programs. I hope that it doesn’t pass. However, I do see immense need for reform in health care. Contrary to most plans though, I want to see less political management, not more.

Given the influence of industry lobbyists, I don’t see my ideas coming out of Congress. It is well recognised that industry lobbyists oppose reform. However, this should not be taken as opposition against political management of health care since it already is so managed. It is just that current management benefits the lobbyist interests.

So lobbyists want political intervention. Those politicians not under the sway of lobbyists always want political intervention, since it enhances their influence and prestige. It is truly the rare politician who could look at any situation and think that it would be best to leave it alone.

For this reason, we will see no meaningful reform until people know to fundamentally question the role of government. In the meantime, I expect to see some kinds of reform. Behind the scenes, I don’t doubt that lobbyists will achieve concessions that will continue to benefit their clients. Expect there to be further problems if politicians manage to further squeeze the industries away from voluntary institutions.

I hope that the measures you oppose do not pass. However, I don’t have much hope that some kind of intervention will be foisted upon us. Lobbyists who make their livelihood from influencing politicians (and there is much livelihood to be gained from that activity) will have the upper hand over any other interests. Few individuals deeply question whether government should be involved at all; they only fight about the best way for government to run our lives.