Remember Our Forefathers

As I stated in a previous post, there is a line of thinking out there which is under the false impression that people have a “right” to healthcare. No such right can possibly exist. The easiest way to sum up such a nullification is clearly stated in one of our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

(obviously my emphasis on The Pursuit, and for good reason.)

So when I heard that people were lining up to take shots at John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, over his comments in the Wall Street Journal, I decided that I would try to elucidate the mind of one of the organizers of a group bent on boycotting the brand. Below you can read the short email exchange between myself and the misguided soul. In an effort to protect privacy, I have edited some minor details. Enjoy.

The initial email:

Dear ?,
I received a… notification of your group and upon
inspection of it, I feel I must comment. Let me preface this by
stating that I am in no way connected with Whole Foods, nor am
I a patron, as there are no stores near my residence. With that
being said, your complete misunderstanding of the CEO’s
editorial and consequent defaming of him and his company is
quite astounding. He is by no means advocating a system where
people remain uninsured, he is advocating a system where people
are responsible for their own wellbeing and capable of insuring
their own health with minimal government subsidy. Shame on you
for jumping to conclusions and defaming a man, and his company,
for demanding personal responsibility and economically sensible
reform. I implore you to completely read his editorial and
rescind your silly [group] on the grounds of a complete
understanding of the situation.
Sincerely,
Christopher Lewis

The response:

Hi Christopher,
Thanks for your email. I do appreciate your concern, and I
respect your support of John Mackey. I just want to clear up
something. You state that Mackey “is by no means advocating a
system where
people remain uninsured.” I disagree. According to his op-ed,
in the section where he lists his recommendations, he calls for
a revision of “tax forms to make it easier for individuals to
make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions
of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare,
Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.” I
think it is logical to conclude that if Mackey wants to make it
easier for us to make donations to millions of uninsured
Americans, he believes that millions of Americans will remain
uninsured. I mean, why develop a mechanism by which to give
charity to uninsured people? I think it is clear that he
assumes such people will remain uninsured. Anyway, thanks
again for the email and I welcome any feedback you might have.
Thanks and best regards,
?

The nail in the coffin:

Dear ?,
I appreciate your prompt reply and intellectual capacity to
reasonably defend your point. (Unfortunately, as is all too
common today, people tend to act without a rational basis of
thought to justify their action.) I now see the basis for your
condemnation, however, I will disagree with you still, and
following are my reasons:
1. Healthcare insurance is not a “right”. It is a service
provided like all other services. By asserting that people have
a “right” to healthcare, one is then elevating it to a status
of basic necessity, on par with food and shelter. At what point
then do we assert a person’s right to demand food and shelter?
People have the “right to purchase” food and shelter through
the market process, as should naturally be the case with
healthcare.
2. Once we accept the above premise, and we combine that
understanding with a firm grasp of true economic theory, we can
come to the conclusion that until the shackles of government
are completely lifted from the economy and citizenry in general
(for only then can full employment be possible), there will
always be a small percent of the population who will not
purchase healthcare. It is those people who Mr. Mackey wishes
for us to aid. The reason, as we all know, that healthcare is
unattainable for those unfortunate people is precisely because
government intervention and intrusion upon the healthcare
market have made it so unaffordable. We must remove them, not
encourage them further.
You and I desire the same thing: a nation of healthy
individuals. It is how we attain that goal which is our
sticking point. Mr. Mackey (of course I am not speaking on his
behalf), myself, and people like us do not wish for the status
quo; no responsible human would. We desire true reform, one
which abolishes government intervention into the market and
thus makes healthcare an affordable option for all.
Best Regards,
Christopher Lewis

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