Updated with Poll!
Yesterday I posted A Window Into The Mind Of A Glenn Beck Follower.
Someone going by "StagNews" takes it further and has documented a 29 August 2009 health care demonstration that is amazing and really must be seen to be believed. It's the best among such videos I've seen.
Beyond the far-right, well, nutjobs that the video depicts, there is also a progressive spoof group, Billionaires for Wealth Care, making rounds amongst the crowd. Make sure you pause the video to get a good look at their utterly hilarious signs! And you can also get a look at their par excellence performance here.
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Hidden in the "More info" link at StagNews' YouTube page is included the following "concise explanation why free market health care can not work" that I think really nails the issue:
The free market system does not work properly with respect to health care.
There is no downward pressure on costs.
In a standard capitalistic model, a product is priced according to the balance point where demand meets supply.
When supply is greater than demand, the price for the product drops. When the price gets too high for most to recognize it as a value, they decide against purchasing it, and demand drops.
Health care is not a discretionary purchase of that type. People who need health care, need health care. They don't need it less when it costs too much, and they don't indulge themselves when the cost drops. There is no balancing consumer behavior to counterweight the producer's relentless drive to grow profits.
On top of that, the producer's drive to provide the service promised is reduced because of the time lapse between purchase and delivery. The consumer can pay premiums for years before needing the service. At that point, the provider faces a disincentive to provide the service, since the company will make more money when it denies more claims. The damage to its reputation is minimal, and the ability of the customer to choose another vendor is severely restricted because of pre-existing conditions clauses, contractual waiting periods and industry reluctance to take on clients who need care immediately.
The right wing's obsessive focus on capitalistic principles to control costs are utterly useless in this situation. That is why we face runaway costs and millions are priced out of the market.
The market CANNOT solve this problem.