Ayn Rand and Ronald Reagan On State Controlled Medicine

Russian-born philosopher Ayn Rand is considered by many as one of the great philosophic minds of the modern era. Though her philosophy of Objectivism is still taught in universities today, Rand primarily identified herself as a fiction writer. Her book Atlas Shrugged — widely regarded as her greatest piece of work — was published in 1957 yet it is eerily relavent to the current political-economic environment in the United States. Atlas Shrugged is wide-ranging in the subject matter that it covers, but Rand does touch on the notion of universal healthcare through her character Dr. Thomas Hendricks. This is what Dr. Hendricks had to say about “State controlled medicine”:

I quit when medicine was placed under State control, some years ago…Do you know what it takes to perform a brain operation? Do you know the kind of skill it demands, and the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating devotion that go to acquire that skill? That was what I would not place at the disposal of men whose sole qualification to rule me was their capacity to spout the fraudulent generalities that got them elected to the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun. I would not let them dictate the purpose for which my years of study had been spent, or the conditions of my work, or my choice of patients, or the amount of my reward. I observed that in all the discussions that preceded the enslavement of medicine, men discussed everything–except the desires of the doctors. Men considered only the “welfare” of the patients, with no thought for those who were to provide it. That a doctor should have any right, desire or choice in the matter, was regarded as irrelevant selfishness; his is not to choose, they said, only “to serve.” . . . I have often wondered at the smugness with which people assert their right to enslave me, to control my work, to force my will, to violate my conscience, to stifle my mind–yet what is it that they expect to depend on, when they lie on an operating table under my hands? Their moral code has taught them to believe that it is safe to rely on the virtue of their victims. Well that is the virtue that I have withdrawn. Let them discover the kind of doctors their system will now produce. Let them discover, in the operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe, if hes is the sort of man who resents it – and still less safe, if he is the sort who doesn’t.

Dr. Hendricks would definitley be part of the group of physicians who oppose the current legislation that the Democrats and President Obama are currently pushing.

One of the best Presidents in the history of the United States also had a few things to say about Socialized Medicine:

These examples illustrate how the battle over universal healthcare is decades old. To be sure, there is nothing new about the Democrats’ plan now. They have just revised and repackaged the language in the current legislation to try and force it through Congress. The agenda behind the language has not changed, which is what citizens are confronting their Congressmen with at town hall meetings everyday now. The Democrats are not addressing the concerns that have been raised for more than 50 years on the issue of Socialized healthcare which is why people are standing up and demanding answers at town hall meetings. Instead of giving answers, the Democrats are denying that this is a form of a universal plan and attempting to demonize the people asking questions as being “unamerican”.

If the Democrats don’t start adressing the real concerns about their healthcare overhaul plans, then their plans will remain in trouble. It is important to continue asking the tough questions keeping the historical context of this issue in mind. They have enough votes to pass their plan right now without a single Republican, so convincing Democrats that they will not be reelected if they vote for nationalized healthcare remains crucial.

Milton Friedman…Path To Socialism Parts One And Two

Once again we present the man that all of of us here at Freedom Medium are fans of, Milton Friedman.

In this two-part video, Mr. Friedman explains the differences between individual liberty and economic freedom vs. collectivism.

He makes an outstanding case for human prosperity being related to economic well being.

Path to Socialism, Part One:

Path to Socialism, Part Two:

Looting the Wealth of Nations

If President Obama and the leadership of the Democrat party are not Socialists, it has become impossibly hard to differentiate them as anything else. And since they have fully infiltrated and now control our Democratic Republic they are all too eager to get the Revolution started with a massive spending bill that will increase the government and stimulate the Democrat Party by historic proportions.

President Obama will sign his stimulus bill into law today, getting the collectivist foot in the door for such projects as national healthcare, federalized education, and redistribution of wealth, while also rewarding extreme leftist groups who have helped them achieve the power they now wield. At the same time his Treasury Secretary and National Economic advisors are working with Congress to make sure that banks stop foreclosing on houses (federally subsidized housing) and capping executive pay (snuck into the stimulus just in time).

Six months ago no one would believe this could happen in the United States. It is happening though because Obama has impressively capitalized on a housing crisis in the economy, persuading the media and his loyal followers that capitalism and Bush economic policies are to blame. There is much to say for how effectively Obama and his team used economic fear tactics to win the Presidential election and get an unprecedented spending bill passed. However, keeping the crisis going for four years will no doubt prove to be a challenge.

The government stimulus bill and the redefining of TARP represent a looting of the wealth our country has accrued and the progress and prosperity we have achieved over the last 25 years. It is parallel to a mob taking advantage of disaster to enrich themselves and destroy what they have no need for. In this case Obama has broken into the national bank account and is passing out money to those he needs to vote for him and adopt his ideology. At the same time he is bashing the principles and philosophy that brought us to be the most prosperous nation in the history of mankind. The ultimate goal being to achieve an America whose government, economy, and national religion will all become Socialism.

If the Obama administration and the media can declare success for the stimulus package, and lord knows they will try, Obama will then be able to further his agenda of higher taxes, national healthcare, federally controlled education, and the rest of what Socialism has to offer. That is why it is so important that the Americans footing the bill for this bill (pun intended) must be aware of what will pull the economy out of its malaise. The economy will recover because business leaders and job seekers will make necessary changes to get back to where they were before the setback. It will not be because Obama used taxpayer money to computerize medical records, build some bridges, and give low-income people back their social security payroll taxes.

Obama has boldly gone “all in” with the political capital he has accrued from the low-income, under educated masses during the economic downturn. It will take self-reliant, taxpaying individuals to call his bluff and declare the stimulus an Obama failure when the time arrives. No further undoing of our capitalist structure and consolidation of power by the federal government can be allowed if we do not want to end up like Venezuela.