Forget the traditional rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. So far, America's legislative legacy in the 21st Century has proven that Congress places little value in preserving the traditional liberties found in the Bill of Rights. Instead, the new century marks the dawning of an era of material rights. The legislative branch is attempting to co-opt the well exercised prerogative of the Supreme Court and beginning to infer rights into the Constitution that were not intended by the original founders. The healthcare reform debate proves the most recent example. Congress is attempting to justify the mad rush into guaranteed health care coverage by using the argument that the federal government is simply extending its duty to "promote the general welfare" as stated in the Preamble of the Constitution.\nEconomist Milton Freidman wisely cautioned that government should limit its interference to providing, "equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes." In the past century, however, the government has initiated social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security which guarantee a basic level of material equality for the majority of Americans. Though there is no question that every American should have access to quality health care, there should also be a general agreement that access to health care is not a constitutionally guaranteed right. The government's first responsibilities are to "establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, (and) provide for the common defense." If those goals are successfully met, then the opportunities will exist in society for the citizenry to meet their own health and financial needs. Only when the government shirks those primary duties does Congress feel the pressure to placate the citizenry with band-aid spending programs.
Current healthcare reform serves as a case study of that phenomenon. In regards to the medical field, the government has neglected its primary duty of ensuring justice and thereby allowed the system to degenerate into the inefficient and costly arrangement seen today. There are numerous areas of medicine in which the government has upheld corruption; including insufficient tort reform and allowing physicians to guard their high wages through excessive barriers to entry into the medical field. Regulation of
Read More
CARTER: U.Va. Health owes clarity to transplant patients
By Nathaniel Carter | 7 hours agoUnfortunately, this negative press is fully the fault of U.Va. Health — it failed to address significant stakeholder concerns when crafting its justification.
EDITORIAL: Upholding medical amnesty is a collective effort
By Editorial Board | 23 hours agoUniversity leadership, Greek life organizations and students themselves must recommit to the safety provided by an effective and knowledgeable use of medical amnesty.
KURTZWEIL: Dockworkers’ unions cannot avoid the threat of automation
By Paul Kurtzweil | 2 days agoInstead of continuing to demand decreased automation, the union should work with the legislature in the hopes of driving investment into the reorganization of the current workforce.
