Healthcare spending

 Robert Beamish 

Economic Freedom 

Blog 3 

Eubanks 

 

America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and some people still cannot get healthcare. Being one of the wealthiest countries and having advanced healthcare can come with drawbacks. These drawbacks come in the form of expensive healthcare, different markets, and a level of asymmetrical information. With Coronavirus cases still on the rise, the need for healthcare could be at an all-time high. The fact that some Americans cannot afford it is reducing many economic freedoms. A free individual should not have to be broke because of high insurance premiums or riddled with debt in order to be healthy.  

Some countries have free healthcare, but it is not actually free. The health care services will be paid for no matter the circumstances. The healthcare is either public or private. Public healthcare is paid through taxes and private is paid through insurance. The reason that Americans pay so much and need so much healthcare is because we are unhealthy. The combination of unhealthy people and high price of healthcare can be a deadly combination.  

“The Iron Triangle” is a term referred to lobbyists, bureaucrats, and congressmen. They all worked together to pursue their own interests, and everyone wins except for the American people. This is a large problem for economic freedom, but there is one thing Americans can do. They can become healthier using preventative medicine. While the United States make unnecessary budget decisions like spending 700 billion on defense, some people cannot get healthcare. As McCloskey would agree, the way the healthcare system has come about is profit. If profit takes away from liberty and dignity, this may not leave the poor better off.  

https://beyondthebomb.org/the-iron-triangle-in-defense-contracting-and-nuclear-weapons/