Health Freedom
Our health system is failing us.
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Americans pay more per capita for healthcare than any other nation, yet our public health measures are worse than most developed nations. Americans live longer, but are fatter and sicker than ever before. Why?
Our medical system is corrupt. For too long, we have let political power decide what is best for us and our health. Business interests determine the treatments we can have, the medicines we can use, what doctors dispense them, the prices we pay, the insurance we need, which jobs have insurance, and even how we die. Why is our health so many other people’s business, but not our own?
It’s for your safety, or so they say! All of this regulation is supposed to keep us safe. Benjamin Franklin wrote "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Advised by business interests, Congress has chosen safety over liberty, and whether we deserve it or not, we have neither liberty nor safety today.
Are we safe? Our foods aren’t safe: they’re why we are fatter and sicker than ever. Our devices aren’t safe: they distract us while driving, cause mood disorders, and help criminals prey on our kids. Our drugs aren’t safe: we’re told they are both “safe and effective” but for most drugs, safe and effective are a trade-off, based on dosage: bigger doses are more effective, but more dangerous. A new drug costs $2.3 billion to approve, yet many get pulled from the market after approval, often with many casualties. And because every individual is unique, clinical trials never tell us what works best for you.
"Was the government to prescribe our diet and medicine, our bodies would be in the same care as our souls are now."
— Thomas Jefferson, (1785). Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 17.
Can we afford it? Medicine isn’t affordable. Monopolies create high prices; every predatory business wants a monopoly, but they rarely last, except by government support. When the FDA decides what drugs you can get, that monopoly affects prices, whether we admit it or not. Where monopolies are needed (e.g. public utilities), price controls are also needed (e.g. public utility commissions). Why do we need a monopoly for orthodox medicine? And if we do, why don’t we also need price controls?
Here’s the solution...we must take charge of our own health.
Who else needs to decide what advice, treatments, or medicines we need? Who else needs to decide what is effective, or not, for us? Who else needs to decide whether we are willing to pay a particular price, or assume a particular risk, based on our own unique situations, wants and needs? We decide whether and how to repair our homes or cars (often seeking out experts); why can’t we do the same for our own bodies? As responsible adults, the decision should be ours.
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What if we get hurt? Monopolies don’t protect people. We’re being hurt now: medicine is the third leading cause of death, and we’re not even tracking it. We don’t have safer, cost-effective, natural options, because competition is illegal. People get hurt in cars, planes, and boats, but we don’t protect monopolies there—we break them up.
