Ron Paul Kaiser Family Foundation Interview

A friend [who's also a co-worker] and I were discussing Ron Paul and his bid for the White House. I was talking up Paul's very libertarian approach to running government and how great it would be to get a true conservative in office that really believed in smaller government, lower taxes, etc. My friend then asked what Paul would do with Social Security as well as the other entitlement programs he was relying on for his retirement (which was coming in the not-to-distant future). He expressed his concern that, if elected, Ron Paul would eliminate his future retirement plans and would therefore be reticent to vote for him. Understandable. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to put my hands on any articles written by Ron Paul that explained in detail what his approach would be to deal with entitlement programs...

 

Until now, that is.

 

This morning, I pulled up the Strike-the-Root.com website and was perusing their latest batch of articles when I stumbled on an excellent article by Glen Allport titled "Health Care, Are Corporatist and Coercive-Socialist the Only Choices?" It's a candid look at what a mess our medical industry has become since the government began meddling with it in the 1960s. Here's a synopsis of the article:

The Illusion of Choice: When Every Option is Corrupt and Coercive  

 

Our health care problems, like those of Cuba, Canada, England, Sweden, and almost every other nation on Earth, have been caused by government action. More government will make things worse, not better.  

 

There are many ways to arrange economic life, but the two forms currently fighting for dominance in the West are corporatism and coercive-socialism. (Their proponents use different names, but I find these more accurate and descriptive). Both corporatism and coercive-socialism posit the need for a State with sole authority to initiate coercion against peaceful individuals. Democratic elections, combined with relentless propaganda during the school years and from the media, are the primary tools for making the system appear fair and legitimate in either form.

Glen Allport has done a fine job of exposing the problems that arise when government intervenes with the private medical industry and I highly recommend you read his article. At the end, he has a link to an interview with Ron Paul that is highly informative. Here's a final excerpt from his article that explains the premise for the interview:

We broke the system by letting our politicians get involved, and now the system is at a crisis point. Fixing the problem requires undoing the damage.  

 

How would that work, exactly? Why not listen to someone with decades of experience as both a doctor and a congressman -- Dr. Ron Paul, for example. Paul is an OB-GYN and was a flight surgeon during the Vietnam War. You can listen to a detailed, highly-informed interview with Dr. Paul on the topic of health care by the Kaiser Family Foundation by clicking here; the page includes the option of podcast, transcript, or a terrific high-definition video (16 min 39 sec).

So, if you've wondered where Paul stands on the various entitlement programs that are bankrupting our government, have a watch/listen/read (your choice). I think you'll find the interview rather informative.