Socialized Medicine

Paul Hsieh has a good letter up at Noodlefood opposing Colorado's march towards socialized medicine. The post includes many references as well, so is an excellent starting point for anyone who wishes to inform himself on the issue(s).

As an aside, it's interesting to me that more and more I see the only argument for bad policy being "there's a consensus afterall". (The global warming "debate" is noteworthy in this regard.) From Paul's letter:

On January 25, 2007, the CMS submitted those "Guiding Principles" to the 208 Commission, portraying them as the consensus of the doctors of Colorado. They have also stated that the "CMS believes, after extensive vetting and a unanimous vote at the 2006 House of Delegates, that the Guiding Principles represent a compelling consensus of Colorado physicians"

In previous decades there was at least some attempt made to justify a position, however shoddy the arguments. E.g. with the anti-nukes they pointed to the waste problem, radiation leaks, terrorism, etc. None of these arguments were offered in good faith (i.e. none were presented compared to the alternatives), but at least there was some hand-waving at facts. Now it's sufficient that others are of the same opinion without any reason. Not a good sign for the culture or the nation as a whole, in my opinion...