Facing Reality

Dr. Beth Haynes has an excellent editorial out at PajamasMedia today. Here's a point that needs to be hammered home:

Before the government created the means to “tax, spend and go into debt” for health care, people had to make those difficult decisions for themselves looking at their own resources, unable to take advantage of their neighbors’ bank accounts — at least not without directly asking. The family’s doctor would talk with his patients about the pros and cons of various treatment options, including the cost. Some of the time that meant forgoing treatment in order to “save the widow the farm.” Tough choices? You bet. Sometimes tragic? Without a doubt. But it kept us living consistent with the reality of limited resources and personal responsibility, preventing the drift off into fantasy land where every need can be met by reaching into our neighbor’s (or our children’s) pockets while they aren’t paying attention.