Yesterday I highlighted a story from Massachusetts that to me, seems absolutely incredible. The story was about how the state is forcing people to spend their own money as the state directs, and if you refuse to, they will fine you and take your money. To someone who holds freedom in the highest regard, this is absolutely repugnant to me.

However, it seems there are some in Massachusetts who actually like destroying freedom. Brian, a self-described "working man of Massachusetts," tries to support crushing freedom using the same tactics that the left has used for years, and the same tactic that gets totalitarian governments in power: emotion. Brian says

I, the working man of Massachusetts, have no problem helping people who need it.

Except -- the bill actually stops ME from helping people! It takes away money from me that I could have used to help people. This bill takes money from people who earned it -- that is NOT helping people. Making people into slaves to government does not help people. Brian, you go ahead and help people -- but by what right do you claim MY money to help them?

So, Brian, you want to help people but you don't want to use YOUR money, you want to use MY money. In a free country (which we are clearly no more) that's called robbery. Since the government is doing it and I will go to jail if I fail to comply, that's armed robbery. And unfortunately, I cannot call the police to protect my property, because it's the police that are taking it.

Peter Porcupine, another resident of the totalitarian republic of Massachusetts weighs in with some more of the reasoning behind the law:

The rationale behind the plan - and I'm not wild about it - is that every other solution offered has involved a surcharge on employers, general tax, etc. And we DO pay now, through the Uncompensated Care Pool which funds hospital emergency rooms.

Instead of just whacking businesses again, for the first time, this places the responsibility on the INDIVIDUAL to provide for their own health insurance. When I was an agent (full disclosure) all the twenty-somethings who thought they were invincible refused the coverage - until they fell off a roof or something and wound up in...the Uncompensated Care Pool, which was a taxpayer black hole.

I realize it violates libertarian principles to be forced to purchase coverage - but hospitals cannot turn you away and this is a damn sight better than the usual 'soak the business' solution.

No, armed robbery of citizens is NOT a good solution at all.

By what right does the state claim my money at all? Why is it my obligation to take care of everyone else's medical care? You do not have a right to medical care, free or otherwise, in any free society, period. To claim that you have that right means that you have the right to the labor of another man -- and that's just completely wrong.

If you take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, avoid smoking and high risk activities your whole life; but I do everything poorly, including many high risk activities, how it is right for me to force you to pay for my medical care? The people who are good and right are being forced to pay for those who are not -- and that's utterly and completely wrong.

I yearn and desire freedom -- a freedom to actually be responsible for myself. I want a freedom where I can take care of myself health wise and not be financially punished for it. I want the freedom to take the money I work for and help those who *I* want to help, rather than those who are wasteful and unproductive.

And yes, Brian, I find it incredibly ironic that Massachusetts, one of the birthplaces of freedom, would be one of the first states to work so hard to completely and totally remove freedom.

Posted by: Ogre at 01:09 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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