TANSTAFAIC (There Ain’t No Such Thing As Free Anti-Itch Cream)

As you know, I have been battling a bad case of poison ivy. My legs from the knees down are covered in a rash that, if not coated in Calagel, itch worse than a beagle at a flea circus.

One of the guys that I work with is a Democrat, and likes to get the hackles up on the back of my neck by talking politics. Recently, I was explaining the failures of socialized medicine to him. For example, people in Canada get doctor’s appointments by lottery and some patients in Great Britain find themselves sitting in an ambulance for hours. His response was typical of the left.

“Well, just because it didn’t work in those countries doesn’t mean it won’t work in America.”

When I saw him later, he asked me how much I paid for the anti-itch cream I was using on my legs. I told him it was about three dollars at Dollar General. Then he dropped, “Well, if we had universal health care, you would have got it for free.”

I looked at him and said, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”

First of all, I bought the anti-itch cream at a private business. I didn’t get it from the doctor. What I got from the doctor was a shot and some pills. The cost of the visit and the meds were picked up by my insurance and my wallet.

Under universal health care, I may not have had to pay anything at the office, but I would have had to pay. The cost of the visit would have come out of my taxes. As Robert Heinlein wrote in “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress“:

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.

Or, in this case, there ain’t no such thing as free anti-itch cream.

When you go to the supermarket and they are offering free samples, there is still a cost. It is hidden in the cost of each and every item in the store. The cost is borne by the consumer.

Under socialized medicine, everyone’s health care is paid for by the collective. Even if you haven’t paid any taxes, you still get health care. That doesn’t mean the health care is free. It means someone else has to pay, which amounts to the government taking his property to pay for your health care.

Regardless of the motive, this amounts to thievery and is immoral. That alone should be enough to make a person reject the idea of socialized medicine.