What does this Conservative Believe?

Nice job of picking-nits and name calling. Responses like that one are part of the lack of informative debate these days.

1. Wikipedia is not exactly known for 100% accuracy. But it is great for summary statements.

2. I am not a philosopher or a political scholar, but I know from “experience” that not everyone who considers themselves to be a Conservative believes everything the pundits, on both sides, say that Conservatives believe.

My response was to the article’s dumping all Conservatives into what I would call the Tea Party bucket. The Tea Party corrupted the RP and was based on Libertarian philosophy, not Conservative philosophy.

For an example of how unclear these labels are, see The Student Daily News: Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs. Everyone of those comparisons appear to describe the most extreme position.

As someone who has been calling himself a conservative for over 50 years, about the only item on the list I came close to fully agreeing with was the one on Health Care.

Why? Because I know “from experience” (a Conservative trait) that health care issues are more complicated than presented in the article. That said, I do not support “Medicare for All” simply because I am concerned that it would devolve into “VA Care for All”. Large government organizations, like large ships, are known for being their tendency to be slow to respond to course corrections, even when faced with an iceberg.

That said, the biggest problem with our healthcare system is that there is NO free market. Drugs are caught up in FDA managed monopolies. In response to government regulations, hospitals are being absorbed into major, monopolistic, healthcare companies. In response to many of those same regulations, independent doctors are being forced to merge their small, independent practices into small healthcare organizations, that merge into larger organizations, until they disappear into one of the large healthcare oligarchies.

Government regulations, all written with good intentions, have destroyed the free market for healthcare services. Do you still have an independent doctor, with a private practice, that you go to? Do you know of any?

What happened to all the non-profit hospitals that were run by churches? Where I used to live, all were owned by major hospital corporations. The only one left was judged to be “too small” for the big organizations to purchase and lives on the edge of bankruptcy.

Again, my position on healthcare is based on “perceived experience”, my personal perceived experience.

Medication

My wife once needed about 300 capsules of a drug, to take before an operation. I was informed that the copay for the first order of 120 capsules was $2,800! The price for the insurance company was $21,868.49! My research showed that the only license manufacturer for that 60 year old, generic drug, had been purchase by an investment firm a few years earlier. The price for 30 capsules at the time of purchase was $350. It took only two years for them to make their “adjustment”.

However, I ended up purchasing the 300 capsules for $520. No insurance involved.

I purchased her drugs through a Canadian pharmacy. They were produced in Turkey and shipped via Singapore. The hospital checked her response to the medication, verified that it was effective, and the operation was a success.

Regulatory Reform

This why I look for reform of our regulatory systems. Not to fight climate change regulations, but to fight regulations that block and restrict people from using common sense to achieve a better life.

Today government leaders are removing regulations to increase profits and expand corporation power. That is not what I support. That does not match Conservative beliefs. That simply is greed.

I support regulations that protect people and protect small businesses. I would love to see some major anti-trust activity, but am not holding my breath. Big companies financially back anonymous PACs, that bribe politicians. Politicians won’t slap the hand that feeds them.

See: Corporations Are People: Constitutional Rights of Firms

Summary

Every person you meet is unique and worthy of being heard. If you disagree with them, try to do so in a civil fashion. They just might be the person whose help you need. You won’t know, until you open a real dialog with them.

It is hard, but I know “from experience” that it is worth the effort.