"Of course, if I get to be in charge, then I’m all for this, because I think I’ll make all the right decisions. The other side won’t."

That's the conclusion Lance comes to on government-run health care. Of course, such a conclusion and such an argument is ludicrous as a rationale for good government, yet it is exactly the argument that Democrats are making on Capitol Hill. They want us to trust them and the bureaucrats that nothing will go wrong because they have our best interests in mind.

Perhaps I'm naive but it would seem to me that decisions about one's health care should be made by the individual and their doctor - not a bureaucrat in Washington and certainly not a politician.

Lance also points to an excellent point made by Pundette on the issue of universal health care:

Every area of life can be made to fit under the umbrella of a government-controlled medical system. If it isn’t about our physical health, it’s about our environment, which impacts our health, or about preventive medicine. And nothing is more open-ended than the concept of “mental health.”

We've seen this in smoking bans, bans on trans fats, taxes that target certain behaviors, and a myriad of other issues. Anyone who thinks that government will be a benevolent actor in health care is kidding themselves. The marketplace may not be perfect, but with a few reforms it sure as heck beats the alternative.