You've conflated health care with health insurance. Everyone in the U.S. has access to emergency health care and many have access to quite a lot of non-emergency health care for free. It is definitely not all or nothing currently.
I do care greatly for my fellow man, but, many of my fellow men are quite adept at taking advantage of the social welfare programs already in existence. Due to her line of work, my wife has, on numerous occasions, visited the homes of people living off the government. Far too often these people are capable of working, but find the trade off not worth it due to the implicit marginal tax rate. The existence of the social welfare programs not only enables unemployment, it also encourages it. Also, discouragingly, these same families often have greater luxuries than mine (nicer cars, house, tvs, gadgets, etc). While anecdotal, this experience is VERY common in my neck of the U.S.
Just because I am responsible, work hard, and frugal with the money I make, I have to be paying to enable and encourage others to do the opposite? How is that good in the long term for them or myself? At what point should I stop working, because if I do work, the taxes will be so high I won't gain a better living standard than if I didn't?
I do care greatly for my fellow man, but, many of my fellow men are quite adept at taking advantage of the social welfare programs already in existence. Due to her line of work, my wife has, on numerous occasions, visited the homes of people living off the government. Far too often these people are capable of working, but find the trade off not worth it due to the implicit marginal tax rate. The existence of the social welfare programs not only enables unemployment, it also encourages it. Also, discouragingly, these same families often have greater luxuries than mine (nicer cars, house, tvs, gadgets, etc). While anecdotal, this experience is VERY common in my neck of the U.S.
Just because I am responsible, work hard, and frugal with the money I make, I have to be paying to enable and encourage others to do the opposite? How is that good in the long term for them or myself? At what point should I stop working, because if I do work, the taxes will be so high I won't gain a better living standard than if I didn't?
http://mises.org/daily/3822