GRASS IN REVIEW

GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII

Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a civil society.

 WEEKLY GRASS IN REVIEW   -    February 27, 2008

Who, You--- in a Zoo?
A Message from Dick Rowland

The Sunday Telegraph of London recently reported that there was a big debate in Britain about how to ration National Health Services (NHS) care. Some would deny care to those who are too old, too obese, or who smoked. Heavy drinkers would be denied liver transplants. Eventually, those receiving government pensions might be denied care and allowed to die because it would save government money.

We should constantly remind ourselves that even if someone does not have health insurance he still has access to health care. Health care comes from medical professionals who usually get paid for their work. Their pay comes from the patient, the government, an insurance company, or a combination of those.

In each and every case, however, there is rationing of care, based on limited resources. In the case of the government, some bureaucrat decides when to withhold or restrict medical care. With insurance, the policy terms prevail. With individuals, the decision is based on the resources of the individual and/or his friends/family/money lenders.

The NHS, which effectively combines the health care and health insurance functions into a neat government package, is a rationing organization. Every individual patient is a potential rationing victim based on the services or whimsical decision of a government worker.

The alternative is to allow the individual to be responsible for:

1. Her own health care and who should be consulted for such.
2. Whether to get insurance or not (and how much) to help with extraordinary, unexpected expenses.
3. Handling her own rationing.

Of course, the great advantage of turning every thing over to the government is that one does not have to make decisions or to take responsibility for them.

TRY OUR BLOGS
Use these links to access various topics.

Dash of Calabash>>>Blog Archives>>>Putting Whales First

The Mystery of Hawaiian History>>>Blog Archives>>>An economist’s view of the Akaka bill

Read what others have written or add your own thoughts by clicking here.

LIBERTY NETWORK

1. Dick Rowland had a Letter to the Editor published in the February 22nd Honolulu Advertiser: "Who will pay when the system fails?"

2. The www.LUV-Hawaii.org website was the subject of the main message of the January 16 Grass in Review. Since then, nearly 160 people have signed the petition and over 100 have posted comments. A few of the comments were published in Hawaii Reporter on 2/8/08 and 2/23/08.  Please read them and sign the petition if you have not already done so. The comments are anonymous and cannot be viewed on the LUV-Hawaii website at this time.
   
   If you have not already signed the petition or gone to the website to learn more about it, please do so today.

3. GRIH and HonoluluTraffic.com sponsored a presentation by John Niles of Global Telematics.  Mr. Niles is a leader in Seattle's Coalition for Effective Transportation Alternatives (CETA). His topic was "Battle in Seattle: How we are defeating what would be the largest light rail in the U.S."

4. A showing of "Call of the Entrepreneur" was sponsored by the University of Hawaii at Manoa Economics Club at Campus Center of the University of Hawaii on February 22nd.  Mike Palcic of MacMouse and Dick Rowland answered questions and led discussion after the showing.

5. Dick Rowland will be out of the office March 6-12 attending the Citizen's Equal Rights Alliance Conference in Washington, D.C.

6. Greg Rehmke of Economic Thinking returns to Honolulu March 12-18. He will offer two three-hour seminars for HPU students on "Energy and the Environment" and "Development Economics in Africa."  He will be attending the Christian Home School Conference March 14-15, presenting a one-hour workshop on "Common Sense Economics" on the 14th.  On Monday, March 17, Greg will hold a workshop for home school debaters on interventionist dynamics as it relates to campaign finance reform (the debate topic). Later that afternoon he will give a talk on "Environmental Economics" at the University of Hawaii, hosted by the Economics Club.

7. On March 14, Dick Rowland and Wendy Fujimoto will be out of the office for most of the day attending the Christian Home School Conference in Honolulu.  The conference continues through Saturday the 15th, with HPU Professor Ken Schoolland scheduled to present a one-hour workshop on "Teaching Economics with Jonathan Gullible Parables."

UPCOMING EVENTS

All of the Institute’s events, research publication dates and speaking engagements are available on our website.

1.  On March 27th, from 11:45 AM - 2:00 PM, Michael Quinn Sullivan, President and CEO of Empower Texans and its premier project, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, will speak at the Pacific Club on "Government Transparency in Texas: A Growing Success Story and Suggestions for Hawaii."  The event is $25 paid in advance and includes a Deli Luncheon Buffet.  More information can be found here..  This event is by invitation only.  All those who wish to attend must reply to their personal e-mailed invitation (to be sent in the next week) or call the office.  Invitees may bring guests if the office is contacted in advance. No walk-ins will be allowed.

2.The 2008 Preserving the American Dream conference: "Preserving Freedom and Mobility"
May 16-18, 2008 in Houston, TX

GRIH will be co-sponsoring the sixth annual Preserving the American Dream Conference in Houston (Omni Hotel near Galleria District) on May 16-18, 2008. Registration is $249 regular or $175 student and low-income. There is an optional lunch and tour of Houston on Friday the 16th (8:30 am – 4:30 pm) for $25. Last year’s attendees really enjoyed the tour of San Jose.

For more information or to register, please visit the American Dream Coalition website.