Is Health Care A Right?

Two levels on which I don't agree that health care is a right. The first level is that, if it is a right, it is definitely not a protected right under the constitution.  If we as a nation define it as a right by adding it as an amendment or addition to the Bill of Rights, then it would become protected.  When the Bill of Rights was written as a compromise for those who questioned the Federalist notion of a constitution and a central government, hospitals and doctors existed.  If the non-Federalists had felt that healthcare was an inalienable right they would have asked for its inclusion into the Bill of Rights, because they basically asked for everything else they could think of. Good thing they did; Imagine being without the Bill of Rights, which is what the Federalists wanted until it was obvious they needed a compromise.

The second level is on what constitutes a right.  What are rights, and where do they come from?  I have always questioned that, and recently questioned it again in regards to whether I should think health care is a right or not.  If it is, I want to be behind it as a defender of rights.  If it is not, I want to explain why not.

Fundamentally:

• A right is rooted in, and constituted of, principles defining the ability to act.

• Rights come from the obligation of others to keep themselves from violating your ability to act.  In other words, rights are negative obligations - weighty responsibilities.   

What we know:

• The need for health care in a time of sickness is not an act.

• Society has only defined certain obligations of doctors in times of emergency, sickness, or need - and complete health care is not one of them.  

So, health care is not a right, but a privilege given to us unvoluntarily (i.e., at a price) by others who possess (which is a right) and have obtained (which is a right) the skills necessary to do so.

True rights do not infringe on another person's rights.  My right in the pursuit of happiness, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to an attorney, right to a fair trial, or any other, should not and do not take away from another's same rights.

If health care was, or could be, a right, how could it be so without taking away the rights of others?

As stated above, I currently have the right to an attorney, but I have to pay for it out of pocket or request one (the act), and the right is given to me to defend me from accusation of my peers (The People, who are under that obligation).  If the People of my State decide to accuse me, I should (and do) have the right to defend myself against them.

However, in the case of a medical need, it usually occurs by natural cause.  The People did not inflict the medical need upon me, so I have no right for a doctor to be provided (there is no act and no obligation).  But I do have the right to hire (a right) one and receive treatment if I have obtained the ability (a right) to do so.

Of course, there are always a few exceptions and further explanations and arguments to these types of philosophies which would take much more time to write than I have.  Such as what happens when The People do inflict harm on someone - then does that person have a right to receive care?  Most judges or juries would rule yes and I agree with that.  Notice, however, that the right is usually alienable, meaning it can be transferred, or it is only for the duration of the treatment of the harm caused.  It normally would not include any and all medical care, as the alienable right was given because The People infringed on that person's right to be left alone.  (See Francis Hutcheson)

One last example, my right to legal representation can still be exercised (therefore it is inalienable) even if all of the lawyers were to leave the world, and none were available to represent me.  In that case, I become my own advocate and represent myself.  The right has not been reduced or transferred from me based on the lawyers' decisions to leave.  On the other hand, if all of the doctors were to leave the world, how would I exercise my right to health care, beyond the rights I already have to take care of and make decisions for myself?

The fact that health care is not a right does not mean we should not be charitable and help where we are able.  It means we should be careful about what types of weighty responsibilities we add to the burdens we share as Americans.  Balance is a notion that we tend to forget about but is symbolically everywhere in the foundations and inner workings of our country.  I believe there is good wisdom in that.

Follow-up: How To Short Sell The Oil Companies

In a previous article, I wrote about how we can collectively work against the oil companies to help improve gasoline prices.  (See the previous article before reading further if you haven't read it already.  Then come back to this article.) We should keep doing that, as now traders and firms like Goldman Sachs are seeing that demand might not be meeting with supply, and oil has been off its highs so far this week.  Keep it up America!

In full disclosure, I am not currently short on oil.  In fact, I am actually long DBO ETFs in one of my portfolios, and have no plans to change my position anytime soon.  I think energy long term is a good play.  But gasoline prices are too high, and unsustainable (in my view) at these levels, and I believe could impact the economy come summer time (like we saw in the perfect market storm of 2008).  I do have another interest in seeing fuel prices decrease, and that is I need to book some flights to Hawaii soon and would love to see some benefits in reduced airfare from lower aviation fuel prices.  Long shot, I know, but I can hope!

I also have seen other researchers write similar things about other commodities, such as food related goods.  Below is what Smartmoney.com had to say on the topic of stockpiling (which is what are doing in effect when we fill our tanks to the brim instead of just filling with a half tank more frequently).

Consider this example.  There are over an estimated 247 million registered vehicles in the US.  The average tank size is around 20 gallons.  That means, if we are keeping our tanks above half full, we are storing between 4.94 billion (at full) and 2.47 billion (at half full) gallons of gasoline, at our cost, not the oil companies' cost.  We are storing billions of gallons of gasoline for FREE, so that we can drive around town for a week without filling up (even though most cities and towns have a plethora of fueling stations along the routes we drive).  Imagine what would happen if we were storing a half tank or less of gasoline (less than or equal to 2.47 billion).  We would immediately stick almost 2.5 billion gallons of product back on the oil companies' "shelves", since their numbers are set to meet the demand at that rate of draw.  How's that for some perspective?

Smartmoney.com:
...

There's also an unintended consequence of stockpiling, says David Bell, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business: You'll actually end up using more of what you've stockpiled than you would otherwise. In theory, doubling the number of soda cases bought would result in a supply that lasts twice as long, but it's more likely that you'll go through it faster, or simply be less frugal about its use with extra on hand. You could even end up throwing out food that expires, rejecting out-of-fashion items, or simply forgetting about the cans of corn stashed behind the hats and mittens in the basement.

Still, buying before prices rise can be smart – in small doses. Most supermarket and drugstore items go on sale just once every 10 to 12 weeks, says Teri Gault, founder of The Grocery Game. If you're loyal to a certain brand, buying extra when you spot a sale is smarter than paying full price the following week when you're actually out. On fashion, retailers sneak in bigger price increases on trend items because consumers can't easily monitor cost like they do for wardrobe staples such as trousers and T-shirts, says Tennant. Many of those items are available now at end-of-season clearances, and can be picked up for a song. And avoiding hyped-up eBay ( EBAY: 29.98*, -0.46, -1.51% ) prices on discontinued items by stocking up is usually a sound strategy, too.

Ultimately, the decision may come down to cash flow. If charging six months worth of dry goods means paying extra interest charges on credit card debt, it's not worth the savings, says Randy Allen, an associate dean for The Johnson School at Cornell University.

Read more: Will Stockpiling Save You Money? - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/budgeting/will-stockpiling-save-you-money-1298583519761/#ixzz1Gm8Ox5Y4

Additional notes: When gasoline is sitting in your tank, it is evaporating.  Why pay out of your pocket just to let more droplets of gasoline disappear on your dime.  Make the oil companies pay that expense themselves by buying less gasoline at each fuel-up, which forces them to store more gasoline and worry about their own storage tanks' evaporation rates.  While many articles show that the evaporation rates are pretty negligible (less than 1 gallon per year at 60 degrees Fahrenheit), I still need to do some more research on what the rates are like when it is over 90 degrees like most of America is during the summer months.  Also, when liquids slosh around, there is more evaporation.  There are also arguments about cars that have evaporation collection systems which reuse gasoline that might help mitigate your losses.  Additionally, E10 or higher Ethanol gasoline is said to evaporate even more due to the alcohol content.


However, even if you are not benefiting from less evaporation, you may stand to benefit from increased gas mileage by not hauling around so much liquid in your tank.  As the power of your engine increases (4 cyl, V6, V8) the benefits decrease: meaning you'll see better gas mileage for half tanks in a 4 cyl than you will in a V8.  But remember, these are just added benefits, so if you don't receive these benefits because your car is bigger or has cool vapor catching gizmos, it doesn't matter.  The bigger benefit is short selling the oil companies, over-supplying them with excess inventory, by not filling up a full tank when you go to the pump.  They will soon see that they have too much gasoline product on hand and reduce the price to get rid of it.


If interested, you can read more on efficiencies here:


http://www.creditinfocenter.com/wordpress/2008/07/24/increase-mileage-gas-tank-full-or-half-empty/