On the month of October in 2009 after much deliberation between the House and the Senate and to the dismay of most Americans after public displays of dissent towards representatives at town hall meetings, the Government passed the Autobama Care Bill.
The bill stated that from this point on all vehicles belonging to every American of every make and model and of any mileage were eligible for free care at zero (direct) cost. This meant that if anyone was caught in an automobile accident, instead of having to pay an insurance premium to cover upfront costs the Government would step in and pay for the repairs in full of both victims. This would eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy from insurance agencies, the quarrels that arise from reluctant drivers that do not want to exchange information and would provide the term "car accident" with its true meaning connoting that there truly is "no one to blame."
The implementation of this bill would in turn raise taxes on the paychecks of consumers since the Government would require a projected Trillion dollars to finance such a monstrosity without borrowing most of the money. This would then result in the further reduction of the net dollars earned after taxes for every American's paycheck. The reason being that now out of the estimated tens of millions that were previously uninsured, not due to cost but to the voluntary opting out of such services to perhaps employ those earnings towards other ventures. Now these individuals who opted out on their own discretion were also being indirectly taxed to pay for this Universal Car Care bill further hindering their application of "left-over" dollars to be applied to other resources, further encumbering the private sector.
Therefore with such a bill in place every citizen that owned a vehicle now paid a visit to their mechanics regarding every single hiccup or minor malfunction. The surge in demand for car care went through the roof as there were not enough shops nationwide to meet this sudden artificial rise in repairs. Turnaround times for repairs started to increase exponentially as mechanics worked around the clock to fulfill those needs. Parts that were necessary for repairs became harder to come by as a result of this lack of supply for all these repairs and the nation's stock of auto repair goods plummeted.
Due to this shortage of service and parts, costs of these goods both tangible and intangible skyrocketed creating an inflationary environment in these prices that exceeded any other industry. The net result was the slow but incremental increase in the amount deducted from every individual's paycheck as the projected "Trillion Dollars" somehow kept being readjusted higher and higher (nominally). Some services that were minor and did not require immediate attention had to be turned away by the repair shops because of the strain this was putting on the mechanics and available resources. People were bewildered and beside themselves with this result and blamed the corporations in charge of price gouging and demanded further Governmental intervention.
As time went on the quality and state of despair of Repair shops became increasingly noticeable as attention paid to the cleanliness, customer service, quick repair and turnaround time had to be diverted to meet this new explosion of auto care demand in the industry. Parts went missing as mechanics stole them to be sold in black markets at outrageous prices to those who could afford it and perform the services themselves and did not want to partake in the new bureaucracy that now existed. What about those with insurance? Eventually the private competition was almost entirely wiped out of the market due to the inability to compete with an institution that maintains a monopoly on the fiduciary media and does not operate on a profit-loss system.
As a result the Insurance agencies had no choice but to raise the prices of their services which further excluded the middle class from this faster and less cumbersome service than the public option provided. Now only the elite few could enjoy quick turnaround times at specially designated "private repair shops." However as time went on even those with much discretionary wealth were unable to maintain payments of such magnitudes for these services due to continual price increases to meet costs by the Insurance Agencies and the private options that were still in existence folded completely.
At this point the bureaucracy that insurance agencies used to maintain looked like kid's play in comparison. Mechanics had to turn away older cars that were not deemed "fit" enough by Government standards to receive the necessary care and advised those older and malfunctioning cars to return when one wheel fell off or any part was so damaged that there was no other viable option but to replace it. The auto industry started suffering from domestic sales even further as citizens were milking every last gallon and mile of every car due to less retained private wealth which postponed the sale of new vehicles. New Governmental standards were put forth in the newly built cars to be comprised of less expensive and interchangeable parts to lower the costs of this Universal Car care system, the cars themselves and lessen the burden on taxpayer's earnings.
Originally this was new legislation that was welcomed by the populace and unanimously passed by both the Senate and the House as it seemed to make perfect sense. However, as the Government got more and more involved in the Auto Industry the quality, options and models of cars began decreasing year after year. In half a decade the cars were so plain and dull and malfunctioned so often that everyone hated driving and did not have any demand in purchasing any new automobiles which further depressed the already ailing domestic Auto Industry. The nation almost came to a screeching halt (no pun intended).
The mechanics also suffered from wage decreases due to Governmental costs and the incentive to become one fell drastically. The lower wages also were a direct result not only from the program's cost but that in order to follow Government standards all licensing and trade schools regarding the field of Auto Mechanics were subsidized by Government in an attempt to attract more mechanics to this industry. This ultimately failed and those who were mechanics started providing services at public repair shops on the basis of which type of payment they were receiving. They would offer a quicker turnaround time or a better part that would last longer at a higher price if the consumer wanted it and had the means to pay for such services "under the table." Otherwise they would have to endure the long wait required of all others to receive their repairs. Mechanics even asked for payments in foreign currencies or commodities in an effort to barter for a more valuable asset than their now overly-inflated and devalued Federal Reserve Notes.
However ominous the foregoing has been, interestingly enough this parallel is geared towards the current Universal Health Care boondoggle. Based on the hypothetical situation presented how can a sensible individual with rational thinking accept such horrors when it can potentially affect their very own physical well-being?
A further discussion of how a free market would truly operate in the medical field is warranted but omitted due to the intricacies required and to maintain the article at a certain length. In short, return the Medical Care system to a complete free market and see costs drop and citizens will be taxed less. Insurance is for emergency care like the type paid for in case of disasters or accidents that occur to the individual's house or vehicle respectively. No one has insurance for toilet repair, door and lock repair, window repair, tire repair etc. Just as there should not be insurance for all visits to the doctor, let the market price those services through unhampered competition and leave the insurance to emergency medical procedures and major surgeries.
September 8, 2009
