Scope Matters

Do you wonder why there's so much angst about health care reform?

At least part of the reason is the scope of the legislation we're trying to pass. And I don't mean the 2,000-plus-page length of the bills; I mean the fact that it covers the entire nation.

If New York or California wanted to pass a 2000-page bill socializing their health care, I wouldn't protest. If anything, the experiment would give people examples to look at, an ability to see what is possible or likely when we try great big social experiments.

But when you want to take over the entire country's health care system, you've gained my opposition. There's no room for innovation, or for temperance. We're all in it together, and not in a good way: In scientific terms, there's no control group.

The United States are united, yes, but they're also states. They were created as a federation for a reason. We need to maintain our liberty, which means maintaining our ability to *not* always act as a single country.

California, Nevada, New York, New Jersey: Do you want to provide free health care to all of your citizens? Do so. If you don't think you can afford it on your own, what makes you think we can all afford it together? If you think its viability will be undermined by freeloaders from Pennsylvania or Arizona, how does that affect your thinking on America's relationship with Mexico? But whatever your choice, don't force it on others.

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