Miscellaneous

Better Health Care

When economists talk of improved healthcare, they are generally speaking of technological improvement or increased efficiency in the production of medical care.  When most people talk about better healthcare, “better healthcare” means more medical services for free.  The Angry Economist rants regarding the ‘something-for-nothing’ attitude of the general public.

The very existance of that phrase [“better health care”] points to an effort to turn Health Care from an economic good into a political good. That is, one which cannot be purchased, but which is available (at some level of quality and supply) to everyone.

Ponder this: have you ever heard of a Campaign for Better Hot Dogs? Or the Better Blue Jeans Taskforce? No, of course not, because those are economic goods are supplied via markets. There are many different amounts, kinds, and prices of these goods available to purchasers. Some of these are markedly poor quality, yet they are purchased anyway.