Tuesday, 5/20/97 No impending disasters threaten freedom-loving
Americans SOCIALISM: End to government funding of colleges, health
care would not produce dire results
By MacLane Key In his attack on Daniel Rego, Dale Chapman
comments in "Try socialsim again for the first time," (Daily Bruin,
Friday) on the doom he thinks would result if socialism were
removed from the U.S. college education system. Chapman also wrote
of the virtue of Canada’s socialized medical system. Chapman’s
vision deserves a critical examination. Let’s assume Chapman’s
worst nightmare occurs, and state-run colleges cease to exist.
Chapman thinks this will result in students only having two college
choices: expensive, top-rate colleges and cheap colleges of
questionable educational value. This is as absurd as saying that
without government help, people’s computer choices would be limited
to buying a shiny, new Pentium Pro or a Commodore PET. With the
state schools gone, new private colleges would take their place
offering varying levels of educational quality for varying levels
of cost to the student. In addition, let’s say all guaranteed
federal and state financial aid were gone. Some of the better
colleges might be able to maintain their high prices on private
funds alone, but many would find that students would simply not
attend because prices are too high for the educational return.
Since colleges could no longer just up their fees and assume that
big brother will pay the difference, many would be forced to lower
their fees. In essence, market forces, controlled by the benefit of
an education, would control the cost of education. The last 40
years showed us that any time the government decides to "help"
someone pay for something, the price of that something soars. This
is especially true in the medical field. The government began
socializing medicine in the United States with Medicare, and due to
the socialists’ tinkering with the market forces, prices
skyrocketed. Conversely, one area of medicine, cosmetic surgery,
was left untouched by Medicare, and prices there have not
experienced the same explosion as the rest of the field. As for
Chapman’s assertion that universal health care is "the right of
every human being," that statement is not just wrong; it is evil.
No one has the right to the fruits of someone else’s labor. That
evil idea should have died in this country with the end of slavery.
Unfortunately, the socialists insist on keeping it alive. If
Chapman thinks socialism is the way to go, then I suggest he go
back to Canada. I’d also invite all other socialists to follow him
and stop forcing their socialist values on us freedom-loving
Americans. Key is a computer science graduate student. Related
Links: Democratic Socialists of America DSA Web Guide to Socialist
Ideologies