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Originally Posted by Gullanian
True, I thought most were though, which I guess is my ignorance. Are you a libertarian and what level of state do you support? The only libertarians I've run into are ones who seem to want everything to be privatised including social welfare, hospitals etc which I think is an awful idea.
Most people in Europe are shocked at the resistance Obama care received, for me it just comes down to a matter of empathy, do you want to pay to help those in need or not.
I find myself voting libertarian, although I think mostly because the government is incompetent (at best). Gary Johnson would get my vote in a heartbeat this election cycle, no matter what party he ran under.
If I could wave a magic wand and dictate policy, I would first eliminate the drug war and America's bloated "defense" budget. Then eliminate corporate welfare, the surveillance state and get the government out of areas they should not be in (ie, online poker!). When it comes to health care I would try to remove the layers that come between doctor and patient, and eliminate the policies that artificially reduce the number of doctors. Hopefully that would reduce the cost of "routine" health care to the point where it could be purchased like any other service, and return "insurance" to coverage for major illnesses.
After those major steps were taken, then it could be time to get into the more philosophical issues, such as min. wage or privatized social security.
Edit: as an aside to your last comment, "Obamacare" is terrible because it mixes the worst of both public and private systems. Single-payer would be by far better for the people, but would also cost MUCH more for the government. (This is where the savings of the drug war/defense budget could go)