A Glimmer?

Cato’s Michael Tanner sees some hope in the fact that neither Obama nor McCain are proposing to mandate the purchase of health insurance.

Overall, McCain has the better proposal. Obama’s plan, with its heavy reliance on government, leads to the same problems that bedevil universal healthcare systems all over the world: limited patient choices and rationed care. McCain’s proposal is much more consumer-centered and taps into the best aspects of the free market.

But regardless of who becomes president, we can expect major changes for the American healthcare system. And it’s a good sign that we’re beginning to debate the right things.

That’s true enough, but I’m less sanguine about the state of the national health care debate than he is.  Even McCain’s best proposals tend to be packaged in the language of "what government can do." But this sends entirely the wrong message; the best thing the government can do is get out of the way.