Security vs. Freedom

I'm concerned about the systemic follow-through of our entitlement systems for health care and Social Security.

The facts are stark, even if there is debate about how many years we have before we're crushed in payment obligations we can't fund. I'm tremendously impressed with the strength and resiliency of the US economy (at least in the current world situation; China/India expansion can make some major impacts). But there are reasonable projections of taxes for entitlement payouts requiring being about 20-25% of the GDP!

Generally speaking, I'm in favor of privatizing health care rather than going with government-centric options. We've done the government experiement many times in history, and it has never turned out well. Many people argue that privatizing health care is unfair to the poor or that government (read: Someone Else) should be the sole payer.

So here is a helpful framework for thinking about this issue: Do we want security, or do we want freedom? Security is drawn toward the idea of entitlements and Someone Else paying for it. Freedom looks another way.