You Know This...: Economics and Vintage AT&T

Is it weird to consider a Forbes article a "tear-jerker?" It's just that when you read so many articles online, and I read a lot of them, and you find that article after article presents only the idealistic, best-case scenario of the Affordable Care Act, you tend to get a bit annoyed. Then you read an article that not only references Friedrich von Hayek but also critiques the whole ideology behind the ACA, and it becomes just too much for a pregnant woman to handle. It's like stepping back into the 80's and 90's and watching AT&T long-distance commercials all over again. Waterworks.

Let's Go Back To The Beginning

It being Veteran's Day, I had a free day from school and I devoted my morning to catching up on news and what-nots (which may or may not have included a thorough inquiry into the pros and cons of the City Select baby stroller). I clicked over to Forbes to read an editorial and in the sidebar I spied an article titled, "The Obamacare Rollout Debacle Is A Hayekian 'Teaching Moment'."

Immediately there were key words that grabbed my attention: Obamacare, Debacle, Hayekian. What could this mean? I needed to know.

The article first discusses why focusing solely on the problems associated with healthcare.gov is misleading. The problems with the website can be solved, eventually, but focusing too much on that issue masks the underlying and more troubling aspects of the roll-out. From there the author references the man, the myth, the legend, Friedrich von Hayek, a 20th century economist who, were he still alive, would despise our current system of economics.

Hayek believed that the economy is far too complex for anyone to truly understand. We can't know why people spend or save the way that they do. We can't predict how the economy will respond to one incident or another and because of this lack of knowledge, the economy should be left alone. That Hayek had sincere issues with the Federal Reserve, should then go without saying (but I did anyway.) Any bubble, any bust, is typically due to us meddling in the economy in the first place.

The author of the Forbes article suggests that the issues with Obamacare stem from the fact that the government tried to understand what motivates the healthcare industry, and he suggests that they failed miserably.

It's certainly worth a read and if you are reading this and asking yourself "Friedrich von Who?," I'll post a brief educational video that will enlighten you.

Happy Veteran's Day!!