Interesting quote

[Gern Blansten]

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"I quit when medicine was placed under state control, some years ago," said Dr Hendricks. "Do you know what it takes to perform a brain operation? Do you know the kind of skill it demands, and the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating devotion that go to acquire that skill? That was what I would not place at the disposal of men whose sole qualification to rule me was their capacity to spout the fraudulent generalities that got them elected to the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun. I would not let them dictate the purpose for which my years of study had been spent, or the conditions of my work, or my choice of patients, or the amount of my reward. I observed that in all of the discussions that preceded the enslavement of medicine, men discussed everything-except the desires of the doctors. Men considered only the 'welfare' of the patients,with no thought for those who were to provide it. That a doctor should have any right, desire, or choice in the matter, was regarded as irrelevant selfishness; his is not to choose, they said, only to 'serve.' That a man who is willing to work under compulsion is too dangerous a brute to entrust with a job in the stockyards- never occurred to those who proposed to help the sick by making life impossible for the healthy. I have often wondered at the smugness with which people assert their right to enslave me, to control my work, to force my will, to violate my conscience, to stifle my mind-yet what is it they expect to depend on, when they lie on an operating table under my hands? Their moral code has taught them to believe that it is safe to rely on the virtue of their victims. Well that is the virtue I have withdrawn. Let them discover the kind of doctors that their system will now produce. Let them discover in their operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe if he is the sort of man who resents it-and still less safe, if he is the sort who doesn't."

 

[partydoc]

"I quit when medicine was placed under state control, some years ago," said Dr Hendricks. "Do you know what it takes to perform a brain operation? Do you know the kind of skill it demands, and the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating devotion that go to acquire that skill? That was what I would not place at the disposal of men whose sole qualification to rule me was their capacity to spout the fraudulent generalities that got them elected to the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun. I would not let them dictate the purpose for which my years of study had been spent, or the conditions of my work, or my choice of patients, or the amount of my reward. I observed that in all of the discussions that preceded the enslavement of medicine, men discussed everything-except the desires of the doctors. Men considered only the 'welfare' of the patients,with no thought for those who were to provide it. That a doctor should have any right, desire, or choice in the matter, was regarded as irrelevant selfishness; his is not to choose, they said, only to 'serve.' That a man who is willing to work under compulsion is too dangerous a brute to entrust with a job in the stockyards- never occurred to those who proposed to help the sick by making life impossible for the healthy. I have often wondered at the smugness with which people assert their right to enslave me, to control my work, to force my will, to violate my conscience, to stifle my mind-yet what is it they expect to depend on, when they lie on an operating table under my hands? Their moral code has taught them to believe that it is safe to rely on the virtue of their victims. Well that is the virtue I have withdrawn. Let them discover the kind of doctors that their system will now produce. Let them discover in their operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe if he is the sort of man who resents it-and still less safe, if he is the sort who doesn't."

That's from Atlas Shrugged right?

Reminds of that Alec Baldwin scene from Malice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g2dkDh4ov4

 

[Gern Blansten]

That's from Atlas Shrugged right?

Reminds of that Alec Baldwin scene from Malice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g2dkDh4ov4

The similarities cease about 4 sentences into Baldwin's speech. Other than a couple of sentences that similarly acknowledge how difficult the process of medical education is, I fail to see any further similarity.

I was reminded of this quote from Atlas Shrugged yesterday when someone else made the statement that "One person's labor cannot be another person's right."

 

[Idiopathic]

rings hollow when you add in the final line... "and i want to be paid 400K a year plus benefits with 12 weeks vacation"

 

[Perrotfish]

rings hollow when you add in the final line... "and i want to be paid 400K a year plus benefits with 12 weeks vacation"

Or the fact that physicians only enjoy those benifits because of government protectionism. If we got rid of physicians' monopoly on medical care and perscrption rights (via medical licensure) that salary and those benifits would come crashing down to earth just like the Lawyers already have.

 

[hoyden]

rings hollow when you add in the final line... "and i want to be paid 400K a year plus benefits with 12 weeks vacation"

and WHY not?

it does NOT sound hollow to me

 

[BLADEMDA]

Or the fact that physicians only enjoy those benifits because of government protectionism. If we got rid of physicians' monopoly on medical care and perscrption rights (via medical licensure) that salary and those benifits would come crashing down to earth just like the Lawyers already have.

Medical Licensure is essential for safety; Lawyers don't kill patients but Unqualified providers do.

Our system is flawed but we will go the Canadian or UK route here which means LICENSURE isn't going anywhere.

 

[Gern Blansten]

**

 

[D P356]

I was reminded of this quote from Atlas Shrugged yesterday when someone else made the statement that "One person's labor cannot be another person's right."

That does seem along the lines of Atlas Shrugged. I appreciate the quote above. I don't have a 'bleeding heart.' This is one of the reasons why I like Ron Paul (but that is irrelevant now).

Ayn Rand became what she preached against in her book; she benefited from government aid as her health diminished. That aid was available due to taxes imposed on businesses. But that may be hearsay.

 

[deleted307836]

That does seem along the lines of Atlas Shrugged. I appreciate the quote above. I don't have a 'bleeding heart.' This is one of the reasons why I like Ron Paul (but that is irrelevant now).

Ayn Rand became what she preached against in her book; she benefited from government aid as her health diminished. That aid was available due to taxes imposed on businesses. But that may be hearsay.

Rand's view was that she was just taking money that was once hers anyway. She never advocated denying government funds that one had already contributed to as a matter of principle. Agree with her or not, I don't think it makes her a hypocrite in any way.

 

[W222]

Rand's view was that she was just taking money that was once hers anyway. She never advocated denying government funds that one had already contributed to as a matter of principle. Agree with her or not, I don't think it makes her a hypocrite in any way.

Rand's objectivism is perhaps the most selfish, me-first-at-all-cost ideology ever preached. Its funny to hear the likes of Rick Santorum praise Rand in one breath and then decry aspects of our culture that he feels are based on "doing whatever makes you feel good."

The quote is kinda lame when you think about the times in medicine, not to long before Rand wrote her magnum dopus (haha), when there was little to no regulation on physicians, pharmacists, dentists and anyone else who wanted to hang a shingle

If you want to know who is truly screwing the physicians then look no further than insurance companies. Their tactic of "deny..deny...deny...deny...here are a few pennies" is what is really killing us.

 

[vector2]

Medical Licensure is essential for safety; Lawyers don't kill patients but Unqualified providers do.

Our system is flawed but we will go the Canadian or UK route here which means LICENSURE isn't going anywhere.

There's also government protection via immigration laws that prevent doctors from other countries from flooding the market here. And there's also the limiting effect of small numbers of medical schools and limited federal GME funding for residency spots. Our medical system (including pharma and devices) is about as far removed from a competitive market as is humanly possible.

 

[Idiopathic]

Rand's view was that she was just taking money that was once hers anyway. She never advocated denying government funds that one had already contributed to as a matter of principle. Agree with her or not, I don't think it makes her a hypocrite in any way.

yes she had a very context-sensitive philosophy.

 

[D P356]

Rand's view was that she was just taking money that was once hers anyway. She never advocated denying government funds that one had already contributed to as a matter of principle. Agree with her or not, I don't think it makes her a hypocrite in any way.

Correct. I see your side as well. When all was well, she dogged the govt taking taxes thereby punishing those who were entrepreneurs/innovators. When she was sick, she didn't turn it away. Did she really pay in more than she received? I don't know, don't really care. Perception is that when she went on rough times, she benefited from what she preached against. Perhaps she didn't have her retirement/portfolio in order to cover her health needs.

The concept of Atlas Shrugged looks good on paper, some folks think communism looks good on paper (We know that doesn't work). I think our country is run with a mix of capitalism and socialism. We can't have just one; just a balance.

My old man told me the quote, "you are guaranteed two things in life; death and taxes."
I don't like paying taxes as much as the next guy. Especially seeing how our govt manages money.

Interesting how the govt will prosecute those who run a ponzi scheme, but they run SS and medicare/medicaid.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Or the fact that physicians only enjoy those benifits because of government protectionism. If we got rid of physicians' monopoly on medical care and perscrption rights (via medical licensure) that salary and those benifits would come crashing down to earth just like the Lawyers already have.