California's Problem is the Free Spending Government

I wonder if the Measure B money ended up funding the emergency rooms, but the funds designated for them before Measure B were redirected by Los Angeles? It always happens. Government budgets hate to have unspent cash.

That was one argument against the Lotto originally: that the government sees Lotto proceedes as excess and sloughs off money originally earmarked for education. In my humble opinion, Lotto is simply another tax. Looking at the news reports in the neighborhoods when the jackpot is huge, sometimes I wonder if Lotto is another tax on the poor.

I'm with you, Andy, California spends like a drunken sailor: foolishly and in large amounts.

The spending measures, however, are only a symptom of a greater underlying problem: rampant health care costs. Interesting quote from the article Andy cited:

Late last year, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas stopped taking low-income patients who use government insurance unless they are in emergency situations. Other local hospitals said they are having trouble keeping their emergency rooms staffed with enough nurses to meet strict new staffing laws.

The health care system needs revamping, and I'm not talking about the socialization of medicine. One thing I have seen before is the suggestion is that more costs should be shifted to the consumer; that the consumer must bear more of the burden of paying. The thought is that this will actually decrease costs overall. I think I can go for this. I wonder how many people are going to the emergency rooms for things that could be handled by routine doctor visits, or they are going to emergency rooms because they don't have health insurance? There are also probably more doctor office visits where self treatment could have been applied. Dude, how many times do you need to have a doctor diagnose a cold or flu?

Shifting more of the burden of health costs onto me will make me think twice about going to the doctor, perhaps shaving off uneccesary visits. You only need to have 10% of unnecessary costs shaved to have a dramitic impact. Costs should also be shifted in proportion to your usage: there are some people who use the doctor much more than others, but I have to pay for their increased usage without gaining any benefit for myself.