Choice
WT is very sick. He has cancer. After a round or two of chemotherapy, and the devastating side effects, the cancer is back. More chemo is being applied, and dialysis is being done to his kidneys. It may work, and it may not.
This feature is not about this particular struggle. It is about the refusal of our culture to accept the concept of scarcity. If a person, whose bills are covered, wants to spare no expense to live one more day, then that wish is granted. Is this really the best use of our resources?
A few more things about WT. He is a wonderful man, with a loving family and lots of friends. It is a quality life we are extending. WT is also sixty-ish, and has already lived more than many. At what point do we say, enough is enough?
With the discovery of deficit spending, our government does not choose between guns or butter. It orders both, in heaping quantities, and puts the bill on the tab. As long as the interest is paid on the money borrowed, the machine keeps churning. One of the biggest sources of government spending is health care. We spend money like there is no tomorrow, without asking if it is really a good investment.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
The concept of scarcity is a strange thing. What makes something scare, what makes something a wise investment ? How much money is too much to spend on something to keep you alive ? Who’s money are we spending ? What exactly IS money – it isn’t wealth necessarily; it’s really more of a symbol than a single tangible thing.
A fool and his money are soon parted; and a clever man and his greed are always rewarded. There’s no cure for a lack of wisdom like experience, and even plenty of that isn’t a guarantee now, is it ?
I enjoy your thoughtful blog very much.
Oh, we spend what we do on health care, not because we are foolish about how much is too much or enough, but because we’ve been fooled into the belief that money can buy everything, that it can buy good science, good health care, safe drugs, and a well rounded education.
Money IS needed for all these things, it’s true – but it isn’t ALL that’s needed to make any of these things; it takes much, much more than just money.
When the full force of advertising/PR is employed to convince you that you need the latest drug advertised with a breathlessly fast disclaimer of how many things can go horribly wrong from taking it, you’re right in guffawing out loud at the TV. But what do you say to people who choose to assume such risks/options, and the inevitable problems that also, surprise, require more treatment caused by the initial treatment ?
At some point the respective professions responsible for fostering this mess are going to need to step-up, before they get smacked-down in a manner which undoubtedly will harm more naive and innocent people.