About Rod D. Martin
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Politics & Economics
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Faith & Cultureby Rod D. Martin
April 1, 2012
Someone asked: if conservatives are against Obamacare, what are they for? And how do we take care of the truly poor in a market-based system?
1. Recognize that the current (pre-Obamacare) system is almost as socialist as Obamacare.
2. Tear down the system of government price controls which, in the first year after implementation, tripled the price of nearly every medical procedure in America (and has continued upward ever since).
3. Get rid of insane corporate welfare schemes such as the one which makes Blue Cross the ONLY insurer in Alabama. Without real competition prices cannot fall; with a thousand insurers in the game, they’ll fall like rocks.
4. Strengthen the Health Savings Account law, which (1) makes it extremely easy for individuals and small businesses to have high quality health coverage, while (2) forcing medical providers to compete on price (something which is currently impossible, since the complex system of co-pays and co-insurance and so forth hides the true price of every procedure from virtually every consumer). It also accomplishes a key goal every conservative and every American should embrace: everyone’s health care expenses — every penny you save or spend — should be exempt from taxation, period. The Democrats won’t give you this, ever. The Republicans have been for it for decades.
5. Implement Loser-Pays as the standard in medical malpractice cases. By eliminating frivolous and speculative lawsuits, you radically reduce the cost of practicing medicine. (Note to my lawyer friends: a severability clause applies to this suggestion.)
6. Dump the Kefauver Amendment. The FDA can protect us from bad drugs by guaranteeing safety WITHOUT also guaranteeing efficacy. The latter requirement is a scam to concentrate profits in the hands of an oligarchy of large pharmaceuticals, at the expense of smaller, more entrepreneurial ventures and the general public. This one thing would crash the cost of prescription drugs, and dramatically cut the time-to-market for life-saving innovations.
7. Let markets work. Resist the temptation to regulate. Bureaucrats manifestly do NOT know best when it comes to health care. When in doubt, repeal: let doctors and patients decide. And when you do, you’ll find that there may be some quacks and there may be some failures, but doctors and hospitals will get extremely good at marketing themselves based on their credentials, skills and track records. For the handful of idiots who choose unwisely, well, that’s freedom: the right to make your own choices.
Implement these steps and what you’ll get is constantly dropping costs, constantly increasing quality and service — you know, like you’ve come to routinely expect with computers, cell phones and other products and services that exist in a truly free market — and so much new economic activity that a true safety net for the truly poor is no burden on society whatsoever.
That’s the conservative vision in a nutshell. I’m certain I’ve left out a lot, but that’ll do off the top of my head. What are your thoughts?
(The preceding was originally a Facebook status update.)
Rod D. Martin is a leading futurist, technology entrepreneur, author and activist from Destin, Florida. He was part of PayPal’s pre-IPO startup team, serving as special counsel to founder and CEO Peter Thiel, and also served as policy director to former Governor Mike Huckabee. He is Founder and CEO of The Martin Organization, whose portfolio of companies includes Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GALT), Advanced Search Laboratories, Proxomo Software, Agincourt Ventures and the 10 X Fund. His charitable and church work is central to all he does, and he further engages our culture as President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA), as founder of The Vanguard Project, as a widely sought-after speaker and as author of such books as his forthcoming The Imperative of Excellence.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.