England's Socialized Medicine

What do all socialist schemes to run health care have in common -- They all result in rationing. In fact everything run by government, results in rationing. Why, because when things are free, or at least appear to be free, then the only result is a bottomless pit of insatiable demand. It's like some law of the jungle that when supply is artificially constrained people will wait in longer and longer lines to get the few that remain.

The Soviet Union of old tried this, and it resulted in the entire country doing nothing more than waiting in long lines, for everything.

We would be wise to pay attention to the English socialized health care before we ram head on into the same dead end. The headline shows how supply is being rationed, not as many beds. A major decrease in quality while at the same time, constricting supply.

NHS hospitals lose 32,000 beds in a decade

More than 30,000 hospital beds have been lost since Labour came to power, with record cuts in NHS wards last year. The Department of Health claims bed numbers have fallen because hospitals are more efficient, with patients staying for shorter periods

The cutbacks mean increasing numbers of hospitals are going on "black alert" – which involves closing their doors to new patients because they are full.

Patients' groups described the loss of the beds, at a time when overcrowded wards have seen soaring rates of killer infections, as "a national scandal".

The reduction contradicts a pledge from Tony Blair at the turn of the century that there would be 7,000 more NHS beds by 2010. New figures, seen by The Telegraph, show that the number of health service beds fell more than 8,000 last year, as the NHS began a reorganisation process which will mean the closure of dozens of hospitals.

More than 40 per cent of maternity units turned away women in labour last year because they had no room.

Meanwhile, ambulances have been forced to queue outside overstretched hospitals, treating patients in car parks just yards from accident and emergency departments. The new statistics, revealed in response to a parliamentary question by Ed Vaizey, the Conservative MP, show that almost 32,000 NHS hospital beds went between 1997, when Labour took office, and 2007.

Costs sky-rocket with insatiable demand, the only possible solution is to cut back the number that can be taken in at a time -- Meaning, lengthen the lines.

Nothing complicated about it. Free is never free, no matter who tells you otherwise. The only thing absolutely free in the world is ignorance, and that we seem to have in never ending abundant supply.

When you give up your responsibilities you will have no more rights.