Public Healthcare and the Perils of Disincentivization

How the U.K.’s NHS Models the Negative Effects of Making a Society’s Vital Career Fields Less Attractive

Somewhere on the tranquil plains between the dream of “an affordable existence for everyone” and the fear of “inadvertent communism through excessive social welfare programs” lie the realities of human nature and disincentivization.

Proponents of the true meritocracy argue that those who have excelled and have accordingly reaped a superior level of reward should not be forced to forfeit the riches they’ve earned. Those with stronger humanitarian views argue that it is senseless to permit the rich to bask in ridiculous opulence while their less fortunate fellow citizens hopelessly toil in failing effort to survive.

It’s an ideological battle that is certain to be at the forefront of next year’s United States Presidential election, and one that’s currently center stage in the Democratic Party primary debates leading up to that election. Specifically situated on the dockett are the questions of a universal health care system and debtless government funding of higher education.

“The United Kingdom’s public health care system is facing a catastrophic crisis of…