Ron: The health care fallacy that politicians don’t consider

There’s concept in economics called the “sunk cost fallacy.” In a nutshell, it says that a person’s decision making skills are influenced by how much they have already invested. Time, money, and effort invested in a cause will make you continue to go forward even when it is no longer is the right decision.

You can see this concept everyday in people who stay in a failed marriage or start up companies that borrow money just one more time. Surely, we’re just about to turn the corner. Right?

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So what are we talking about here?

I think this entire health care debacle is one giant example of the sunk cost fallacy.

There has been so much invested on both sides, for so many years, that it has become impossible for anyone to give up.

But let’s think about this for a minute. Let’s say we were tasked with creating health care from scratch and had never heard the word Obamacare, or Trumpcare. Would reasonable, intelligent people invent what we have now?

Not in a million years. It makes no sense. It is a system that is completely overly complicated and inefficient. If we were going to start over we’d all make some basic assumptions. People get sick and need health care. People shouldn’t die because they can’t afford medical care. So far, so good? We all agree with that basic concept? Good.

So now we have to build a system that solves this reality.

Does it seem logical to have everyone contribute into a giant medical fund? Then have smart people invest that huge pool of money to try and make money on the money. Then pay out money to health care providers that are helping the sick?

Some people will pay more into the system. Some people will use more healthcare because they get sick a lot. I’d vote to be on the healthy-and-paying-into-the-system team. But if everyone is pulling in the same direction, it could work.

The slogan that ushered a man into the White House was “Make America Great Again.” You know how I would define greatness? When a person gets sick, they can go to the doctor and not worry about losing their life savings.

That’s what we’re talking about.

“What Are We Talking About Here” can be heard every weekday at 4:50 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. on the Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.