Michael Moore's Wisdom for Zaniya: People Aren't Cars

While the Zaniya Project Task Force member State Senator Joel Dykstra says he doesn't see a Masschusetts-like plan coming out of the Zaniya Project, this writer remains nervous that the free market theology of the task force members may lead them to recommend a Massachusetts-style mandate to buy private health insurance, akin to the current requirement of all drivers to buy auto insurance. Thus, keep in mind Michael Moore's response this afternoon to a question on NPR's Talk of the Nation about the Massachusetts plan. "It's a bad idea," said the director of SiCKO. "It treats people like automobiles."

Exactly. Health care isn't a typical consumer product. It's not a mere subset of economic activity. It is caring for real people, for life itself. Instead of fretting over insurance agents' profits and the faux-sanctity of the free market, the Zaniya Project needs to put people first and focus on our social responsibility to take care of each other.