[ricechex]

Originally Posted by qprogeny79

because state-funded health care is inherently part of the welfare state. if the government helps wal-mart pay its healthcare benefits to its workers, it can only do so by getting the money from taxpayers -- i.e., by holding a gun to their heads.

well, we agree it shouldn't be. one can't claim, "hey it's capitalism, wal-mart good", b/c we've just demonstrated it's exactly not capitalism in this sense.

the only legitimate functions of a government are to protect its citizens' rights from foreign invaders and domestic criminals and to arbitrate disputes through a judiciary. to get the government in the business of protecting its citizens from anything else (unemployment, disease, poverty, financial insecurity after retirement, etc.) is to establish a welfare state; that's why the private sector exists.

i respectfully completely disagree. we've seen the results via the Enron's of the world