Haven’t We Heard This Argument Before?

So I was listening on the radio the other day to a conversation about “Obamacare” and it went something like this:

Host: So you think everyone should be forced to pay for Healthcare, whether they want it or not?  

Listener:  Yes.

Host: And they shouldn’t necessarily be able to choose their doctor they want, or where or when they can have a particular procedure?

Listener:   Everyone will be given the same care.  It will be good care.  They will not have to decide, the government will decide for them.  It will be fair for everyone.  Everyone will be equal.  No one will be put above another.

Host: What if I want to use a different Doctor, or want to control my own care?  Make my own decisions?  

Listener:   No, we should let the government do it.  They are better equip ted.  They can control all the money, and all the power.  Last year my son was in an accident and didn’t have insurance.  If the government were in charge, he would not have died.  He died because he did not have any money, no insurance, and no one cared.  The government would have saved his life, and he would be here today, with me.  Think of all the lives that would be saved.

Host:  But I don’t want anyone making my decisions for me.  I want the freedom to make my own decisions, my own choices.  We need a government and a system that will allow us to choose for ourselves.

I could not help but think I have heard this line of thinking before, and I have a feeling it did not go so well for about 1/3 of the participants.