In a column  on FoxNews.com, Martin Frost says: “It is unacceptable that the richest and greatest nation in the world does not have an adequate health care system for its people.” That is former Democrat US Representative Martin “Let me count the ways I can get government involved in your lives” Frost.

I wonder if Frost even realizes why we are “the richest and greatest nation in the world.” It’s because we favor a free market over socialism. It’s because we have mostly avoided the temptation to look to the government to supply our basic needs (education, sadly, is one exception). How many more failed experiments will it take for Frost and his ilk to understand that the government doesn’t do anything as well as the private sector? (Providing for the national defense used to be a notable exception, but I’m not sure that it is any more.)

When calling our health care system inadequate, Frost is apparently referring to the fact that everyone can’t afford the best health care available. Surely he knows that the health care available here is among the best in the world. Can everyone afford the best of anything? Of course not. Not everyone can afford the best food available, or the best housing, or the best transportation. In fact, not everyone gets the best possible education, despite the availability of the government-run public education system. But Frost wants a government bureaucracy running health care like the government bureaucracy running the public schools. Do you suppose he expects a better result?

Health insurance and health care are available to everyone. But not everyone chooses to buy health insurance instead of the latest SUV or HD TV. To purchase or not purchase health insurance is just another one of the important decisions we make. Many will decide that food and shelter are more important than health insurance. Who am I or you to disagree with that choice? But that is exactly what we do when we impose a universal government-run health care system on people making that choice. We tell them that they cannot choose to spend their money on food and shelter instead of health care. One way or another, directly or indirectly, the government will take the money to pay for the universal health care system.

A rant against government-run health care is not complete without pointing out that the systems run by the United Kingdom and Canada are not meeting expectations. Health care is available to everyone but not everyone is happy with the level of care they are getting. Long waits are common for certain procedures — even some that are somewhat critical. Those that can afford it often resort to traveling abroad to get better care. Some say that the goal of national health care systems is to provide the same mediocre health care to everyone. The UK and Canadian systems have achieved that — for the less than wealthy.