Health care a la Karl Marx?

So I finally got around to seeing Sicko (watch it here), and you know what? It is excellent. Completely excellent. Michael Moore certainly knows how to tug at the emotions. Have to admit I was tearing up in spots. I especially loved the stats on what politicians were owned. Priceless! My one beef with what he showed was a completely unnecessary interview with the daughter of Che Guevara, that mass murderer, who remains inexplicably popular in Hollywood. I could have done without that.

However, I think I'm sticking to my initial hunch: he's dead on about the problems we face but overreaches in calling for complete, single-pay government control.

Check out this article making similar point. I was fascinated that the author is an economic advisor to the Obama campaign, which raises my interest in his candidacy. Key passage:

So, to do as Moore wants in the United States, you would need to do more than just overcome the insurance industry. You would need to cut the salaries of doctors, reform the legal system, enrage our allies by causing their prescription drug costs to escalate, and accustom patients to a central decision-maker authorized to determine what procedures they are and are not allowed to get. Unless every one of these changes comes together, Moore's new system would end up costing an enormous amount of money.

In light of the seriousness of the problem, and the extent to which our politicians are so obviously bought off, Gooslbee's response to Moore is certainly less trite than, say, this one.

Update: Ooops!