Why do I say that capitalism works?
Because whenever there is a demand for something, a market for it emerges.
EVEN IF THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN QUESTION IS ILLEGAL.
Perhaps especially if it's illegal.
This is why I am kind of ambivalent about some of the gay marriage things. The hill that some pundits have chosen to die on is that getting gay marriage will give them the same rights as other married people, like insurance.
Have they considered that the insurance company has already decided that there's not enough demand for this service to make it worth providing? I was reading the other day that homosexuals are just 1.2% of the population. That's a pretty small market, really.
I think that the gay community should, perhaps, embrace a bit of libertarianism here. Why is it up to the government to force insurance companies to treat your relationship like a marriage? For that matter, why does your relationship need governmental approval? I don't think that it does, and 1.2% of the US population is still 3.6 million people; convince the insurance companies to make policies that benefit you.
Perhaps the only place the government has in a marriage is tax breaks for kids. Other than that it's a contract and should be handled as such. It's right in the etymology of the ceremony. Marriage vow. Vows were deadly serious verbal contracts; binding forever.
Going back to that might not be such a bad idea. Of course, the puritans will have to contend with marriage contracts that allow for multiple spouses, same sex relationships and all manner of complications that sentient people can dream up.
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"Have they considered that the insurance company has already decided that there's not enough demand for this service to make it worth providing?"
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure demand plays a part in that. For example, most insurance companies, if not all, will only allow someone to insure children and spouses - period. They won't even allow parents to insure children beyond a certain age, and there is certainly a significant demand for that. Even insuring step-children can be difficult, AFAIK - again, something you would think has a significant demand. Why should the insurance company care who is paying, as long as they get their money?
How much of that is due to government regulation, and how much is the insurance company? That's the first question to ask. "Why" is the next question.