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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TedN" data-source="post: 2371489" data-attributes="member: 155995">capitalism or something? OK, you talk and talk about free market, freedom, individual rights, non-interference and land of the free, yet the majority of people here seem to support two very anti-capitalistic practices in American society: the Cuban trade embargo and tying health insurance to employment. Let me explain:1. By tying insurance to employment and making that the typical pool by which a person with a pre-existing condition can gain affordable health insurance, you are creating what is known as "job lock" ---a person loses his job mobility out of fear of losing affordable health insurance, thus he cannot work part time, work two part-time jobs, do a job he loves but one that does not offer health insurance and it makes it difficult for him to start a small business, yet so many Americans support tying insurance to employment, a relic of the 1940s and a serious handicap for those seeking to chart their own career path. Australia, a solidly *capitalist* nation does not do this ----they have both public and private insurance thus Aussies have more flexibility in their job choices, unlike Americans scrambling to take a job for which they might not have the greatest aptitude solely based on what insurance it offers. FACT: people do take jobs solely based on the insurance it offers, I have and so have many other people I know with pre-existing conditions who aren't sick enough to qualify for state aid or Medicaid. 2. The Cuban trade embargo. Now, I have been to Cuba and saw it as a disaster so please don't insult my intelligence by calling me "Pro Castro," when I am anything but. What shocks me is that the very notion of limiting the travel rights of an American citizen is not an outrage for the majority of Americans. It's the principle behind it, that you don't have the same freedom to travel as say, a New Zealander or an Irishman. You are losing out on trading with a major partner, something the Canadians and Europeans are doing and thus cornering the market that you seal yourselves off to in favor of trading with other communist nations like China and Vietnam (which also nationalized corporations as Cuba did) and repressive nations such as Saudi Arabia.         Why do so many of you denounce socialism, boast of your support for the free market yet hold on to relics such as employer-based health insurance, which limits job mobility and small-business growth, and an embargo that is a relic of the Cold War and keeps you from entering a potentially lucrative market?Me: pro-free market therefore I believe in severing the link between health insurance and employment and allowing Americans the same freedom as those from other rich, free nations: to visit and spend money in Cuba.</blockquote>

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