Isn’t it Ironic?

Geoffrey Lawrence

I find it ironic that the same news sources who just two years ago were reporting on the failures of America’s existing system of socialized medicine – that of the United States military – are now the lead cheerleaders trying to force that type of care onto everyone else.

Two years ago, the New York Times was reporting on “poor housing, neglect and a hopelessly complicated bureaucratic maze” at the military’s premier hospital, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Now, the editorial board is advocating for the same type of top-down bureaucratic maze to be imposed on every American, claiming “that the great majority of Americans – those with insurance and those without – would benefit from health care reform.” Of course, the particular “reform” they’re referring to here is not the type that would increase consumer choice and competition and drive down costs. It’s the type that would nationalize the industry, lead to the destruction of consumer choice and a deterioration in quality.

In evaluating plans for a national universal health care system, it’s odd that so few people are taking the time to examine the performance of the United States’ existing system of socialized medicine in order to draw conclusions.

Geoffrey Lawrence

Geoffrey Lawrence

Director of Research

Geoffrey Lawrence is director of research at Nevada Policy.

Lawrence has broad experience as a financial executive in the public and private sectors and as a think tank analyst. Lawrence has been Chief Financial Officer of several growth-stage and publicly traded manufacturing companies and managed all financial reporting, internal control, and external compliance efforts with regulatory agencies including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Lawrence has also served as the senior appointee to the Nevada State Controller’s Office, where he oversaw the state’s external financial reporting, covering nearly $10 billion in annual transactions. During each year of Lawrence’s tenure, the state received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Government Finance Officers’ Association.

From 2008 to 2014, Lawrence was director of research and legislative affairs at Nevada Policy and helped the institute develop its platform of ideas to advance and defend a free society.  Lawrence has also written for the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, with particular expertise in state budgets and labor economics.  He was delighted at the opportunity to return to Nevada Policy in 2022 while concurrently serving as research director at the Reason Foundation.

Lawrence holds an M.A. in international economics from American University in Washington, D.C., an M.S. and a B.S. in accounting from Western Governors University, and a B.A. in international relations from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  He lives in Las Vegas with his beautiful wife, Jenna, and their two kids, Carson Hayek and Sage Aynne.