Greetings from Canada

I'm finishing up a swing through Canada, giving speeches for the Fraser Institute to audiences in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. I've been talking about the size of government and the future of capitalism. As you might imagine, several people have asked about the battle in America over government-run healthcare and how the sysetm in the United States today compares to the Canadian system. I make two points. First, I tell tham that America's health care system already is largely run by government. Obama's proposal simply increases the level of control from perhaps 70 percent to 80 percent. Second, I tell them that the surviving remnants of a free market in the United States are worth preserving. Politicians have made the American system very cumbersome and expensive, but it is nonetheless the place where people want to be when their lives are on the line. So it's quite appropriate that this bit of news was just unveiled:

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States. CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 59, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week. The premier's office provided few details, beyond confirming that he would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a routine procedure.

Why is it that Canadian politicians come to the United States, but the medical traffic never heads in the other direction? Somebody should ask Obama to provide an answer.