Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
--C.S. Lewis--

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Fresh In From The Department Of Stupid Conclusions

Health insurance makes you fatter. Researchers at Stanford, University College London and RAND have come to that brilliant conclusion, by looking at BMI's of people with and without insurance. If a blogger with no degree in any relevant field can immediately come up with three or more flaws in your reasoning, chances are, your study is stupid. Let's apply the test:

1. Europeans are generally thinner than Americans, yet America has no nationalized health care while European nations generally do.
2. Younger people are less likely to be fat, and also less likely to have insurance.
3. Obesity and poverty are linked, and our poorest citizens have access to Medicaid, SCHIP, etc. that actually makes them more likely to be insured than lower-middle-class people.
4. White collar jobs (i.e. sedentary jobs) are more likely to offer insurance than jobs that keep people physically active.

Anyone else got any ideas?