How a $55 tow job becomes a $200 tow job
If I had any lingering thoughts that government should be involved with health care, they went right out the window today. You might say what does a tow job and government run health care have in common. Well let’s take a look at why what normally would be a $55 tow job on the regular free market, becomes a $200 tow job under state regulation.
I live in Lehi and last night was one of the most amazing wind storms and drifting I’ve ever seen. Frankly to watch how powerful mother nature is was pretty awesome notwithstanding the danger it posed on the roadways. Anyway I got stuck in a drift, like hundreds of others, on my way home and had to abandon my car or else spend a cold night in the old accord. I choose to walk the mile or so home. When I went with some neighbors to dig out my car early this morning, we found it had been towed. I called Vern’s Tow Shop (which is about two miles from where I was towed), and was informed that my towing fee would be $198. I was blown away, so I had my wife call in and get a quote for our other car from the same place. We were told it would cost $55. For those keeping track that is a $143 difference in cost for the same work.
How does this happen? Well the state legislature thought it would be a good idea to “regulate” towers by setting standard baseline fees for towing companies anytime they towed an abondoned car. Now either they didn’t care to take a look at market prices or the towing lobby worked some smoke and mirrors, because the base fee to tow a car you have to abadon in a snow storm is $121 plus a fuel surcharge, plus a milage fee, plus a housing fee, etc., etc.
Now let’s look at what this looks like in a government run health care system. Let’s say for example, that I have a common cold and need to go to the doctor. With the current market, it probably costs $75-100 depending on if they give you a test or not. In the government run “price” controlled system, based just on a simple towing example, I (the taxpayers, because government run health care is NOT FREE) would be paying between $270-$360 for the same visit. So much for “affordable” government health care!
Don’t believe me…may I recommend the book “A Taxpayer Survey of the Grace Commission.” This book outlines how a Home Depot hammer costs the military several hundred dollars and many more examples of how when government gets involved affordable goes out the window
