As a sign of what may be to come as ObamaCare crumbles before our eyes, a Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates in Virginia has suggested legislation to force doctors to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients. The Democrat, Kathleen Murphy, refuses to recognize, as do most progressives, the laws of economics. If you continue to cut the compensation to doctors while increasing their patient load, you will inevitably drive more of them into early retirement or to abandon practice altogether. You will note that these same Democrats never suggest malpractice reform, which is why those costs continue to rise for healthcare providers.

Now Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Terry McAuliffe, is apparently suggesting he is prepared to go the government shutdown route to establish an ACA exchange in Virginia. What is particularly noteworthy is how Democrats think doctors got to be doctors by being stupid. Why would someone go through almost ten years of higher education at tremendous cost to make an income on the level of a third-rate socialist country? They undoubtedly believe that doctors should make "sacrifices" for the common good, but has anyone noticed politicians making any sacrifices as they exempt themselves and their political cronies from the laws they impose on the general population?

The coming year will no doubt be decisive in terms of the maintenance of the Democratic concept of the welfare state as the country sees clearly what happens when progressives get exactly what they want and how their utopian dreams work in the real world.

Victor Keith writes from Burbank, California and can be contacted at victorakeith.com