In casual conversation, I have occasionally used an economic argument similar to Herrick's. The responses I get are:

1. This time the results from government-controlled medicine will be different!

2. So what? Even if socialized medicine is less efficient, what matters is that everyone be taken care of. It is better to suffer together than it is to have some succeed while others fall through the cracks.

Economics means nothing within a framework of egalitarianism and altruism. However, I have found an economic argument _can_ be persuasive for those individuals who implicitly recognize the need to respect individual rights but aren't sure that the theory of freedom will produce practical results.

I thought it might be good idea if FIRM provided a link to a page that displayed the names of the representatives for each state, and how they can be contacted. The page could also list important upcoming votes in congress. I think a lot more letters would be written.