Is the cornerstone of conservative health policy proposals and if you do not believe Wonks Anonymous on this point you can check out a eulogy for John McCain's health care reform at Health Policy and Marketplace Blog. It would be useful, on the eve of an election that may still give conservatives executive power - avert this evil please - to consider the meaning of individual responsibility in a particular case.

In general when our conservative friends say individual responsibility they mean that each individual will carry the full cost of their indulgences in medical care. Ideally most of us - Senators and other brave public servants and war heroes excepted - will pay for individual policies based on our age, gender health and other factors that indicate our likely utilization of medical services. Indeed to further apprise us of how we burden society with our silly illnesses we should also take up most of the initial costs of our utilization through high deductibles and coinsurance payments.

Is Wonks Anonymous angry about this? Just a bit.

So how would women fare in this conservative medical utopia? The answer is to be found in today's NY Times in a report on women's experience in the individual health insurance market.

Well, it seems that women pay more for individual policies than comparable men, from 22% more to 33% more. If women waive coverage for pregnancy, labor and delivery the disparity drops just a bit but does not go away.

The article gives two reasons for this:

• Women have been feckless enough to be born with an extra X chromosome and irresponsibly burden their bodies with the extra strain of a complex hormonal cycle and childbearing.
• Women have been socialized to take care of themselves and therefore tend to run to a doctor when they feel ill rather than toughing it out as any self respecting man would.

Obviously these are two places where our society can gain in efficiency, reducing costs and competing more effectively in the world race to the bottom.

We all know that men have superior productivity precisely because these individuals have chosen not to waste their valuable time on the bearing and rearing of children. Wonks Anonymous simply does not understand why we would expect men to pay higher health insurance premiums simply to support this frivolity.

Furthermore Wonks Anonymous notes that, while the extra care that women take of their health does extend their life span on average by seven years beyond that of men, these extra years are generally very low productivity. In fact most older people are not working but sponging off society and creating the entitlement crisis. Better to spend less on care now and have lower pension payments later.

Guys, do you want to give away your hard earned money to weak, whining unhealthy chicks? Who needs 'em?

Irony here? Just a bit. If you haven't voted yet be sure to get out there and vote. It may feel good to sleep in - if you live in California you may think that your vote does not matter - do it anyway. Remember that by doing so you are helping to put a stake through the heart of the noxious selfishness that has done so much damage to our nation.