EU Threatens Britain’s Socialized Medicine

In general, I think the European Union is a horrible idea. But occasionally it sheds interesting light on political and economic conditions in Europe.
Tomorrow’s London Times reports that the European Central Bank has warned Great Britain that it “will be forced to scrap the National Health Service if it joins the euro.” According to the Central Bank, “free health care would have to be restricted to emergency services only, otherwise the cost would overwhelm European economies and lead to soaring inflation.”
Abandoning the National Health Service would be a watershed in English history, and I doubt that it’s going to happen. But it is noteworthy, on the day after Democratic candidates, in their first “debate” of the campaign season, fell over one another to promise socialized medicine in America, that Europeans are beginning to realize that an unlimited “right” to free health care cannot be paid for.