Trending Now
The Oklahoma City Bombing: A Lesson in Government...
The Oklahoma City Bombing: A Lesson in Government...
Election Policy Roundup
Anti-Profiling Court Order Cuts LA ICE Arrests by...
Freedom of Silence? England Investigating a Woman for...
The Federal Government and Harm Reduction
Indian group to invest P4B in New Clark...
Remittances expected to drop next year, Visa survey...
Sept. LEDAC to determine priority status of military...
Chamber backs Ang proposal for private sector-led flood...
  • About Us
  • Contacts
  • Email Whitelisting
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
DailyProfitTips.com
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Economy
  • Investing
  • Politics
  • World News
Editor's PickInvesting

The Nation “Don’t Need No Doctor”: Rethinking the Surgeon General’s Office

by July 22, 2025
July 22, 2025

Jeffrey A. Singer

doctor

It has been more than seven months since Donald Trump took office as president, and the Senate still hasn’t held confirmation hearings for his nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means, MD. Dr. Means is a controversial choice because, despite her Stanford credentials, she never completed a residency, doesn’t hold a current medical license, and promotes trendy but unproven wellness claims that alienate both public health traditionalists and parts of the anti-establishment right.

If confirmed, Dr. Means would not be the first controversial surgeon general. In recent decades, surgeons general have undermined their intended role as public health officials by inserting themselves into issues that extend far beyond the classical liberal conception of “public health”: protecting people from harms like infectious disease and pollution that they didn’t consent to. Instead, they’ve used taxpayer dollars to weigh in on everything from media violence, pornography, and education to poverty, guns, and inequality—and more recently, on parenting, labor, loneliness, and social media—often supporting new regulations, subsidies, and gun control laws. Some of these issues relate directly to personal health; many barely do.

With the eventual surgeon general confirmation hearings sure to stir heated and divisive arguments, it would serve the public well if Congress were to ask, “Why does the United States have a surgeon general?” and “Does the country even need one?”

These questions aren’t just rhetorical. In “Unnecessary Relics: The Surgeon General and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,” a new Cato policy analysis released today, Michael Cannon, Akiva Malamet, Bautista Vivanco, and I examine the surprising evolution—and overreach—of the surgeon general and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

What began in 1798 as a civil servant role overseeing merchant marine hospitals has become a politicized platform and a 6,000-member uniformed corps that deploys slowly, duplicates civilian functions, and operates outside traditional public health. Presidents have eliminated the office before. Maybe it’s time to do so again.

We concluded that both the surgeon general and the Commissioned Corps burden taxpayers, reduce accountability, and ultimately undermine public health. Eliminating both and shifting necessary functions to other agencies would improve both public health and the federal budget.

The HHS website calls the surgeon general “the nation’s doctor.” But after reading our report, Congress might agree with Humble Pie: the nation “don’t need no doctor”—and it doesn’t need the doctor’s staff, either.

previous post
BPOs wary of ‘indirect’ effects of US tariffs
next post
The Theory of Interest

Related Posts

Election Policy Roundup

August 14, 2025

Anti-Profiling Court Order Cuts LA ICE Arrests by...

August 14, 2025

Freedom of Silence? England Investigating a Woman for...

August 14, 2025

The Federal Government and Harm Reduction

August 14, 2025

Indian group to invest P4B in New Clark...

August 14, 2025

Remittances expected to drop next year, Visa survey...

August 14, 2025

Sept. LEDAC to determine priority status of military...

August 14, 2025

Chamber backs Ang proposal for private sector-led flood...

August 14, 2025

Entire sugar harvest to be classified for domestic...

August 14, 2025

MSRP will remain during freeze on rice imports

August 14, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News And Articles.

    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!
    • About Us
    • Contacts
    • Email Whitelisting
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions

    Copyright © 2025 DailyProfitTips.com All Rights Reserved.

    DailyProfitTips.com
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Economy
    • Investing
    • Politics
    • World News