Americans are now seeing the damage that polls and focus groups can inflict on White House decision-making. President Barack Obama is no longer shaping the public dialogue on health-care reform. Instead, he is losing control of his agenda and resorting to rhetorical tricks and evasions.What in hell's that supposed to mean? Obama is turning healthcare reform into nonsense by listening to Americans, and Americans should do something about it? In the first paragraph, his own argument bit itself in the ass, and died.
Tax-and-spend liberalism doesn’t work, no matter how pretty its package.When it's wrapped up like the Bush Administration, even the dog won't play with it, either.
The WSJ also offers the following gloomy graph, shown at the right. It describes the future gap from 2014 until 2029, as though it were are real as "borrowing from our children and grandchildren!"
Don't worry, folks. We'll be mighty well into the Euthanasia Bandwagon by the time 2020 comes around, if that's the picture of "healthcare" after the next few years.
We seem to have a bit of the "second train" paradox. You're tied to the railroad tracks, it's 9:55, and a train comes every hour, on the hour. You absolutely don't need to be concerned about the 11:00 train, nor the noontime express; by then, there is nothing worse that can happen to you.
Assumpsit global warming. By then, what are the chances that our economy, now in ballistic free-fall, will even be able to sustain carbon emissions? Don't worry about it.
Arthur Laffer writes some interesting commentary:
The health-care wedge is an economic term that reflects the difference between what health-care costs the specific provider and what the patient actually pays. When health care is subsidized, no one should be surprised that people demand more of it and that the costs to produce it increase. Mr. Obama’s health-care plan does nothing to address the gap between the price paid and the price received. Instead, it’s like a negative tax: Costs rise and people demand more than they need....
Thus, health-care reform should be based on policies that diminish the health-care wedge rather than increase it. Mr. Obama’s reform principles—a public health-insurance option, mandated minimum coverage, mandated coverage of pre-existing conditions, and required purchase of health insurance—only increase the size of the wedge and thus health-care costs.
What he has to say is regrettably true. Healthcare will follow the path that college loans have taken over the last twenty years - driving college "costs" through the roof.
Rupert's Rag seems to dwell on everything BUT the coming crisis. Most folks - except Laffer - are worrying about the Second Train.
By this fall, nobody will care - the first train's a comin'
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