Even if this was the right thing to do adding 4++++ trillion to the debt without anyway of it getting paid back has got to be the dumbest thing to do.

I’d hate to watch these guys walk around a china store.

Can-and-trade should be another interesting watch.

Here is a thought. When the payer’s pockets are fat, then the provider of the service will also automatically ask for more, since he/she knows they will get paid. Here the big payer is of course the health insurance companies. So, what if we simply stop health insurance all together? Let people pay out of their pockets. For most healthcare i am sure the cost will come down. The issue to tackle is how to pay for expensive procedures which will still be relatively expensive. So maybe provide insurance only for such unforeseen circumstances, which will of course have a much lower premium than what we pay now? Right now, with a good employer plan i still pay about 4K a yr for health insurance, but considering my usage (and i am not a person in the pink of health) i would still have been better off paying out of my pocket for what care i get and then pay a smaller premium for major procedures.

What do you all think?

> why in the world is healthcare about 30% more expensive in the US than in most western european countries…
1. Under socialized medicine, healthcare is rationed by bureaucrats. They have X amount of dollars and the buearucrats determine “who” gets treated for “what” an up to “what” age. We had a friend’s father die in Sweden a couple of years ago at age 68 because the cutoff age to treat his ailment was 65. My friend told me it was something that is treated and cured all the time in the US. He probably could have lived another 20 years if he had been treated. Socialized medicine is a pretty cruel and dehumanizing system.
2. The bureaucrats always underestimate by several times how much health care will cost when its free. If you don’t believe this, then put two coke machines next to each other – one with cans of coke for 50 cents and the other for free. Which machine do you think will be emptied first?
3. If the proposed socialized medicine plan in the US is so great, then why are all of the fat cat bureaucrats in Congress planning to exempt themselves from it?
4. If socialized medicine works so great, why are all of the hospitals along the Canadian border on the US side occupied by around half Canadians? If it’s so bad here, why aren’t Americans running to countries with socialized medicine to get treatment?
5. If you really value health care over material things, do without material things and buy good health care.

Sorry Jeff, but i just enjoy to play devil´s advocate here. If “Socialized medicine is a pretty cruel and dehumanizing system.” why on average people live longer in Europe than in the US? I have no idea, what i would like to say though is that most people in Europe actually pay for health insurance. The difference to the US is that they also have to pay for those who can´t afford the insurance.

I’m sorry I missed out on this health care conversation. I’m also surprised there’s no post from Ken extolling the many virtues and benefits of socialized health care.