News Roundup

Here are some health care "reform" articles I found that make good reading. Enjoy them.

More Health Care Nonsense
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/08/14/the_preventive_care_myth_97889.html

In the 48 hours of June 15-16, President Obama lost the health care debate. First, a letter from the Congressional Budget Office to Sen. Edward Kennedy reported that his health committee's reform bill would add $1 trillion in debt over the next decade. Then the CBO reported that the other Senate bill, being written by the Finance Committee, would add $1.6 trillion. The central contradiction of Obamacare was fatally exposed: From his first address to Congress, Obama insisted on the dire need for restructuring the health care system because out-of-control costs were bankrupting the Treasury and wrecking the U.S. economy -- yet the Democrats' plans would make the problem worse.

Accordingly, Democrats have trotted out various tax proposals to close the gap. Obama's idea of limits on charitable and mortgage-interest deductions went nowhere. As did the House's income tax surcharge on millionaires. And Obama dare not tax employer-provided health insurance because of his campaign pledge of no middle-class tax hikes.

Eyes On The Real Prize
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTE0ZmQ2NGZkZGVhY2Q2Mzg3OWNiMzhmMTg4MzU5NWY=

After years of journalistic, academic, and even medical tut-tutting about politically apathetic Americans, we are now witnessing a strongly motivated, fired-up populace eager to make its opinions known to its elected leaders.

Needless to say, having finally gotten the widespread, passionate grassroots activism that they yearned for over so many years, our political and media elites are shrieking in horror and declaring it an abomination, with Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst for Time magazine, declaring himself “embarrassed about what’s going on as an American.”

Deficit Plays Into Health Care Reform
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/13/AR2009081301712.html

With polls showing rising concern over the government's grim financial situation, key Republicans and a growing number of Democrats say it will be hard to push an ambitious health reform bill through Congress unless it reduces projected federal spending on medical care and begins to bring the national debt under control.

"It's not good enough that it's just paid for; it actually has to start driving long-term costs down," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), one of nine freshman Democrats who last month urged Senate leaders to pay more attention to controlling federal health spending in this era of "exploding debt and deficits."

"The status quo is going to bankrupt the federal government and bankrupt most American families," Warner said.

Hope you enjoyed this news roundup and found these articles interesting.