Is Health Care Plan Dead?

Will current health care legislation die a gruesome agonizing death or will a bastardized version of the Senate bill finally be pushed through appropriations by some congressional chicanery later this year?

I would be happy to see the current monstrosity scrapped entirely and some real change explored that would help Americans rather than push some Progressive agenda that would eventually bankrupt this nation.

There are some good ideas out there - see Five Health Care Reform Solutions That Make Sense.

Summary (for my benefit)

1. Sell Insurance Across State Lines - stimulates economy without spending a dime of federal money
2. Let individuals purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars - businesses do this already (no federal money needed)
3. Encourage Health Care Savings Accounts (HSAs) - would encourage younger/healthier Americans to buy insurance (no federal money needed)
4. Tort reform - end abusive medical litigation (no federal money needed)
5. Cover the uninsured - system of tax credits can help the uninsured purchase coverage (will cost about $80 billion a year, but a boat load of money cheaper than current congressional bills and would not require cutting Medicare for seniors and disabled).

I would add one more -

1. Allow single adults to remain covered under their parents policies until age 25. This could be paid by the insured individual and would be significantly lower in cost than buying an individual policy.

To rethink health care reform we must:

- Scrap the current legislation.
- Enact the five (6) reforms listed above.
- Pass each reform separately, one bill every four months.
- Limit each bill to 50 pages.
- Let each bill pass or fail on its own merits—no pork, no pay-offs.
- Make final language available to the public for at least 7 days prior to voting.

National Debt verus National Deficit

What does it all mean? The national deficit is the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends. The national debt includes everything the government owes.

To put this in more basic terms - a family's debt includes what is still owed on mortgages, credit cards, car and college loans, credit lines, money borrowed from other family members, and so forth. A family's deficit includes spending or borrowing more money than they earn in income, interest, investments, or gifts, etc.

A family's debt increases each year more is spent than is earned. Hopefully this is counterbalanced by an annual increase in salary, which would enable paying off some of the debt gradually. Unfortunately, an increase in salary usually results in greater spending - buying a larger home, car, newer appliances, and more before actually paying off personal debts.

The federal government has acted even more irresponsibly. Under Clinton's administration the national debt grew from $4.18 to $5.7 trillion. Under Bush it almost doubled, growing to $10.6 trillion. Under the current administration it has increased to $12.3 trillion in just one year and is growing at a rate of $4 billion daily! Almost half is owed to foreign countries.

Our national debt has outgrown our ability to pay it back based on current and projected expenditures. We're not even keeping up with paying the interest on our debt, which is why our national debt is growing out of control. Yet Congress and our current administration continues to believe that we can spend our way out of debt. When has this ever worked? Neither Republican nor Democratic administrations seem to have a clue.

Whether it's an individual or big government debt such as this requires that drastic and immediate action be taken. New spending must be avoided, all current programs must be cut, negotiations with holders of our debt must be begun to try to reduce what is owed, and new sources of revenue must be sought. None of this will please anyone.

I would like to know - when did our federal government get the idea that they have the right to spend more than the American people give them. Shame on them and shame on us for putting on blinders.