Zandar's Thought Of The Day

Dean Baker on the budget:

Finally, it would be nice if the media pointed out what everyone knows to be true: the long-term budget problem is entirely the result of our broken private health care system. If our per person health care costs were the same as what people paid in Canada, Germany or any other wealthy country, we would be looking at enormous budget surpluses (in the "trillions"), not deficits. Of course, this would mean going after the drug companies, the insurance industry, the doctors' lobbies and other health industry groups. Unfortunately, both the politicians and budget reporters are scared to cross these powerful interest groups.

And he's right.  We have the most expensive health care system in the world, and yet whenever that fact is brought up, it immediately becomes SKREEEEEEE DEATH PANELS and we ignore it again.   It's not Medicare and Medicaid that's killing us, it's the for-profit health care system.  The PPACA takes only a small fraction of the approach needed to trim these costs.

No wonder the Republicans are doing everything they can to get rid of it.