As I've argued before, the political issue isn't really the tea party or cuts. it's the titanic growth in health care costs, which, as this NYT piece shows mean both the government and the debt will be larger at the end of the 10- year period than today.
nyti.ms/qqOVQr
Neither party has a good plan to reduce healthcare costs. But if we don't, then those costs will squeeze out much of the rest of the spending in the economy. Teachers will get laid off because states will be spending most of their budgets on medicaid. Universities will be squeezed because state budgets are in disarray. just look at the University of California already. The federal government will be forced to restrain spending that is good for everyone, public goods, like upgrading air traffic control because Medicare is out of control.
US companies will face vastly higher benefit costs than competitors in other countries. And wages will be stagnant because any increase in take-home pay will be reduced to pay for companies' spiraling health insurance bill. So all other sections of the economy will see lower demand, because it has been diverted into bloated healthcare costs.
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