Health Care and the Deficit

I'm constantly amazed at the things members of the Obama administration say. Today on ABC This Week Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary, said to George Stephanopoulos that Obama's health plan will reduce the national deficit. How in common sense can you install a massive $$$ government run health care program that brings 43 million people into an already over extended government system and reduce the national deficit? Do they think we are all morons?

The only way the health care plan can possibly reduce the deficit is to cut and/or reduce benefits. That means extend the qualification for Medicare from 65 to 70, and to ration health care procedures, i.e., if you are 75 and need a knee replacement, you will be determined to be too old for it to be cost effective. So, you don't get a knee replacement. I don't know about you, but my health and quality of life is not a matter of cost effectiveness, especially as determined by some bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.

The government can't run the post office in the black. It can't run AMTRAK in the black. It can't even run a relatively simple "Cash 4 Clunkers" program one week without mucking up the works. And, they want to run our massive health care system? Their mantra is, "No problem. We'll just tax the rich some more." My fear is we will soon run out of rich people to tax. I saw on TV today that 1.5% of the people pay 40% of all income taxes. Wow! I guess I'm glad I'm not rich.