reply      new comment      top   

The article sets up a straw man, and it's one that a lot of people on the right make. The CBO is saying that the health care bill will reduce costs because it will lower overall health care spending on a per capita basis. The article is saying that even though the bill will reduce costs overall, the percentage of the taxes that it will consume will rise. Which may be true. But on a per capita basis, costs are projected to shrink and nobody is really disputing that (people who otherwise would go to the ER would get cheaper preventative care under health insurance, etc). The article sets up another stupid straw man on future debt obligations; without health care reform, the percentage of over federal revenue consumed by health care would not rise as fast, but costs shouldered by Americans, business, and hospitals would rise far faster. Basically the article is saying to abolish all federal programs because costs rise in relation to population growth and aging.