Economic priorities
Dave Schuler has a great post on fiscal policy that summarizes the economic picture for the United States and raises some questions about what priorities need to be. I noticed that one of the graphs makes an important point that many people do not seem to appreciate - Social Security is just fine. Look at the flatness of the Social Security line:
Overall, I agree that earmarks and other discretionary spending are simply not a significant problem, and Joe's formulation of these representing an operating expense of government is a good one. Likewise, McCain's call for a spending freeze might do more harm than good.
Looking at the big picture, it seems clear that the one area that we really do need to control is medicare/medicaid, whose growth will spiral out of control. That in itself is probably the best argument for single-payer healthcare. Actually, I think the best model for healthcare is likely the VA, which may surprise some people, but it's true - the VA system provides the best health care in the United States.
Overall, I agree that earmarks and other discretionary spending are simply not a significant problem, and Joe's formulation of these representing an operating expense of government is a good one. Likewise, McCain's call for a spending freeze might do more harm than good.
Looking at the big picture, it seems clear that the one area that we really do need to control is medicare/medicaid, whose growth will spiral out of control. That in itself is probably the best argument for single-payer healthcare. Actually, I think the best model for healthcare is likely the VA, which may surprise some people, but it's true - the VA system provides the best health care in the United States.
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