The New Republic - Once More, With Feeling - on Universal Health Care

I post this mainly because of the response from 'dtohmatsu' - shown below - MBC

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=dd99df23-ad60-425c-b4f3-e3d8c03d8aa7

"Most humans once they get past the age of five or six develop the ability to distinguish between what is desirable and what is realistic. Apparently, the Editors of the TNR never developed this faculty. They believe in: Immortality - We can stop sickness from taking peoples lives away. Omniscience and omnipotence - A few legislators can effectively reorgnanize a sixth of the U.S. economy with a few pen strokes...or at least with a few months of spirited discussion. Magic - We can not only reduce the rate of growth of health care costs, but we can actually reduce the cost. Extra Special Magic - We can insure 50 million additional people through cost savings begat by mere Presidential proclamation and the adulation of adoring progressive pundits. Robin Hood - Everyone making less than $80,000 can have free health insurance if we can force enough rich, evil, job creating small business owners to visit scenic Sherwood Forest. In contrast, here is what grownups believe. 1) Health care reform should provide a viable mechanism to help restrain the rate of growth in health care costs as percentage of GDP. 2) Insurance should be available to everyone at a consistent price without regard to their employment status or medical conditions. 3) Everyone should have medical insurance so we don't have to subsidize people who aren't able to pay their medical bills. 3) We ought to help out poor people (by definition those below the poverty line) with their medical expenses. 4) If someone doesn't make a lot of money, many things are hard to afford including food, housing, medical care, big screen TVs, etc. That doesn't mean someone else should pay for them. 5) Almost no one in the U.S. is being denied medical care for life or limb threatening conditions because of their ability to pay. 6) Government does a poor job of running anything including medical care, medical insurance, and medical resource allocation and price setting. 7) Saddling job creating small businesses with higher taxes and liabilities will hurt everyone in the long run and will result in a reduction of our standard of living including both medical care and big screen TVs. 8) Policies created by children who don't understand reality won't succeed and will be very costly.

dtohmatsu"