Public "Option"

This Wall Street Journal article mentions an important aspect of the health care bill's public option. As Senator Max Baucus knows, it has to be paid for. That means more taxes, more debt, or a roundabout screwing of someone. So what he is proposing is to charge a fee to private health insurors to "defray" the cost of expanded health coverage. What a novel idea. Make private health insurance more expensive in an effort to make health insurance more affordable. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it? It's actually pretty smart if your end goal is to drive health insurance to become increasingly more expensive and eventually force all private citizens to take the public "option". There aren't enough wealthy individuals to support a total welfare state, so it's time to tap into the corporations themselves. The problem: that strategy is unrealistic, unethical, and also hurts Americans.

Like Margaret Thatcher said, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."