Death ANDTaxes. . .

Life's little inevitabilities. . . now BOTH are brought to you be your friendly neighborhood government--yippee!

And now to the question of costs. Unfortunately, you are correct that having a public option is very expensive and Medicare costs appear to be on a endless upward trajectory as many of those boomers live well into their eighties and nineties. Being the biggest buyer of health care provides the government with a lot of clout over prices, but ultimately the government still has to come up with the cash. As government becomes a larger part of the market it must force suppliers to be more efficient through regulations and, at the same time, it must make sure that private insurance companies do not pawn off it's sick patrons.

As a buyer, government can regulate, but enforcement can be difficult. As a seller, the government controls the means of production and the costs directly. Maybe Marx's was right, socialized medicine is inevitable. But it's more than inevitable, it is already here. In fact, it's how we provide medical services to all of our serving men and women in the military.

If socialized medicine is bad, why do we insist on giving it to our men and women in uniform?

For one thing, ex-military people tend to have a lot of medical issue so no one is willing to do it at a reasonable price. Therefore, the government must provide the good. Is this some sort of vast socialist conspiracy? No. Not really. The government provides health care to soldiers because it is the right thing to do. And while the market does do a lot of things well, providing health care to our fellow service men and women is not one of them. The government can do the same for the rest of its citizens and at a cheaper cost than being just a big buyer.

The time will come when health care will be a lot like education. Everyone gets the health care equivalent of a high school diploma, but you can still buy a private school experience if you would like. That is, if you don't like waiting in line (By the way, I am in total agreement about your view of lines) .

Will we all die at the hands of the government in this system? Yes. But we will all die eventually. Besides, who would you rather have as an advocate during you last days: a corporate executive or your first grade teacher?

Socialism is for medicine. Capitalism is for Wall Street. Let's get it right people.