How do you feel about the prospects of having your health and energy costs increasing by 30% to 40% over the next few years while experiencing a decrease in the quality of the product/service you receive? Do you really want the people that run the postal service and the bureau of motor vehicles having a greater role in your life?
This is my simple distillation of all the discussions in Washington — it’s going to cost you a heck’uv a lot more to get poorer quality results. An article in the Wall Street Journal and an article on the CBS News site highlight this situation very well:
Health – “CBO is confirming that new coverage mandates will drive premiums higher… These economists found that state community rating laws raise premiums in the individual market by 20.9% to 33.1% for families and 10.2% to 17.1% for singles.”
Energy – “The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent… the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.”
I respect the notion of investing to reduce the cost of health care and to reduce the cost of energy (reducing cost is the best way to increase coverage), but a focus on all the theorectical “externalities” is a pedantic charade.