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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (4430)	2/12/2008 2:07:11 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 42652

Why don't you provide some data? You provided the data for this year, showing Medicare was already bigger than Iraq. As for the data for the future, its out there all over the place including this thread. If you don't already know that Medicare is the fastest growing very large part of federal spending than your pretty ignorant about the issue. But if you want to see it again. Percent of GDP going to Medicare in 2050 According to CBO 8.6, According to the Herritage Foundation 9.3 heritage.org Look at the average cost of Medicare and you'll also get a lower figure, But look in the future and you see a much higher figure, while look in the future for Iraq and you see zero, or at least much less then current spending levels. You picked the peak for Iraq (2007), Medicare just keeps growing, it hasn't had a peak, and none is projected. An ongoing large program is much more of a long term burden than a situation which ends. but Medicare is paid for, that's the important point. No its a just about worthless point. All government spending is paid for. Its either paid for by taxes, or by borrowing. Each one of those dollars spent hurts the fiscal balance just as much as every other dollars. "Medicare has never run a debt although it is " Evidence? You keep making statements as though I shouldn't doubt you, but you make too many. "Medicare has never run a debt although it is..." is your statement. I was quoting you. Why should I provide evidence for your statement? If you accidentally quoted the wrong line, and are really asking me to provide evidence for "If you double the tax the spending is just as much a problem, it just (in purely fiscal terms) gets covered by the tax." - Well that's a little bit like asking for evidence that 1+1 equals two, or A=A. If you spend a dollar you are spending a dollar. Putting a tax in place doesn't mean you aren't spending that dollar. If we can handle the burden of Iraq, Medicare is a cinch...all it takes is money. That is like saying - "If I can lift my TV, my house should be a cinch. All it takes is muscle."