Priorities and more

A little factoid I overheard:

Cost of SCHIP expansion: $7,000,000,000 a year
Cost of Iraq war: $10,000,000,000 a MONTH

Could we just take a little 3-week vacation from the war and fund children's healthcare?

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Interesting idea from Kevin Drum: Americans are unhappy with the state of healthcare but worried about any change. So the way to go is extend Medicare to those under 21. As this group grows older, they get to keep their Medicare. Gradually, everyone will be on Medicare and no one will have to make a drastic change in their healthcare program as we evolve to universal healthcare.

I can see the problem here: as 20-somethings gain universal healthcare, the 30-65 age bracket will feel unfairly treated and demand the same. This is actually an advantage, not a problem.