Friday rant: false equivalence edition

[n2doc]

By Tom Toles

Okay, the Republicans stepped in it by stepping up and confronting Medicare costs, but the Democrats are guilty of just playing politics and so the smart people should give credit where credit is due, to the Republicans, right?

Wrong. The main problem with Medicare is the increasing costs of health care and that is a problem for Americans whether those costs are loaded into the Medicare system or happen outside it. In fact, the evidence, such as it is, suggests controlling costs works better IN Medicare than outside it. The Republican plan is essentially NOT a budget plan, it is a social policy plan that wants health care costs to be borne by individuals, as opposed to being part of a government insurance system. You can argue this on its merits, or on its ideology, but it fails the merits test.

But what about the Democrats? Aren’t they just as partisan and irresponsible in their blind embrace of party doctrine? That would be a no. They have shown a willingness to reform welfare, cut taxes, and even incorporate the bulk of GOP ideas on health care reform into their own bill. That is, the GOP ideas from when they still pretended they didn’t want to dismantle the federal program altogether. Republicans do not receives points for saying they want to do what they’ve always wanted to do. When the Republicans signal a willingness to include taxes in the budget discussion and the Democrats STILL won’t discuss Medicare changes, THEN a pox on both houses.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/friday-rant-false-equivalence-edition/2011/05/26/AG7ub4BH_blog.html