I am so tired of hearing this BS about the Fiscal Cliff, the problem is there is NO CLIFF. If Jan 1 comes without a "deal", nothing is going to happen to the average Joe. But, no one mentions the REAL contributor to the Deficit Problem, the ever rising Health Care costs. The truth of the matter is that if we JUST constrain the ever rising costs of Health Care we won't have a deficit problem. (http://www.cepr.net/...).
The fact is that we pay 2.5 times as much for Health Car as they do in Canada, and we have a worse out come, and a LOWER Life Expectancy. The truth is that the problem is DRUG PATENTS! This allows Drug Companies to charge WHATEVER they want for the first 17 years of a drugs life. This gives the drug companies a free hand at RIPPING OFF Medicare and Medicaid. The truth is that Drugs cost about a 1/3 of American Prices in Canada and Mexico.
I am not alone in my belief that the Deficit is driven by exploding Health Care cost. The New York times wrote a piece stating the same thing, ( http://www.nytimes.com/... ).
We need to fix the Health Care issue, which accounts RIGHT NOW for 20% of federal spending, (more than Social Security and Defense!), and is forecast to be 40% by 2035). Single payer WOULD HELP by regulating what will be paid or Health Care. Revising the Drug Patent rules would help. Changing the way that drugs are approved, and streamlining the process would also help.
This is a systemic problem that WILL take us over a cliff, and must be addressed!
For more information http://lmgtfy.com/...