So I have been reading a few articles this morning about the bird flu and Bush's desire to be prepared to defend against a flu pandemic. My question is simple, would it not be cheaper and more efficient for the nation to take a more proactive and progressive approach:
1 - The Federal government pays for flu vaccines for all citizens.
2 - The Federal government increases funding for vaccines development.
more below...
So the Gov't is planning on buying 20 million doses @ 1.2 billion - thats about 60 dollars a dose. Why not just spend 15-18 billion and buy 300 million doses. I would be willing bet, based on totally anecdotal evidence and some quick thinking, that the cost of the vaccines would be less than the economic cost of a flu outbreak - sick time, loss of productivity, etc....
This would eliminate the need for the 583 million for a local government response to the issue, which I should point out shouldn't be federally funded - let localities and states pay for the efforts (the only reason they want federal money is that most states and localities work off balanced budgets as opposed to the black hole federal budget where the money springs forth in seemingly limitless supply...)
Of course, the federal government providing vaccines could be seen as a progressive move towards universal healthcare...and we all know that's really scary...