Obama's Health Care Bait and Switch

In his speech to the AMA yesterday, President Obama sounded dire warnings of a coming health care crisis:

If we fail to act, one out of every five dollars we earn will be spent on health care within a decade. And in 30 years, it will be about one out of every three -- a trend that will mean lost jobs, lower take-home pay, shuttered businesses, and a lower standard of living for all Americans.

What was the President’s bold plan for warding off the fiscal tidal wave? Spend more:

Obama authorized an $89 billion increase in “temporary” Medicaid spending, $24.7 billion in health subsidies via COBRA, and $19 billion for dubious health information technology expenditures. 

That’s right: the solution to runaway costs is a $635 billion subsidy of the health care industry, paid in part by a “modest” $300 billion increase in income taxes! 

If you want more of something, subsidize it. If you want less of something, tax it.