Health care costs

Health care costs continued to surge this year as family premiums in employer-sponsored plans jumped 11.2 percent, the fourth year of double-digit growth, according to a new study (Link)

At my house the cost of medical coverage has outpaced my pay raises over the last 4 years.

the hike in health premiums outpaced both the 2.2 percent growth in wages and 2.3 percent growth in inflation by five times.

It looks as if the Kerry camp is trying to bring this into the presidential debate. Kerry is looking at the cost of the Iraq war compared to the cost on America. It should not be all that hard to for him to try and show that Bush and Co. have ignored the domestic front for the last 4 years. (New Link)

"Just look at the most catastrophic decision of all that this man has made and that is the way he decided to go to war in Iraq," Kerry said. "And now we're spending $200 billion that we're not spending on health care, that we're not spending to help seniors cushion the cost of Medicare, that we're not spending to be able to invest in new jobs."

another quote along the same lines.

"President Bush has had four years ... he has no plan at all for America to lower the health care costs and bring people in," Kerry said. "In fact he's been losing people's coverage."

Yet, the fact remains who ever wins this corporate driven popularity contest will still have to start paying off large amounts of debt. Programs will be closed and people will slip through the cracks. A national debt this size is going to have painful long term effects on everyone.