Paul Krugman points out some of the torturous inconsistencies in thinking that is involved in a bill introduced by Jon Kyl and some of his worst groupies. The bill prohibits "Medicare or Medicaid from using “comparative effectiveness research to deny coverage.""
How bad is it? Let me count the ways.
1. Politicians who rail against wasteful government spending are taking action to prevent the government from reining in … wasteful spending.
2. Politicians who warn that the burden of entitlements is killing the federal budget are stepping in to block … the single most painless route to reducing the growth of entitlements.
3. They’re doing it in the name of avoiding “rationing of health care” … but they’re specifically addressing taxpayer-funded care. If you want to go out and buy a medically useless treatment, Medicare won’t stop you.
4. These same politicians are, of course, opposed to efforts to expand coverage. In other words, it’s evil for government to “ration care” by only paying for things that work; it is, however, perfectly OK, indeed virtuous, to ration care by refusing to pay for any care at all.
Sad as it may be, inconsistent thought processes are quite consistent for the Killer.
| Today's QUOTES: | ... The U.S stands for freedom, democracy and human rights -- even when we don't. People who advocate unprovoked wars of aggression, torture and mass violence are irredeemable monsters -- except when they're American or our allies. -- Contradictions that aren't seen as contradictory by Glenn Greenwald, salon.com |
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