Now that the 2008 presidential contest is getting under way, the various candidates are vying for ownership of the resurgent cause of health care reform. The latest entrant in this contest is John Edwards, whose plan was released on February 5. This proposal contains so much BS it is difficult to know where to begin shoveling.
At the core of the Edwards plan are two mutually exclusive goals: making health coverage both mandatory and less expensive. He would force employers to “cover their employees or help finance their health insurance” while miraculously making healthcare “more affordable.”
For employers, this boondoggle would add untold billions to their costs. These costs would then be transferred to the public through higher prices for goods and services. Many small employers would be unable to transfer the additional costs to their customers and be forced out of business, which would put their employees out of work.
So, the Edwards “plan” would not merely increase inflation, it would cause a spike in unemployment. This would take us back to the “good old days” of stagflation, which many will remember from the late Seventies. Sorry, John. In the real world, mandatory health coverage and lower costs don’t hang out together.
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