The Ugly Side of Benevolence

According to Congressman, Paul Ryan, there are currently more than 90 federal poverty programs (many of them overlapping) that the government is ""administering" (mismanaging, is probably a better term). I propose that we do away with all of them and replace them with two; a beefed-up Earned Income Tax Credit (which I would administer monthly rather than in one lump sum) and subsidized health savings accounts supplemented with a high deductible catastrophic policy. You see, that way we could continue to help poor people but we'd be doing it in a manner that is far less bureaucratic and far more empowering to the individuals. That, and, since the patient himself would be the one in charge of these expenditures, the cost of overall healthcare would probably come down (much like it has for lasik eye surgery, full body scans, nose jobs, hair transplants, etc. - the fact that people would take better care of themselves, not go to the doctor for small things, shop around, etc.) as well.........................................................................................Of course, this type of approach wouldn't make the bureaucrats and paper-pushers down in Washington very happy in that it would radically reduce their power over the citizens and taxpayers. But that's a major-league positive side-effect, in my opinion.