Dr.House
Lives on in syndication!
There is a flaw in your theory too, the govt's track record in this type of thing.
Why look at the Post Office or Amtrak, which are in totally other areas? Why not look at the single-payer system we already have: Medicare?
Poll: Medicare, Medicaid among most popular gov't services - News Breaks - Front Page - Chain Drug Review :: Reporter for the Chain Drug Store Industry
Dont mess with medicare, poll | Strange Bedfellows Politics News - seattlepi.com
Wonkbook: 84 percent oppose Ryan’s Medicare plan - The Washington Post
Poll: Most Americans say Medicare is worth the cost - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
Seems to me that the U.S. government, like other governments of other advanced nations, is perfectly capable of running a single-payer health-care system that people are very happy with. Since Medicare would work much better if it were expanded to cover everyone (it would then have the leverage to keep the cost of medical care down), there's every reason to believe it would be much MORE popular even than it is now.
It wouldn't even cost that much more, and might actually cost less. Medicare is already covering the most at-risk population, the ones most expensive to cover (old people), and since it would be better positioned to control medical care inflation if expanded to cover everyone, while at the same time the rest of the population would be much less expensive (per person) to cover than people over 65, the total cost of the program might actually go DOWN.
It's the sensible thing to do.
Excellent point, look at how overbudget medicare is. We have to borrow money from china just to pay for it already.
Thanks for giving me a 3rd piece of ammunition for that specific argument!
EDIT: Oh and social security too
No kidding...
I'd like someone to tell me exactly which government agency is run as an efficient and well-oiled machine...