#132 Spending like it’s 1999

The Dow was at 10,000--the report. Maybe that’s good economic news and the tax cut will prove to be good. I’m certainly seeing more hiring signs.

But I do wish George Bush would stop spending money like a drunken Democrat (no name, but you know who I mean). In fact, his spending increases are far greater than Clinton’s on domestic programs for the same time period in office. This makes it difficult for Democrats to criticize him on domestic policy, since those are their pet programs, resulting in a fractured and lack luster campaign. Also, it is hard for Republicans to rein him in, since he is their guy. A responder to a Cato Institute paper says he “has become the "Mother of All Big Spenders."

I do think something needed to be done about prescription costs for the poor, but the Medicare plan just signed smells a lot like vote buying. No one seems to be happy with it, but Bush will get the credit rather than the Democrats who couldn’t have done any better. The government can’t do anything cheaper or more effectively than private business. My husband is on Social Security, and his Medicare + Medigap (private insurance) costs us about $176 a month, and it doesn’t include prescriptions. My policy, through my pension, costs me about $160 a month and does include prescriptions. Mine will go up considerably in 2004, but so will my husband’s. My husband’s plan is tax supported and still costs more than a private plan. Will private companies stay in the business if the government takes it over or makes it so difficult to make a profit?