Government programs that are successful tend to grow and are hard to get rid of

[bluestateguy]

Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Head Start, AmeriCorps, SCHIP, the list goes on. All these programs started out as programs with a limited reach. They had their skeptics and opponents. People who said they would fail, but they were proven wrong. Instead, such programs endured for decades, and survived opponents' efforts to swing the budget ax at them. They were popular programs and more Americans wanted in. These programs grew, and legislators opened the doors for more and more Americans to participate (sometimes with Republican support too).

So think about this when we start hashing out a public option in Congress. It will likely be a more limited PO than any of us want. That's unfortunate, but I will predict right here that if it is administered well, it will grow and more Americans will be made eligible to participate.

[rucky]

1. Hope you're right.

But Head Start is one of the most successful government programs ever - and it's shrinking, not growing. :(

[geckosfeet]

2. Why get rid of a successful program?

[lamp_shade]

3. The National Park Service is another good example.

If you watched Ken Burns series you know what I'm talking about.

[eridani]

4. One problem--it won't take effect until 2013

That leave four more years for the system to swirl completely down the drain.

[Jester Messiah]

5. All the more reason to avoid delay. [nt]

[eridani]

6. None of the public option proposals should pass at all for this reason

Just let everyone buy into Medicare voluntarily. That could be implemented immediately.

[Cleita]

11. That is the ultimate solution. I will go one step further and say that

Medicare should be made available to everyone who wants it. They already pay into it. Raising FiCA a couple of points would cover the extra expense. The administrative part is already in place. All that would be needed is hiring more people to handle the extra work load. Imagine that more jobs and a health care plan every American can rely on?

[rbixby]

7. isn't that exactly why some republicans oppose it?

Because it might be successful?

[annabanana]

8. Yeah.. DAMN those successful government programs!

amazing

[Cleita]

9. What if Baucus's final bill, the big corporate welfare one, is the one

that makes it? It will be successful for the health care industry. Will it grow and be hard to get rid of? I get a headache thinking of where this could go like maintaining the military since WWII. We can't seem to rein it in and stop the march to unnecessary wars because it became so successful at generating more wealth for the already wealthy.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. +1 nt

[4_TN_TITANS]

12. The repubs are terrified to open the PO door even a crack...

If given half a chance, businesses would shed employee benefits in a heartbeat and a public option would grow so fast it would make your head spin.

[mdmc]

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