Read And Weep...

First of all, a hat tip to the ever-resourceful TigerHawk. Worth reading in general, and especially here in specific. He links to a Deutsche Bank Research Survey on Health Care, which is in and itself interesting.

But it is the following which is devestating: this is the take of a survey of institutional investors, professional portfolio managers who invest money in health care stocks for mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds, looking at the health care reform legislation. Interesting overview from the folks who buy health care stocks.

But it is the following that is devastating:


QUESTION #8: What do you think of the current health care reform legislation? Write-in comments...[EDITOR'S NOTE: SOME OF OUR SELECTED FAVORITES!!!]

"I don't even care anymore. I just want it in the rear view mirror one way or the other."

"The worst piece of legislation in the last 50 years. This bill will do nothing to bend the cost curve and will increase premiums for the 85% of Americans who already have insurance and are happy with it, for the benefit of the 15% who are uninsured."

"It's Robin Hood Healthcare.....take from those that have to give that those that don't have. It does zero to address the actual issues of cost and over- utilization."

"Garbage. Does nothing to address costs and ignores the core problem of employer tax subsidies."

"Reckless. Embarrassing. It should be called the Healthcare Industrial Complex."

"Insane."

"I think it will lead to an upward cost spiral that will cripple the country and contribute to eventual double digit short term interest rates. It is bad legislation and does not address in any way the real problems with US health care which are the fee for service nature of payment in Medicare and the significant private market subsidization of the public system. The democrats are crazy to jam through this highly flawed bill, but the citizens were dumb enough to elect them and need to live with their mistakes."

"No public plan. 30mm more lives covered. Reform isn't that bad....at least until maybe 2018 when costs are out of control. Not the time to worry about that yet."

"It's a big cost shift that will create more problems down the road. It will also make U.S. labor markets and capital markets less attractive and less competitive."

"Stop gap. Terrible piece of legislation that will fail to tackle the problem. Hence, we will be back here again in 5-10 years."

"It's an improvement over our current system (sorry to disagree with you libertarians on the list)."

"Awful, just another example of over-reaching by Democrats. Income re-distribution from rich to the poor. Should look at Wyden's plan and fix HC in small steps."

"Mistake for the country. not that bad for stocks. Nobody seems to appreciate the Medicaid HMO expansion opp."

"Terrible policy. Simply put = grossly underfunded entitlement expansion."

If only the Democrats had at least one or two people on board who knew, intuitively, enough economics to understand how severely damaging this "reform" will be to the US economy. This isn't limitations on growth: it's a straight jacket, with leggings weighted with lead, and we're all being thrown in the deep end of the pool to learn how to swim.

Ye gods.


I'll repeat this: I know I sound like a broken record, but we simply need to demand a higher quality of work from our government.

We know we're not getting it now.