I think the simple issue is that, as far as costs are concerned, the American system is caught in the worst of both worlds, and even with the Affordable Care Act, we still haven't broken on through to the other side where a single-payer system can unilaterally set fair prices, nor are we in a free market where prices have to drop to match what people can actually afford. The quagmire competition of big insurance, those who still lack insurance, and those who are government-supported just means that costs are going to keep pumping upward as the health industry just has access to all the big-money troughs.
It's the same with college, really. The middle system of "government-backed loans" gives colleges free license to pump up fees, unlike if the government simply paid for college or if there were no guaranteed loans at all.
Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.
