The problem is, Obama seems largely ignorant of the economic realities of the world.

There isn't a single substantive policy area (especially areas like health) that can be looked at independently of economics.  Obama's stated health care plan is going to have the horrendous result of shifting more health care costs to the state, and increasing them overall.

I really like Obama as a man, and think he believes in everything he says.  I just think his economic ineptitude could get America and the world in a lot of trouble if he doesn't have some very intelligent economists in his ear for the next 4-8 years.

On the other hand, America's global image will get an enormous boost from this, and talking to Iran and Syria is a great idea.

Aren't we better off spending our money on healthcare than the war in Iraq?  I mean Republicans have had no problem shipping American tax dollars abroad, why not keep some of them here?  Its not like healthcare is like passing out free TV's or something to everybody, it is something that people should be able to access regardless of how rich or poor they are.

Republican's are pissed and afraid... balance nearly completely shifted in favor of the Dems...  It's like your team trys so hard and gets so far only to loose in the last few mins... you're pissed... the other side is happy... their team is 12-1 yours is 0 - 13... this was your chance at a last stab.  McCain did an increadible job up untill this economic down turn... no one predicted that he would do so well.  But people need to stop blaming shit on the President and start looking at their senators and congressmen... those assholes are the ones who f' more shit up then any president ever has... these last two years the Democratic house has passed more bullshit than a herd of bulls could drop.  These people represent you... so stop voting for the guys who f' things up so much.  To be fair many a republican house majorities have failed horribly as well.  I know that you know you're voting between asshole 1 and asshole 2, but try and find out who is the better asshole... or at least the asshole who will occassionally stop and wonder what the people he represents want rather then what his parties agenda is.

Unfortunately, few things in the world are as they "should" be.  This transcends blame.  Nothing got any better the two years the Democrats where in congress recently, they got worse. 

Everyone has some blame, so we may as well learn from the mistakes and not waste time blaming anyone.  The earliest the Iraq war can ethically be stopped the better.  Ditto Afghanistan.

Just because all Americans should have health cover (and I agree, they should) doesn't mean the country can afford it.  The worst part of it is Obama's plan doesn't spend money encouraging people onto private cover, it risks shifting people onto a perpetually publically funded system that will be a systemic drain on the economy for decades if it is allowed to gain momentum.  Every single person that can afford private cover should be given incentives to pay for it.  Everyone.

After that is done, solid economic management should (hopefully) allow basic cover to be extended to everyone else after a few years, in such a way as to not provided disincentives to drop private cover to the first group.

Ending the wars is important for the US budget (not to mention foreign policy and ethical goals), but thinking that alone will free up the cash to cover even a small portion of the potential for massive overspending or come close to getting the world out of the current crisis is naive.

we have socialized heath care... it's used by Veterans... if you google that I'm sure you'll find the countless horror stories.  This county doesn't need socialized health care... it needs someone to start kicking some asses up at these companies that keep screwing us over... insurance and pharmisudicals(sp?)

Which is why the current healthcare system will remain relatively intact.  The only thing that will change is that insurance companies won't be able to price gouge people and discriminate in who they offer coverage to.

It's like the social security (and to a lesser extent, education): Massive amounts of government money will not actually better the lives of the average American. Forced social healthcare will not work.

The issue with the system is:

• The healthcare system is already crunched (which causes the insane prices)
• We'll have a lower quality of healthcare for those that do visit doctors now
• Will force healthy individuals to pay money out of their pocket, to cover a high-risk patient, who pays the same
• Government systems in America rarely work, if ever.

I worked in the healthcare industry (medical transport officer) for a year, and visited over 100 medical facilities in Ohio. Trust me when I say that if everyone has healthcare, the hospitals and doctor offices won't have the staffing to meet the patient's needs. We'll have rationed healthcare that's very costly as hospitals and doctors offices put out even more incentives for new RNs and Doctors for their offices, driving up the price of healthcare.

Americans DO need more healthcare, but they don't need a forced system by the government. The cost of the healthcare will be sent to the consumer - the worker, the 'average working American' will see a nice UHC tax of 10% for their gross earnings. Otherwise, if it's forced on the company, it'll be a disaster, and we'll see rampant unemployment.

It'd be much better if the government worked more on getting the private sector involved in healthcare..Maybe even look at seeting up Medical Savings Accounts for citizens, and getting them to invest into it each paycheck, as they then, would determine their future health.

Obama isn't advocating socialized medicine, just FYI.

It's a fine line Obama is trying to walk and frankly, I think it's going to fail.

Stop price-gouging? Then expect diminished care. More regulation? Expect companies to provide the absolute bare minimum, even more than they do now. If the going gets really rough, expect some companies to bow out of the business entirely, straining those who are left even more.

It's a tough situation and there's no easy solution. I know I'll be watching intently to see how Obama deals with the situation.

Care to explain Obama's plan to me then? Because this is what I get from his own website (BarakObama.com/healthcarefullplan.pdf):

No quotes due to improper formatting:

The Obama-Biden plan both builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans
continue to rely upon, and leaves Medicare intact for older and disabled Americans. Under the Obama-Biden
plan, Americans will be able to maintain their current coverage, have access to new affordable options, and see
the quality of their health care improve and their costs go down. The Obama-Biden plan provides new
affordable health insurance options by: (1) guaranteeing eligibility for all health insurance plans;

(2) creating a
National Health Insurance Exchange to help Americans and businesses purchase private health insurance;

(3)
providing new tax credits to families who can’t afford health insurance and to small businesses with a new
Small Business Health Tax Credit;

(4) requiring all large employers to contribute towards health coverage for
their employees or towards the cost of the public plan;

(5) requiring all children have health care coverage; (5)
expanding eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs;

and (6) allowing flexibility for state health reform plans.

Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the program through which Members of Congress get
their own health care. Plans will include coverage of all essential medical services, including preventive,
maternity and mental health care.

(4) EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION. Large employers that do not offer meaningful coverage or make a meaningful
contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a
percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small businesses will be exempt from this
requirement.

(6) EXPANSION OF MEDICAID AND SCHIP. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will expand eligibility for the
Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve their critical safety net
function.

Obama veils it as a "National Healthcare Exchange" but then says that such coverage will go from job to job...How would that be the case unless it was universal coverage? Correct me if I'm wrong, but if there's a national plan, that means that it invovles more socialism. Maybe not one-size-fits-all, but it's the beginning of it.