I agree with you, health care is not a right, and did not mean to imply that somehow Medicare could be made to work if proper econ principles were addressed. I

I agree with you, health care is not a right, and did not mean to imply that somehow Medicare could be made to work if proper econ principles were addressed. I was just pointing out the theories and implications behind the example of a seemingly simple choice as "cap Medicare". Also there are important historical questions like how did we get to this point -- something traditional MSM like the NYT has been horrible at explaining. These political issues are raised mid-stream (e.g. how do we cut spending or raise taxes to balance the budget) without any context or question of causes. For example, the other issue I mentioned, income tax exemption for employer-provided health insurance, arose from a prior policy of wage and price controls during WWII. Employers were banned from offering higher wages so they offered non-taxable benefits as a substitute as a means to circumvent the controls and effectively raise wages. The point here being that capping Medicare will be a failure like capping prices and wages during WWII and lead to all kinds of unwanted effects, including further increasing the complexity of the tax code and the government intrusion into our lives. I also agree that irrational and impossible demands on the government will continue until "economic wreckage" puts an end to it. If we somehow "solve" the budget crisis through some combination of tax increases and spending decreases, but people continue to believe that the government is Santa Claus, then any such solution will be temporary at best. Given these socio-political realities, the end point, in my judgment, is hyperinflation and the destruction of the dollar. I sincerely hope that I am wrong. Edit: Spelling