Health Care - Finis

OK, with this, enough on the topic. I predicted it would pass, and even pretty much how it would pass, although it turns out that it was unnecessary to bribe any Republicans. So here it is.

As long as my crystal ball is operating with a high-speed connection to the future, let's take another look:

1. Obamacare will NEVER be repealed. This is a safe prediction. Repeal requires a 2/3 majority in both houses, absent a friendly president, and a minimum of 60% majority in the senate with a friendly one. Keep in mind that there will always be a sizable minority of the population in this or any other country willing to trade their freedom for security, so barring the kind of political upheaval that includes phrases like "hunted to extinction", there will always be a minority of Dems to deal with.

2. Amendments to the program will largely be limited to tax increases necessary to pay for it. If you think this will reduce the deficit, look at Massachusetts.

3. It's difficult to predict how the markets might react. If you're a medium-sized company, paying $1m/yr for your employees health insurance, it may well be worth it to you to cut them all loose to the government, and pay the $500K tax on companies that don't provide insurance. Actual rate varies, but is currently seen as lower than the cost of the insurance.

Anyway, it's the law, and it isn't going away. We'll see how easy it will be to live with it. From here on in, I will make every effort to limit comments on the program to the occasional "I told you so."