As opposed to the Democrats plans to change the health care system, that calls for more irresponsible spending (money we don’t have), more taxes, and will inevitably lower the overall quality of health care for the long-term through a muck up of bureaucracy, the GOP has released their plan which calls for less spending, not more, no new taxes, and which lowers premiums.

Interestingly, the CBO (the Congressional Budget Office, that pesky independent Congressional fact-checking agency of the government) seems to agree with those assertions and backs it up with numbers. Check it out (PDF): http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10705/hr3962amendmentBoehner.pdf.

By the way, the latest version of the Democrats bill (last I heard) was up to $1.1 trillion in new spending. We are writing checks we can’t cash essentially, except that the Fed just has the ability to create new money, which creates a whole host of moral hazards from the top down.

Forget politics for a moment. Let us all just talk about fiscal responsibility. We are still reeling from the effects of massive shocks absorbed by our financial system. Unemployment is almost 10%. Despite what this administration tells us, we’re still in a recession. Go ask the people of California and Michigan (two “blue” states). Our national debt is spiraling out of control ($1.4 trillion now I believe). We simply cannot afford these programs the Democrats want, led by Pelosi, Reid and Obama. We are spent as a nation. We need responsible adults who can balance a budget.

We need policies and bills (whether Republican or Democrat, frankly I don’t care who does it) that reduces government spending by a large amount for the next several years to get things back in balance. Right now, as it pertains to health care, the GOP plan is the only one that does that without restructuring the entire health care system as the Democrats (led by Pelosi, Reid and Obama) want.

Think about it too. If costs are lowered, wouldn’t there be more of an incentive for those without insurance to get it, and for employers to provide for more of the costs if they are not able to at the moment? Again, key terms that are lost in this debate are incentive and fiscal responsibility. Those are two things that must be studied more.