Unhappy Birthday

So we turn on the TV one more time
And see that everything is fine
--Flesh For Lulu

Fifty years ago yesterday, Medicare was enacted. At the time, one of the easiest prognostications in American history was forecasting the negative influence that socialized medicine would have on healthcare markets.

The trend over the past 50 years has been more government control over healthcare markets. Costs have been increasing ever since, with negative spillovers in quality, innovation, and access.

Statists, of course, look the other way and rationalize that Medicare and its associates have enhanced rather than restrained prosperity.

Birthday wish? That this program will be eliminated so that there is no need to observe its birthday in the future.