Sorry Glen, but you're the Scrooge. When a consumer based economy decides not to consume the effects are chilling.

Healthcare can become affordable. We start by reducing the massive fraud,the amount is absolutely unbelievable, and we do this by increasing the penalties for such to make it unattractive. We'll never stop it, it's too easy and too lucrative.
We next ban pharmaceutical advertising, it's sucking in too many victims, the old for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction comes into play. Too often we trade one problem for another through the use of pharmaceuticals, and many ailments can be alleviated without this risk through lifestyle changes. These are times too avoid the easy and more dangerous road and eliminating unnecessary expenses will make crucial care affordable for us. We've unneccessarily made pharmaceuticals and medical care one of the largest expenses in our budgets and when we reach retirement age it will become haunting.

These things will continue as long as we allow lobbyists to garner our electorates favor. Blame you, blame me.

A little fear would help both parties. Las Vegas being a vacation destination gives it many 2nd home owners. A Countrywide spokesman stated that 60% of their foreclosures involve multiple dwelling owners. I believe that many of these and also single dwelling owners can afford their payments but punt the properties to their lenders to escape the minus equity our media keeps reminding them of.
If we warned the public that losing their locked in record low interest rates may prevent them from buying that much home in the future it could change this pattern. There are periods during the past 25 years where the payment on the same homes we own would be double and more the current payment, far offsetting the depreciation being touted. Do expect these interest rates to return.

While watching our legislators chastise these guys I felt I was watching the blind attempting to lead the blind.
We're fixing to lend them billions with the stipulation that they build fuel efficient and environmental friendly vehicles, with full knowledge they've never been able to successfully market that type of product.
It can and should be done, but will only happen with the coinciding of an energy conservation bill that ensures that type of product is all that's available in our marketplace.
This will give these guys brisk profitable sales of their gas guzzlers for two years, as even in this economy the last of them will have strong demand. This will also allow them to focus on their future product and will help ensure we don't return to the higher fuel prices that created such havoc with our economy this year.
It's vital for us to rescue this affected workforce as each part we're able to keep somewhat intact will be a step toward our economic recovery.

Start with a severe crackdown on tax delinquents.

This should be posted in a dictionary as the definition of legislative abuse.

As we've been trying hard to solve our economic problems for over ten years, and with only negative results, it should be obvious we need to explore new possibilites and I suggest we create some forums to get many more involved.
I don't believe we can avoid the coming pain but with more involvement we can speed the recovery. To allow only those who've tackled this problem for so long to keep searching for the cure is absolutely insane.

Our ill conceived consumer based economy will have to be replaced, and that will take quite some time as we've exported many of the essentials necessary to sustain ourselves.

25 years ago I began reading about massive fraud in the healthcare industry and it's been consistent through today. Healthcare fraud pays, and very well.
When the penalty for that crime makes it unattractive, our health care will become affordable to most.