On another topic, Rock Hackshaw asked my opinion of government-funded healthcare, ie. "socialized medicine."  I responded by sending him an essay on health care finance I wrote a few years back during the recession, and he said I should post it here.  It’s long, but he seems to think it’s worth the read.

A spreadsheet backing up my assertions, produced some years ago, is attached.  The government share of health care spending is surely higher today.  Note also that when I make the case that, directly or indirectly, the federal state and local governments are already paying for most healthcare in any event, I included the share of private insurance that is purchased on behalf of public employees, but not the share purchased on behalf of public employee retirees, which I have no way to measure.  Add another few percent to the share of healthcare already funded by tax dollars, even as many are uninsured and get nothing despite paying taxes.