Paul Krugman, "The Real Winners": If Everyone Is a Winner, Why Aren't Americans Dancing in the Street?

If you believe what Paul Krugman writes in his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "The Real Winners" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/opinion/the-real-winners.html), Americans should be rejoicing after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare, given that it falls within the power of Congress to impose taxes. After all, according to Krugman, those reaping the benefits of Obamacare extend far beyond the 30 million without health insurance:

"So add in every American who currently works for a company that offers good health insurance but is at risk of losing that job (and who isn’t in this world of outsourcing and private equity buyouts?); every American who would have found health insurance unaffordable but will now receive crucial financial help; every American with a pre-existing condition who would have been flatly denied coverage in many states.

In short, unless you belong to that tiny class of wealthy Americans who are insulated and isolated from the realities of most people’s lives, the winners from that Supreme Court decision are your friends, your relatives, the people you work with — and, very likely, you. For almost all of us stand to benefit from making America a kinder and more decent society."

Krugman then inquires, "But what about the cost?" Indeed, what about the cost?

According to Chuck Blahous, public trustee for Medicare and Social Security, the Affordable Care Act will add more than $1.15 trillion to federal spending over the next decade, and between $340 billion and $530 billion to federal deficits over the same period (see: http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/The-Fiscal-Consequences-of-the-Affordable-Care-Act.pdf). This is not sustainable.

Moreover, whereas I believe in universal health care, I also believe that America's health care system has been rendered terminally ill by Medicare fraud, which costs the government some $60 billion each year.

In short, I view Obamacare as an expensive, ill-conceived patch to a faulty mechanism that is hemorrhaging money.

I respect Chief Justice Robert's determination that Obamacare is a tax that Congress is entitled to impose upon US citizens.

However, unlike Paul, I also respect the wisdom of the vast majority of Americans who believe that Obamacare is a boondoggle, and it is up to those same Americans, come November, to undo the damage rendered by their president and Congress. It best befits the American people, and not the Supreme Court, to decide the ultimate fate of Obamacare.