Years of magical thinking about health care reform

Olympia Snowe, the Republican Senator from Maine recently said, "The public option would give the government too much power over the health care system." 

For decades now, and for many in Washington in both political parties, this is the mantra that has been used to halt health care reform, despite the mountain of evidence from the other democracies that controlling health care spending will occur only if we give government much more power over the health care system.

Reform is good when government gives the insurance industry more money for more insurance. The industry can, in turn, continue to escalate the costs for health insurance as it sees fit.

This is called "painless progress."  It is seemingly "win-win," at least in the short run. It is a major temptation for modern Democrats. 

Think about the bail-outs of the financial industry.  We have shelled out billions to investment firms, banks and insurance groups without demanding that these industries be placed under stricter government regulation. 

Painless progress.