Health Care

The bill has passed, not a good thing. I admit the current system had to go. Our government (and therefore our current and future taxpayers) pays a LOT of money on the current health care system, and gets less for our money than most do. This, however, was not the answer. Like most of the congress voting on it, I haven't actually found the time to read it though. It makes valid criticism of the particulars difficult and even disingenuous. That doesn't mean it is exempt from valid criticism.
First of all, it is too big. A bill so large that a mainframe is required to download and store it is too big. That much memory wasn't required for the Manhattan Project or Apollo Program. If carrying a hard copy necessitates the use of mechanical devices it is too big. If the bill is too big to read, it is to big to vote on, much less pass into law. No bill on any issue should ever be close to this big and complicated. It needs to be MUCH simpler, so the consequences (costs and benefits) are somewhat predictable.
Second, it is unpopular. REALLY unpopular. We live in a republic, not a democracy. This important distinction allows us to have a government that is not governed by mob rule and that can, when necessary, protect the minority from an oppressive majority. This was not one of those times where such protection was necessary. In this case the will of the overwhelming majority should have been listened to. We have once again crossed into the realm of a government becoming powerful enough to give us what ever we want and also therefore being powerful enough to take away everything we have. The country was founded and fought for by those that thought the people should be free from such a tyrannical government. It does not matter how benevolent or good intentioned that government is or thinks it is. It is just entirely un-American to pass a bill giving the government so much control over our should be private lives.
Third. It is really expensive. REALLY expensive. The GAO office says it might reduce the growth of our debt a decade from now provided there is a massive increase in taxes and tax revenues. It is an unrealistic assumption, and the debt is quickly becoming a burden that can never be paid. The Bush and Obama stimulus packages and record debts were probably already more debt than the country could bear. This is yet another nail in the corpse, and makes a real recovery next to impossible.
As for the particulars, I have no comment. No one really knows how this is going to shake out. Maybe overall health care will improve. Probably it won't. Time may or may not tell, but in the end those particulars don't really matter. The basic concept of the bill was flawed from the get-go, and we really can't afford it.