guiltypleasure

The Uninsured, Again:

This is getting annoying. Once again, the White House is floating the notion (on page A1, no less) that its soon-to-be-proposed tax deductions for health expenses are somehow "designed to help the uninsured." They are not. Making progress on the 45 million uninsured people in this country will cost about $80-100 billion per year. There's no getting around that number. Bush will not propose anything of the sort.

Tax deductions will do little to help those who currently pay no federal income taxes—or are in the 10 or 15 percent bracket—which includes the majority of the uninsured. Tax deductions will largely help those making over $50,000 who currently can afford insurance but just don't value it enough to get it. If the president's tax deductions look anything like what he proposed on the campaign trail, then, according to CBPP, they will actually increase the number of uninsured by 350,000 while costing tens of billions of dollars. That's all.

How the U.S. is fueling sectarian violence in Iraq:

As long as Washington remains determined to stay in Iraq in some form, every month is likely to be worse than the last and, in the end, departure itself may prove the final catastrophe. The last illusion for Americans is that, whatever the reasons for our invasion and occupation, we still remain part of the solution in Iraq rather than the motor for the problem itself.

Overspending on Weapons...

Here's a great headline from the AP:

U.S. says Venezuela spending too much for military items.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Venezuela is planning a "buying spree" for military equipment that goes beyond the country's legitimate needs, the State Department said Friday.

In recent days, the United States has sought to block proposed sales of military planes and other equipment to Venezuela by Spain and Brazil.

The transactions are part of what "we would consider an outsized military buildup in Venezuela," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

In other news, the Pentagon's latest Quadrennial Defense Review is out, and as Noah Schachtman notes, it's chock full of proposals for multi-billion dollar weapons systems to prepare for some future war or other with China…