The new mantra among lawmakers is tax reform: Let’s eliminate the unnecessary loopholes, the tax breaks, deductions, credits and carve-outs for people and businesses that probably shouldn’t have had them in the first place. That makes for great political rhetoric, but it will be a suicidal politician who storms out of the partisan trenches to lead that particular charge. Read More

Simply put, our coming debt crisis is a health care cost crisis. In 1971, the government spent 1 percent of gross domestic product on Medicare and Medicaid. Four decades later, spending on these two programs has more than quintupled to 5.6 percent of the GDP last year. Read More