This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With near unanimity, those tooting the "bipartisanship" horn about the fiscal cliff issue fail to fully acknowledge the details of the recent electoral outcome:
1. The 1 percent, alone, nearly bought a Romney presidency, but couldn't quite cross the finish line.
2. Democrats had a net pick-up of Senate seats.
3. The GOP had a net loss of House seats.
4. The radical right fared the worst. It lost races so safe they had to be given away.
So, for example, the major step toward reducing nationwide health care costs by adopting the single-payer approach clearly needs to be on the table. This country can afford adequate health care.
What we can't afford is to maintain wallet-busting insurance company participation in the process. Sure, this breaches ideological purity, but we should all be willing to "compromise" on a solution that offers better services and outcomes at lower total cost.
It's simply time that we wring waste out of the health care system.
Darrell Prows
Murray