I would like to make a few comments regarding the health care legislation. I've written a few posts mentioning health care; these can be found with the "healthcare" label.
First, as I've previously written, the health care system that we now have needed to be changed. It clearly has evolved into something that is unsustainable economically as well as clearly suboptimal in other areas.
However, I don't view the legislation voted upon last night as a good solution. Although some aspects of it appear, in a general sense, to be laudable - such as making health care attainable to a broader audience - from an "all things considered" basis I believe that it doesn't solve many underlying problems. Furthermore, it will likely create new problems.
We, as a nation, had the opportunity to fix a long-standing "mess" and, as the future will show, we've failed to enact an effective solution. This scenario, of having opportunities to address major problems, and subsequently failing to enact effective solutions, is recurring in an increasing fashion, unfortunately.
Second, one aspect of the health care legislation that seems to be lacking in recognition is that of how businesses will be impacted. The health care legislation adds uncertainty, complexity, regulation, and costs to businesses. These factors are very significant, especially in today's economic climate. One area that these factors impact is hiring. I've explained this in my blog post series "Why Aren't Companies Hiring" which started on July 24, 2009.
SPX at 1158.71 as this post is written
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