And you are here why?

From the Department of Depressing Statistics - when compared to most (all?) other "first world" countries, We spend more per capita (and as a percentage of the GDP) We have more deaths (as a percentage of the population!) We have the lowest life expectancy We're the worst when it comes to diabetes and a whole bunch more. Herewith the data as an infographic Image source: www.bestmasterofscienceinnursing.com

Seriously. Not Social Security. Not Defense. Not the DMV. Not the EPA. Not whatever other thing your average Wingnut On the Street is busy raving about. Health care and only health care. How do I know this? Well, the CBO has a new white-paper out called Options for Deficit Reduction , and it has a bunch of cool stuff in it.  But, by far the coolest part is on page 23, on an extremely non-imaginatively titled chart called (I kid you not) " Components of Non-Interest Spending Under the Extended Alternative Fiscal Scenario ". I know, I know, gorgeous bureaucratise,  right? I'll let Ezra Klein translate it for you These graphs are built atop what’s called “the current policy” baseline. The current policy baseline assumes nothing changes. We don’t pass any new laws. We don’t follow through on the hard parts — like the cost controls in the Affordable Care Act — of any of the laws we’ve already passed. We don’t raise taxes. And the result?  The charts below ...

There is a whole bunch of stuff in the PPACA - ELI5 has a gorgeous summary of the whole thing here - but the best (oh yes, by far the best) part by far is on Page 81, section 1312 of the act .  (D) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN THE EXCHANGE.— (i) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this subtitle, the only health plans that the Federal Government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff with respect to their service as a Member of Congress or congressional staff shall be health plans that are—  (I) created under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act); or  (II) offered through an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act). ii) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (I) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate. (II) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF.—The term ‘‘congressional staff’’ means all ful...

The CBPP has some metrics out on the growth of "Government Spending", and the numbers are fascinating.  Ok, not really "fascinating", its pretty obvious stuff, that unfortunately gets drowned out by wingnut shrillery about "deficits", "big government", "starve the beast", blah, blah, blah. See the chart above?  It basically points out that If you exclude Social Security and Medicare , Government spending has been pretty steadily falling (!)  since 1962.  At worst, worst , it plateaued out or grew slightly during the crazy Bush years (unfunded tax cuts have a way of doing that). The CBPP puts it best   The bottom line is that if one measures the size and reach of the government by non-interest spending as a share of GDP, one finds that the government has indeed expanded, but modestly rather than explosively — and that all of the expansion is the result of the impact on Social Security and Medicare of rising health costs and the ...