Wow - the latest back room deals over the health care bill are really giving away the farm. Designed to keep unions happy, they slash the projected “savings” offered by the bill by nearly half, eliminating $60 billion out of the projected $150 billion anticipated. Or, to put it another way, raising the cost of the bill by $60 billion in order to shield union members receiving “cadillac” health care plans worth over $24,000 per year.

I see Congress is also busily creating yet another AMT-style nightmare, imposing a tax on individuals making over $500k per year or married couples making over $1 million per year of 5.4 percent. A fixed dollar amount, with no provision for inflation indexing. Hmmm. Yeah. ‘Cause that exact same approach worked out so well with the AMT, roping in millions of middle class taxpayers as the dollar limit lost it’s value to inflation year after year and was never readjusted except by Congressional fiat.

Morons.

Meanwhile, drug companies can sense that there are deals to be made, and are grumbling about withdrawing their support unless they receive concessions for their name-brand drugs pricing.

In the end, we’ll have a swell, incredibly expensive bureaucracy that does nothing whatsoever to provide better health care to anyone. Or that makes it worse.