On Thursday, Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled the most dramatic and costly healthcare bill in the history of this country. Instead of moderating the proposals after months of mounting opposition from the American public, the final bill amounts to an ultimatum.

The new tactic by the Administration and Congress is alarming. As they watch public support continue to plunge, desperation has lead to the so-called “nuclear option”. With a 70 vote majority in the House, the leadership has decided to force the legislation through regardless of the economic, social, and political costs. It is now or never in the short-sighted world of the ruling elite.

The legislation, which the Wall Street Journal has called “The Worst Bill Ever,” relies on a bloated spending scheme estimated at $1.055 trillion over the next decade according to the Congressional Budget Office. That doesn’t even count the more than $200 billion that will be needed to shore up reimbursements for doctors and hospitals. With the final version of the bill coming in at 1,990 pages- that’s roughly $2.2 million per word. Those are just the numbers.

The bureaucracy that will be created by this bill relies on taxing a 5.4-percent surcharge on joint-filers earning over $1 million to raise up to $572 billion for the program. This “tax the rich” mentality looks simple on paper, but the real burden will fall on small businesses that have organized as Subchapter S or limited liability corporations.

Each piece of this legislation creates new spending and higher taxes with nothing more than the hope that there will be a robust economic recovery to bail Washington out. When government subsidies and borrowing dry up, the reality of this massive entitlement will take hold. Then the only two options will be massive tax hikes or systematic funding cuts. Private insurers who have been mandated to offer equal coverage will have to increase premiums across the board; robbing Peter to pay Paul. In the bureaucracy itself, $426 billion worth of future Medicare spending will be “reallocated” to subsidize universal coverage, thereby leaving fewer options for the sick, elderly, and disabled.

Desperate times, it appears call for desperate measures.

Write to tdoheny@afphq.org