And you have added absolutely nothing to this debate. I read your op-ed anxiously hoping you would take a stand. Sadly, you play populist politics, sound the evil siren song of "greed" and march off, trumphantly taking a moral stand on nothing.

Let me ask Dr, have you cut your own salary? Have you given your staff large payraises? Have you reduced the costs of services to your patients? No? Please, stop taking the moral highground until you do.

My Dr gave some very wise words. The government already runs Medicare and Medicaide, two enormously unworkable and failing programs. If you want to see the Government in action go talk to a Dr about those programs. Basically, they are broken, very expensive and promise to consume our entire economy in the decades to come. And now we want to expand Medicare to the entire nation?

Please, vote No on this whole concept.

Cramer is right in that people need to be much more responsible for their actions.

Why do you say Medicare and Medicaid are unworkable and failing? They have much lower administrative costs than private health insurance. Funding is an issue, of course. Funding is also an issue with private health insurance, which continues to go up in price every year.

How do you recommend that people be more responsible? Paying for your own health care sounds great until you or one of your dependents gets that expensive disease or has a serious accident. Then what? Shift the costs through bankruptcy? That doesn't sound like responsibility to me.

Doctor Cramer, what is missing from our analysis and understanding is a comprehension of the dynamic between capital (e.g. business) and labor (e.g. people). Among economists only Marx tried to deal forthrightly with this matter. Was Marx in any sense "right?" No, not completely, but I know enough about him to know there is something to his analysis and method. You may want to delve into this area. You may find some answers there. You need to do something, because your angst shows you are clueless in this arena, along with most everyone else.

How is it responsible or compassionate to take by force othere peoples money to pay for the care of still others?

How is it responsible to expect others to pay for your care?

I would put any stock in to Marx,

Marx was a useless rich kid pontificating about the poor and how to keep them placated.

Woops! That should read:

I would NOT put any stock in to Marx,

Marx was a useless rich kid pontificating about the poor and how to keep them placated.

USA's the best, right, at everything. We have the most democratic, 'of the people' government in the world, no corruption here. We have all the best ideas on science, medicine, law. Why should we bother considering the ideas of socialists like Great Britain, Germany, Taiwan, Japan--oh wait aren't those our allies and fellow freedom lovers--oh wait, don't they have better health in their full population, much lower expenditure of GDP on health care, no bankruptcy from health care, gee most even have market based health care with wise stops in place to stop the bottom-liners from denying your wife, father or child services to protect profits. Oh yeah, how about preexisting conditions? They cannot deny for them, and the insurance business owners are still happily making a great living--sure not like our insurance companies CEOs but happy still. Doctors and insurers are incentivized by the health of their patients not the itemized and scrutinized 'services' they provide. There are markets that need a steading hand from government to prevent reckless disregard for the people, think finance and energy. Its time to look around the world for what works in health care.