Here’s a great article (that I found via my friend Alex) (via FriendFeed), that breaks down the federal budget, both revenues and expenditures, over the last few decades:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/02/in-depth-look-at-federal-budget.html
It shows pretty clearly why that “mandatory” spending (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) has grown to account for 60% of federal spending, and that Medicare is the fastest climber of the three. That’s why folks in government think it’s so urgent to do something about health care.
It comes down to whether or not you believe that health care is a human right.