Health Care Reform - FINALLY

We are on the verge of health care reform. The plan just passed by the Senate will extend coverage to millions; it will reduce monthly costs to almost all, especially those who need it the most; it cuts the pork from the current Medicare program while expanding health-promoting benefits; and it will cut the federal deficit by 132 billion over the next decade.

Of course, it will need to be merged with the current House plan, but most are optimistic that this will occur with relative ease. We will likely lose the public option in favor of government oversight of non-profit options run by insurance companies (which raises my eyebrows) but at least it's a start.

Now the recovery can begin in earnest, because the American public will have a future we can all believe in. That's not objective fact (yet), but it is the song in this moderate's heart. And the mournful melody created by the squandering of public trust in years past may finally begin to fade...