Tuning government mandates to keep them out of the cost equations.

A mandate is a tax with a designated government spending disbursal. If the government demands that you buy a hot dog every day, and tells you to buy the specific kind of hot dog they like, that is a tax for a government-commanded expenditure. Same for any similar setup.

Charles Krauthammer points out that the end result will be turning insurance companies into government-controlled utilities.

The Democrats have a year to pull off as much institutionalization of their various leftist dreams as they can before the country runs them out of town on a rail. The desperate hurry and secretive activity (often on weekends) is part of this. Daylight is the deadly enemy of their legislative process.

The health care legislation is making the headlines, but similar crap is going on with immigration, financial regulation, and climate issues.