WSJ dissembles on health care

The New Republic's Jonathan Chait, who shares my obsession with the Wall Street Journal editorial page, destroys a cartoonishly dishonest editorial on health care:

Pointing out intellectual dishonesty on The Wall Street Journal editorial page has a certain tiresome dog-bites-man quality to it. I generally restrain myself to only the most hilarious and/or flagrant examples. Today's editorial on health care, alas, fits the bill.

The editorial is the Journal's panicky attempt to persuade American businesses that they should oppose any form of national health insurance. "More than a few American businesses are tempted to go the government route because it would allow them to toss their liabilities on the taxpayer," concede the Journal's editors. But they should resist the temptation. Why? Because it would lead to higher taxes. The following paragraph is the Journal's attempt to make this seem like a terrifying proposition:

Health care is a big reason that the overall tax burden is as high as it is in most of Europe. According to the OECD, the "tax wedge" as a share of all labor costs was only 29.11% in the U.S. in 2005. It was above 40% in most of Europe, and above 50% in France and Germany. These countries spend little on defense, so "national health care" and other social services explain the high tax burden.

Do you notice anything odd about that paragraph? If not, let me point it out. The editorial is saying that public health care is the reason Europe has higher tax rates than the United States, but it does not say how much Europe spends on health care vis-à-vis the U.S.

Why do they avoid pointing it out? I'll give you one guess. Okay, here's the answer: The United States spends far more on health care than any other country, including France or Germany. In fact, our system is so inefficient that the American government spends more money on health care per capita ($2,727) than either the French government ($2,476) or the German government ($2,350.) (Figures culled from OECD statistic available here.)

Just to review, a one-year subscription to the Journal costs $215. What kind of contempt do the editors have for their readers?