spud:

The basis of your post for healthcare is somewhat sound and I will also grant you healthcare is an additional cost not faced by manufacturers in Asia. Removing healthcare as a cost to doing business in the US is not a guarantee the resulting funds will be invested back into the US. The flow of funds have been overseas to create jobs there and in emerging markets at the expense of the cash cow in the US. A better return in the US in manufacturing, as opposed to speculative returns on W$ creating no value and resulting in asset appreciation, would go farther than additional funding for manufacturing gained by cutting expenses from which the resulting funds could not be tracked. The incentives for global manufacturing go well beyond healthcare insurance and what can be tagged as additional costs are integral to the infrastructure of the US unless you prefer a tidal wave of benzine rushing down a river.

An issue with vouchers is the cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance would rise to the size of the vouchers with little or no restraint. Next time you are in to the doctor, ask him the costs of a battery of blood tests at the company-store lab. My own personal experience at the glam-healthcare clinic for a major university revealed just such as knowledge by the doctor, his office, and billing (until a few days passed) was not readily available. (I guess the dart thrower of pricing was not available.) It finally took the Billing guy, with a price in hand, to suggest an offsite lab was cheaper by ~40% for the X-Rays at least. The healthcare system lacks transparency the same as derivatives on W$.

I suspect what is necessary to reign in healthcare and heathcare insurance cost is a public option where the gov can negotiate pharm and service costs the same as medicare. And yes there will be cries of gov in the private sector; but, I fail to see much in the way of competiton now as the industries involved both move in concert between industries and within each industry. And healthcare rejecting the public option? It will come to them as a take it or leave it option the same as litigation contracts between big companies and firms.