RANDOM THOUGHTS from the retirement lane: If you follow the news even intermittently, you've been bombarded with the statement that 'healthcare constitutes one sixth of the U.S. economy.

Here's a question: Why does 'healthcare' take 1/6 of the economy? The answer, unless you're stupid or a Democrat, is obvious: regulation. But the answer only begs a larger question: What are the dollar costs of all the rules and regulations? What are the dollar benefits (savings) associated with the regulations. And are the benefits worth the costs?

I have yet to see any substantive discussion of the cost of government regulation -- especially the cost of overreacting to regulation (e.g., zero tolerance policies in schools).