If the alternative to reform...

...in health care is the status quo and you think that the status quo is sustainable, you really should read this sobering article written by a professor from Princeton. If you think there's a third alternative, say a market-based one put forth by some Republican like Paul Ryan (which is actually a good plan), ask yourself why the GOP has never proposed one in the 20 out of the last 29 years that they've controlled the White House. Here's a hint: they don't want reform.

In this age of Sarah Palin and the Common Man, it's helpful to listen to the people in this debate who really are experts, not just the guy sitting on the bar stool next to you (or the guy in his bathrobe writing a blog). This should be required reading for all those who protested at the town halls.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/18/reinhardt.health.inflation/index.html

By the way, two other experts on the subject worth reading are Ezra Klein in the Washington Post and Jonathan Cohn in the New Republic.