How it works

As President Reagan famously observed, "if you want more of something, subsidize it." The result of this, of course, is that it then costs more. We see this every year with increased health insurance costs (which is not to say that the subsidies and risk-corridor payments are the sole causes), and of course we've seen it at work for decades in the world of higher education.

Still there are doubters out there who need more concrete evidence of this (perverse?) relationship, and we're happy to oblige.

Meet The Monied Morticians:

"Predatory funeral homes have been accused of cashing in on Chicago’s relentless crime wave by taking advantage of a taxpayer-funded scheme that pays $7,500 in funeral expenses for homicide victims’ families."

Leaving aside the root cause of this issue, it's hard not to see the direct and obvious correlation: when the government is paying for your groceries, you're going to be eating a lot more steak. And when it's paying for your loved one's funeral, there are going to be a lot of flowers and blinged-up caskets.

And when that government hands out our tax dollars to help pay for health insurance - whether to consumers or carriers - well, you get the idea.

Time to lay it to rest?