US national policy issues looming after healthcare?

After Britain had a mass shooting in 1987, the country instituted strict gun control laws. So did Australia after a 1996 incident. But the United States has repeatedly faced the same calculus and determined that relatively unregulated gun ownership is worth the cost to society.

That choice, more than any statistic or regulation, is what most sets the United States apart.

“In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate,” Dan Hodges, a British journalist, wrote in a post on Twitter two years ago, referring to the 2012 attack that killed 20 young students at an elementary school in Connecticut. “Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”

Fitch Ratings: GOP tax plan will hike deficits, be 'revenue negative'
The GOP tax plan will increase deficits and only have a short-term effect on growth, according to an analysis by credit ratings agency Fitch.

“Tax cuts may lead to a short-lived boost to output, but Fitch believes that they will not pay for themselves or lead to a permanently higher growth rate,” the analysis said.

Fitch said it expected U.S. gross domestic product growth to peak in 2018 before dropping down to 2.2 percent in 2019. The Trump administration has claimed its reforms would lead to sustained economic growth of 3 percent a year.
The ratings agency also said that the additional deficits brought on by the tax bill would leave the U.S. exposed when the next economic downturn hit. Policymakers often try to stimulate the economy with tax cuts and deficit spending when recessions hit. An already-deep deficit leaves them with fewer options, and could put the country’s credit rating and borrowing costs at risk when a downturn hits.

“The U.S. is the most indebted 'AAA' country and it is running the loosest fiscal stance. Long-term debt dynamics are also more negative than those of peers, with health and social security spending commitments set to rise over the next decade,” the report said, calling the impact "revenue negative."

After Britain had a mass shooting in 1987, the country instituted strict gun control laws. So did Australia after a 1996 incident. But the United States has repeatedly faced the same calculus and determined that relatively unregulated gun ownership is worth the cost to society.

DM says: The United States isn't a block vote and doesn't decide anything as a voice of one, ever. This sort of simplistic presentation is just 'preaching to the choir' for those readers who have already reached the same conclusion and want to hear others reaching it too.

For example, how has the United States 'determined' this 'worth the cost' conclusion?

The Choice! Such a singularity! Of course its bullshit and no such conclusion has been determined.

Idiotic. If that's the POV you subscribe to, so be it but it's just one writer's fairly ignorant conclusion and broad brushes a very complex situation.