Karlyn Bowman is a senior fellow and Andrew Rugg is a research assistant at the American Enterprise Institute. The views expressed in this article are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of any other person or institution.

In this article, Bowman and Rugg discuss the public's opinion about...

Americans have the highest health spending on the planet. Why? Because they can afford to do so. What few people realize is that the U.S. has increased its standard of living vis-à-vis its biggest competitors despite rising health expenditures (figure 1.6c).

The fierce battle over reform was based on the perception that Americans did not get good value for their money. That perception is wrong.

While the United States consumes a disproportionate share of global resources devoted to medical care, this global share is shrinking.

While many interesting and valuable points come up in Goodman and Saving's post, several assertions raise some secondary questions about the true nature of the statistical comparisons.

It is unlikely that increases in federal employee pension contributions or reductions in pension benefits for future federal retirees would lower total compensation below federal workers’ reservation wage, which represents the minimum pay at which a worker will accept a particular type of job.

Shifting government workers to 401(k)-style plans would offer greater transparency and keep benefits in line with the private economy.

Compared with other big investments that we make in life--like buying a house or a car--the higher-education market is information-poor for most consumers.