Palin wants feds to butt out on healthcare

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she fundamentally disagrees the federal government can improve U.S. healthcare.

In a piece she wrote for Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, Palin, who quit her job as governor of Alaska after losing the 2008 vice presidential election with presidential running mate John McCain, acknowledged the healthcare system "too often burdens individuals and businesses ... with crippling expenses." But, she added, a public option sought by Democrats "will only add to our ever-expanding deficit."

"Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones," Palin wrote. "Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide healthcare system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy. And common sense tells us to be skeptical when President Obama promises that the Democrats' proposals 'will provide more stability and security to every American.'"

Palin said the federal government has a history of waste and inefficiency and can't be trusted to do any better with healthcare.

She also renewed her contention the direction the Obama administration and Democrats are headed "will ultimately lead to rationing of ... healthcare by -- dare I say it -- death panels?" for many who are sick and elderly.

"Establishment voices dismissed that phrase, but it rang true for many Americans," Palin wrote. " ... The fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death healthcare matters. Such government overreaching is what we've come to expect from this administration."