For the sake of taxpayers and the truly needy, Congress must reject budget gimmicks that will turn SCHIP into a permanent, open-ended entitlement program.
Returning to the principles of mutual obligation within a financially responsible framework will restore the American social contract to its original principles as a bargain between society and the individual, based more solidly on institutions that individuals value as integral parts of their lives, with the government dimension appropriately limited and sustainable, and more just to future generations.