Having it both ways.(Editorial)

Byline: Robert Whiddon, Editor -In-Chief

There is a certain amount of schizophrenia in the market surrounding the possibility of a public plan. On the one hand, many critics of the move say it'll put everyone else out of business. On the other hand, some of those very same critics add that the government can't do anything right. Okay, which is it?

Is a public plan really going to put everyone out of business? There's a government retirement plan, and there's plenty of people in the private retirement business. Lots of advisers, too.

There are plenty of public health plans, as well. There are big national ones for the old and the poor, as well as little ones for the very sick in many states. They're not perfect, but they're not the worst either, as far as I know. It's a little bit of both, I guess.

Still, I'm surprised advisers are coming out against anything - public plan option included - at this point. Do they really have that luxury? Coming out against what many think is the solution puts them in a bad light. They say they're against it because it would be bad for America, but the perception is that they're just afraid of losing business. They need to bet on the horse that's going to win, which at this point means spreading the chips around. Put money on black and red. Sure red, a good public plan, will eat adviser's health care business and eat a lot of it by some estimates. Fine, there is life ...