So I got a letter from Blue Cross yesterday. My health insurance premium just went up from $277/month to $340/month – that’s a 23% increase. Why? I have no idea. Is it because I’ve had problems with my eyes this year and now am paying the price? Or is it simply that health care costs keep rising and someone has to pay? And what am I going to be paying for health insurance when I’m 60?

I don’t claim to be an expert on health care policy, and admit that my eyes gloss over when trying to understand the differences between Hillary’s, Obama’s, and Edwards’ health care plan. But I have a gut feeling that none of those plans are meant to help people like me, people in the middle, people who are neither rich nor poor. Just like the sub-prime bail-out, where our politicians are helping to artificially inflate real estate prices so first-time home buyers like me can pay tens of thousands, if not a hundred thousand, more for my first condo (that’s called a “tax”), everything politicians do is meant to help either the rich or the poor at my expense.

Another example: I’m self-employed, and so is my friend Michael. We both work from home. Michael gets a write-off for working at home, for his “home office,” because he can afford a two-bedroom condo and can thus dedicate one room exclusively as his office. But because I can’t afford a two-bedroom condo, and only have a studio, I can’t write off my “office” even though I work from home, my home is my office, just as much as Michael. The difference between us? Michael is wealthier than me so he gets to write off working at home, and I don’t.

Neither party ever seems to give a damn about people in the middle.Chris has a good summary: