What I hope to hear from President Obama on healthcare

When President Barack Obama takes to the podium today in the White House Rose Garden, here’s what I want to hear:

1. Here’s a plan that moves us substantially toward universal health care for all Americans, providing coverage that’s portable, affordable, and includes mechanisms for cost-containment. Yes, that means a public option.

2. Here’s how much it will cost. Don’t fall into the trap of promising Americans that we can have big ticket items (two wars, say, or No Child Left Behind-style education reform) without paying for them.

3. Make sure the solution is pay-as-we go. No new debt. Yes, raising taxes during a recession is bitter medicine. But Americans are sick of debt. And giving millions of workers access to health care will push our entire economy into the 21st century.

A quick postscript:

Later this week, I’ll be profiling four entrepreneurs who’ve started new businesses in the last year in the North Country.

They’re filling store fronts, providing new jobs, paying taxes.

But not one of them had health care, or could offer health care to their employees. Not one.

My point? Health care reform isn’t just for the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured or under-insured.

It’s also for companies that want to get out of the social-safety-net business, so they can focus on their products.

It will also help American firms compete more effectively with overseas companies that don’t have to worry about being social-service agencies.

It’s also for workers who want more flexibility to change jobs and take entrepreneurial risks in their own lives.