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The Republican presidential candidates were full of tax talk at this week’s debate. But none has a tax plan coherent enough to be the basis of a substantive discussion, let alone one that could meet the nation’s challenges. ... The only way the Republican candidates could ever pay for such large tax cuts would be by slashing big spending programs, namely, Medicare and Social Security. All of these candidates deny fiscal reality. In the next 10 years, revenues will need to increase by 40 percent simply to keep federal spending even, per capita, with inflation and population growth. Additional revenues will be needed to pay for health care for the elderly, transportation systems and other obligations, as well as for newer challenges, including climate change. (10/30)

Republicans need to promise economic miracles as a way to sell policies that overwhelmingly favor the donor class. It would be nice, for variety’s sake, if even one major G.O.P. candidate would come out against big tax cuts for the 1 percent. But none have, and all of the major players have called for cuts that would subtract trillions from revenue. To make up for this lost revenue, it would be necessary to make sharp cuts in big programs — that is, in Social Security and/or Medicare. But Americans overwhelmingly believe that the wealthy pay less than their fair share of taxes, and even Republicans are closely divided on the issue. And the public wants to see Social Security expanded, not cut. So how can a politician sell the tax-cut agenda? (Paul Krugman, 11/2)

Carson wants to end Medicare and replace it with health savings accounts, and that pretty much makes him unelectable, although he’s now backing away from his position. So my hunch is that the betting markets are right and that Senator Marco Rubio will ultimately emerge as the nominee. But maybe the more interesting question is what Carson says about America. He seems to see his rise as an indication that America needs not so much social programs as firmer character. (Nicholas Kristof, 10/31)

It is a riddle. Republicans running for the party’s presidential nomination continue to push cuts in Medicare spending even as Republican voters oppose cuts in Medicare spending. Seventy-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries are white and 84 percent are over 65, according to recent studies. Those older white Americans “tilt heavily Republican,” according to the Pew Research Center’s poll findings. So why do Republican politicians keep bringing up the idea of cutting or eliminating Medicare, a losing proposition among every voting group, including Republicans? (Juan Williams, 11/2)

The real point is that today’s mega-griping about the drug industry comes from politicians unhappy with drug companies for following the incentives that politicians create for them. Mega-griping is already descending on a bruited merger between Pfizer and the Ireland’s Allergan, all for incentives made in Washington. The U.S. tax code’s treatment of international profits provides a giant motive for Pfizer to transfer its corporate headquarters abroad. The expense and risk of bringing new drugs to market under the FDA is a reason the duo prefer to market the hell out of existing drugs like Viagra and Botox. The plague of third-party payership encouraged by the tax code, Medicare, Medicaid and ObamaCare helps make it possible for the industry to hike prices without losing sales. (Holman W. Jenkins Jr., 10/30)

Mass shooting after mass shooting, Democrats call for more gun regulations while Republicans stress the importance of improving mental-health care. Both are necessary. Yet the depressing result of this partisan routine has been that nothing happens on either issue. That might soon change, at least on the mental-health front. Solid, bipartisan mental-health bills are poised to move in both chambers. They should be passed, reconciled and signed into law. (11/1)

The leading Republican candidate for president tells heartbreaking stories of violence committed by a few Mexican immigrants as evidence that they are rapists, murderers, criminals, and drug dealers. He depends on outrage and fear to gain support for building a 2,000-mile fence and detaining and deporting millions of individuals. A similar tactic is being used to influence national policies about people with serious mental illnesses in the wake of well-publicized mass murders. The intention is to cause fear by linking violence and mental illness, and then blaming the illnesses and the mental-health system for the problems. The proposed solutions? A return to asylums; more involuntary outpatient commitment; attacks on a federal agency that has spearheaded advances in mental-health policies and services; and challenges to the nation's emphasis on protecting the rights and freedoms of all citizens. (Mark Salzer, 11/1)

Every few months, I do an Internet search for my name, as recommended by a media-savvy colleague. In the past I’ve found myself in all the predictable places — among a list of doctors who graduated from my residency program, on my employer’s Web site, in various social-media posts. But in the stillness of a warm evening this past August, after putting my daughter to bed, I found myself in a new and terrifying place: an anti-choice Web site that claims I am part of an “abortion cartel.” In addition to my office address and links to find my medical license numbers, it features several photos of me. In one of the photos, taken from social media, I’m holding my then-15-month-old daughter. (Diane J. Horvath-Cosper, 10/29)

Beginning in January, the taxpayer-funded Medicare program will pay health-care professionals to counsel the elderly as they choose to pursue or reject life-preserving medical treatment. Sadly, most health-care professionals are unlikely to act as neutral assistants. Cost pressures, combined with an increasingly pervasive ideological commitment to avoiding “poor quality of life,” will result in the subtle — or not-so-subtle — “nudging” of those who are most vulnerable to accept premature death. (Burke Balch, 11/1)

If you want information on a hospital's infection rate, call the hospital and ask to speak to someone in the infection control department. Ask: What is the hospital's infection rate and how does it compare with the national average? What is the infection rate for your surgical procedure and how does it compare with the national average? Is the hospital having any cluster or outbreak of certain infections such as MRSA or c. difficile? For the first two questions, ask for specific percentages. Don't accept just "as good as." If the first person you reach cannot answer these questions, ask who can. (Maryanne McGuckin, 11/1)

People struggling against Alzheimer’s disease — either as those who have it, their caregivers, advocacy groups or researchers — got a tremendous boost this week from President Barack Obama. The Oval Office support is long overdue. Obama joined other presidents, proclaiming November 2015 as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month. “This November, let us focus our nation's attention on the challenges posed by Alzheimer's disease, which families across America courageously face every day,” Obama said. (Lewis Diuguid, 10/31)