Portfolio advice for your body

A recent federal study projects government health care spending nearly doubling to some $2 trillion by 2017. It puts lots of blame on aging Boomers, predicting that Medicare will consume a whopping 20.7% of national health spending by that time.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report says it's a private affair, too, predicting overall healthcare spending to balloon to $4.3 trillion by 2017 -- doubling the current tally, and equating to more than 20% of gross domestic product.

The healthcare debate is shaping up as a major flashpoint in the election, as any bona fide national crisis should. You can argue the candidates' positions till the cows come home, but I can tell you even offshore gambling websites wouldn't lay odds on any plan's chance of success.