If it were not for bad luck...

That was how I felt after reading the Indianapolis Business Journal's daily update today. First, Health care premiums rise 6.1 percent, and then Weaker economic growth is predicted. This does not look good.

About the rising insurance premiums, the IBJ had this to say:

The companies reported that premiums for families increased 6.1 percent, on average. That's the lowest growth rate since 1999, when premiums rose 5.3 percent and cost an average of $5,791 for families. Health care premiums rose 7.7 percent last year, when families paid $11,480.

This year's slowdown doesn't mean much because the cost increase still outpaced wages, which rose an average of 3.7 percent, said Drew Altman, the foundation's president and CEO.

The chief economic worry for next year is a recession:

Strained by an ailing housing market and credit woes, the economy in 2007 is expected to log its worst growth in five years and should be somewhat sluggish next year.

The No. 1 risk, though, is that the economy will lose its footing altogether and fall into a recession, forecasters say.

A forecast released today by the National Association for Business Economics puts the growth of gross domestic product at 2 percent for this year. The pace was 2.2 percent in the group's previous survey, in May.

So what happens if the economy tanks and those premiums cannot be paid? Tell me, again, why national health insurance is a bad thing.