Obamacare is the engine taking us right over the cliff, just like in one of the old Wile E Coyote cartoons.

"like a piñata full of failure" - Best line ever.

Yes but eventually probably understates it considerably.

"Can it take down the economy and perhaps the government with it?" Isn't that their objective?

If it does, the free-market will be blamed. :(

The ACA is but one component of a three-headed monster that will grind down our economy. The other two are overregulation and taxation. Obama's regulatory drones are firing on all cylinders, especially the EPA. And, of course, the so-called Bush tax cuts and payroll tax cuts were allowed to expire, sucking money from private hands into the black hole that is our Federal government. A perfect trifecta of doom from the Alinsky mob from Chicago.

What Americans don't realize is that the US is Wile E Coyote. We're running in place but we haven't looked down yet. There's no ground beneath us. Get ready for the fall !

Drag the entire economy down? Yes, just because of the reduced efficiency of state control (of anything, not just health).

Take down the government? No, unfortunately in politics the ones responsible for any economic disaster are rarely held accountable. Even after "history will show" this fiasco for what it is, those currently in power will be long gone. Then as future taxpayers will be clearing up the accumulated mess, that will be the justification for trying to fix it, and never abandoning the whole project.