Robert Waldmann Via Ezra Klein I read Collender thinks this is wrong for two reasons. First, the Democrats with the most difficult reelection battles are the freshmen elected in Republican-leaning, fiscally conservative districts. They’ll need something to show for their time in Washington, and along with the Blue Dogs, they may well be able to […]
Robert Waldmann This seems important to me. Small business representatives told [Senator] Snowe [R-Miane] that they were opposed to any mandates that came without a public option and that such an alternative was desperately needed for small business, which can’t afford the rising cost of health insurance for their employees. In less good news, Snowe […]
Robert Waldmann This is an extraordinarily good article by Washington Post standards.OK I’m biased. The topic is how great my dad Thomas Waldmann MD is, but it is really a good article. In particular, when explaining what is so extraordinary about my dad it addresses an important issue of general interest. “Carrying out clinical studies […]
Robert Waldmann can’t resist writing about health care reform. The actual debate seems very focused on the public option — will the minority of Americans who have access to the new insurance exchanges have the opportunity to buy health insurance from the US government. Notably this is the aspect of reform opposed by the health […]
Robert Waldmann knows that either Robert Waldmann or Kevin Drum is very confused. Help me out here. update: Drum is right and I’m wrong. Thanks guest in comments. I should have checked before posting. Drum wrote But even if this works, no one thinks that such a bill can get 60 votes in the Senate. […]
Robert Waldmann I hate to type that headline given the health care reform debate, but I am alarmed by Karen DeYoung’s article in the Washington Post about new efforts to get Afghans to stop producing opium — all new this time with carrots. The problem is that the price of wheat is too low. The […]
Robert Waldmann Taunter explains the link between Monte Hall and Health Insurance. Brilliant. Via Paul Krugman via Yves Smith so I’m sure you’ve read it already but if not click now click often. James Kwak at Baseline described the practice as rare, affecting only 0.5% of the population. The faint light bulb above my head […]
Robert Waldmann is very very late with this one. Appears that long long ago (in blogtime) Michelle Malkin said that Larry Katz once wrote that unemployment insurance causes unemployment. I know Larry Katz, Larry Katz was my PhD co-supervisor, Larry Katz is a friend of mine and Ms Malkin, you’re no Larry Katz. Malkin was […]
Robert Waldmann wonders why ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M.HERSZENHORN of the New York Times broke the main rule of fair and ballanced journalism — one must never question the honesty of a Republican. Out of some residual respect for journalistic standards, they put their gasp reporting after their jump. On the Senate side of the […]
Robret Waldmann Gang of 6 senators who correspond to 6.5 representatives. The US senate has an extreme rural bias. It has outdone itself by allowing Max Baucus to empower a bipartisan group of 6 senators to redesign health care reform. The states represented by the 6 senators (Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and […]