Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Cost Controls and the Public Option: Why Losing the PO Would be Terrible-but Not Fatal

by Bruce Webb The part of the blogosphere that caters to the Progressive Left is hardening its position around the Public Option, it has become a non-negotiable point, the line in the sand, the “are you with us? or against us?” line. And I don’t have any problems with that position as a matter of […]

The Maine Chance

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 […]

Trade policy debate to begin for mid-term elections?

rdan Trade policy debate begins in Pennsylvania? America’s economy is now struggling to recover from the Great Recession. But even when the economy was said to be humming, it did not work for most Americans. Wages were stagnant or declining and the costs of basics – health care, housing, college – were soaring. Growth was […]

Medicare and "present value"

by reader coberly Andrew Biggs wrote that current Medicare recipients have not paid enough for the benefits they will recieve. He states that “since this is zero sum, it means that future taxpayers will get less than they pay for.” Here is an excerpt of what he said, followed by my comments. Biggs said: unlike […]

Poverty Levels and Health care reform

By divorced one like Bush It seems to go without saying, that if there is reform, there will be some type of assistance for those who need it. Some numbers are bandied about as to the cutoff points. The Mass Connector has it’s formula up that you can play with by punching in your own […]

Small Business topic

rdan H/T Naked Capitalism for this New York Times article concerning the loan program established in May to help small businesses as part of the stimulus program. With $255 million, the program is prepared to make about 10,000 loans of up to $35,000 each. As of Monday, the agency reported that only 1,127 loans, totaling […]

Watch out! We have been tweetered on Health Care

by Bruce Webb No not ‘tweeted’, this is a whole new verb. In a post yesterday Ken directed us to a debunking by Milt Shook of a list of talking points by Alan Caruba. Milt’s piece at his blog Please… Cut the Crap is here: Deconstructing Right Wing Lies. Important stuff and I’ll get back […]

Excellent Article in the Washington Post

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 […]